Reading the Chunksters discussion
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Week 13
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Hugh wrote: "Is anybody still reading?..."Yes I’m still here! I fell a week or so behind but am back on track. I enjoy this book when I pick it up, but it’s not one I can’t wait to read. It seems to meander gently along.
I like the way Clarke mixes up the whimsical bits of magic and humour with the more sinister parts. I also enjoyed the reappearances of both Vinculus and Childermass, they are quite intriguing characters who grab the attention when they appear.
Pam you are generous in saying this meanders gently - personally I found that this section was fairly disjointed and disconnected. i'm still hoping that there is a great future for Stephen, and I was sorry to hear about the end to his horse. At this point the rivalry between the magicians seems to be at a dull simmer, so I'm hoping something eventful transpires.
Today I will finish this book. Nothing is disjointed, your patience will be rewarded Dianne, it’s like a puzzle, you can’t make out the meaning of the piece which you have in your hand.
Nidhi wrote: "Today I will finish this book. Nothing is disjointed, your patience will be rewarded Dianne, it’s like a puzzle, you can’t make out the meaning of the piece which you have in your hand."Ah ha! Thank you for the tip Nidhi!
Dianne wrote: "Pam you are generous in saying this meanders gently - personally I found that this section was fairly disjointed and disconnected..."Haha, well at least we agree it’s not a whirlwind read :) I think there are points where the plot seems disconnected, not surprising in such a long book, but as Nidhi says it will all come together.
Chapter summaries (with spoilers):
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47. ”A black lad and a blue fella – that ought to mean summat.”
Walter Pole is travelling through Yorkshire with Stephen by his side on a horse. They come to a crossroads and don’t know which way to go, so Stephen suggests that they split up. Stephen comes to a narrow lane between stone walls and finds the village and Starecross Hall, where he asks after the madhouse keeper. Segundus introduces himself and says they are ready for Lady Pole. Segundus shows him Lady Pole’s rooms, and Stephen sees a vision of Lost-hope. Segundus admits that Lady Pole will be his first patient. He explains that after Strange’s wife died, he told Mrs Lennox that the school plan could not go ahead. After leaving her house in Bath he meets a wild man in rags and tries to help him. This gives him the idea of using Starecross as a madhouse, to which Mrs Lennox agrees. An hour after Stephen arrives, Sir Walter’s carriage arrives, but he and Lady Pole have to cross the bridge to the Hall on foot because it is too narrow for the carriage. She tells Segundus that she, Stephen and Mrs Strange attended balls together. Stephen leaves for London. On his way out Segundus asks him about the air of magic that surrounds him and Lady Pole. Stephen says he doesn’t understand. A few miles into his journey he meets a coach, and the coachman tries to strike him with his whip, but catches the horse, which falls awkwardly taking Stephen with it. Stephen is unharmed, but fhe horse cannot move. Stephen takes his pistol out and aims it at the horse, but cannot bring himself to shoot. A carrier in a cart emerges and volunteers to shoot the horse and take the carcass to a local farm where they can dispose of it. A raven appears, and the carrier says this is a lucky omen, and mentions the Raven King. They go to the farm, where the farmer is so surprised to see a black man he is unable to help, but his wife appears and she completes the deal to dispose of the horse. The carrier offers Stephen a lift to Doncaster. Stephen hears snores from the cart and asks the carrier about his other passenger, who is a traveller from London, who is blue with cold. The passenger briefly wakes, saying “the nameless slave shall be a King in a strange country”. It grows dark, and the carrier falls asleep. The blue man wakes, and asks Stephen if he knows Childermass, who has been pursuing him for 8 years. Stephen offers him money and he introduces himself as Vinculus. Vinculus tells him that he is the Nameless King, and says the first part of his task is done. He then runs off into the darkness. Later, the gentleman with thistle-down hair appears to Stephen saying he wants to see a wolf-hunt and they find themselves in Sweden. They follow the hunt, and Stephen does not enjoy it. A lone wolf appears and addresses the gentleman in a strange language pleading for help, but the gentleman ignores it. Stephen tells the gentleman about his meeting with Vinculus. The gentleman recognises a prophesy of the Raven King and is surprised it has survived in England. He explains that the words were not a prophesy but a description of the Raven King’s own origins.
48. The Engravings
Strange has returned to London, and meets Sir Walter. He starts writing something in his book and says he has not given up magic. He says that he went a little mad with grief but is better now. Sir Walter thinks he is becoming more like Norrell. Strange says he is back to make mischief. His next project is a new periodical called The Famulus. Strange feels that he and Norrell have achieved nothing compared with the Aureate magicians. Sir Walter counsels him against shape shifting, which Strange says would have been useful to Wellington. Sir Walter says talk of another King would not go down well in his circles, where they are having enough trouble with Johannites (machine breakers, who are also expecting Uskglass to return). Strange tells Walter about the portrait of Uskglass at Windsor. The first edition of the Famulus is published and sells out. Lascelles shows Norrell Strange’s article, suggesting raising a great magician of the past to explain his arts. Strange comes to Spitalfields, once a great craft centre that has become a poor slum. He asks his footman if he draws and explains that he had artistic training when younger, but says that his untrained wife had more artistic talent. He explains that his training in observation means he has noticed a shadow leaning the wrong way. The shadow turns into Childermass, who tells Strange he has money for him from the Treasury and Admiralty. They knock on the door, and are admitted by a frightened servant girl. They meet the exiled French engravers whose work Strange is using for his magazine. The pictures show scenes Strange has seen on the King’s Roads. Strange addresses them in French, which Childermass follows, but his own French has too strong a Yorkshire accent for the engravers to understand. Strange tells Childermass which spells he used to reach the King’s Roads and offers to make Childermass his assistant. Childermass explains that while Strange is alive he will remain loyal to Norrell, but if one of them dies he will oppose the other. Strange says he has never kept secrets from Norrell.
49. Wildness and madness
Strange invites Walter Pole and Lord Portishead to dinner. They find that his house is reverting to its bachelor state. Strange asks Portishead to report on the magic Norrell has been doing. He says that Norrell has still not taken on a new pupil. Strange says he is thinking of setting Jeremy Johns up as an anti-Childermass. He wants to expand his knowledge, to keep his promise to Arabella not to return to the King’s Roads, but to summon a fairy instead, saying he believes he has been in one’s presence before splitting with Norrell – he didn’t see the fairy but heard his music. He thinks he needs to be madder, and proposes becoming a vagabond, but not until the weather improves.
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