Reading the Chunksters discussion

Not too far to go now, so I will try to maintain the schedule. This section covers chapters 54 to 57, in which Strange's adventures in Venice get darker and stranger.

Chapter summaries (beware spoilers):
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54. The little box, the colour of heartache

Strange comes round and sees the fairy gentleman, asking him if he has asked him anything yet, and is told he asked for snuff. Strange explains what he wants, i.e. to be instructed in magic. He tells the gentleman that he could become as famous as the Aureate magicians’ fairy servants, to which he scoffs. The fairy tells Strange he has acquired something of great value, and asks for it. Strange does not understand. The gentleman departs. Strange is unsettled by the thought that his madness makes him more like Lascelles and Drawlight. The next day Stephen is on business for Sir Walter. He sees snow and senses magic, and is addressed by the furious gentleman, who says he thought he was safe from the magician, and says he is bored by Strange and finds him conceited. He disappears. The next day Strange goes to see the Greysteels, and they go out for a walk. The air gets cold and Strange sees the first evening star. He sees a weird black creature, which disappears and becomes Dr Greysteel. He tells the Greysteels he wants to walk to see Byron, but follows them instead, and sees them getting into a gondola. He sees that the gentleman with thistle-down hair is helping Miss Greysteel into the boat. The gentleman tells Strange what a beautiful young woman she is. He says he has been thinking about Strange’s proposal and finds it an excellent plan, and promises to bring Strange whatever he desires. Strange asks for information on the last English magician the gentleman dealt with. The gentleman does not answer, and starts suggesting things he can give Strange. Strange asks more questions, and asks if he can have something gained from the gentleman’s last dealings with an English magician, which perturbs the gentleman. Strange says he expects it to be delivered later that evening. In the evening Strange dines with the Greysteels. Strange tells them that Venice was built in the usual human way, but that the boundaries of England were determined by magic, then talks about John Uskglass. They are interrupted by the Greysteels’ servant Frank, who says that a letter and a little box have been delivered for Strange. Miss Greysteel admires the box while Strange reads the letter. Miss Greysteel starts to open it. Strange takes the box and opens it himself, and tells them it is empty. Strange goes to a coffee house and orders brandy. He opens the box and finds a finger, which is human and reacts when he touches it. He thinks about it and remembers Drawlight telling him a story about a finger. He considers making an unexpected visit to the fairy gentleman to demonstrate his power. He takes a drop of the tincture and sees a guiding light.

55. The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy’s hand

Venice is filled with trees, but apart from Strange nobody sees them though they walk around them. The lights he sees lead out to sea, and he steps off the quay. The sea gets more dreamlike and the wood more solid. Strange tells himself he is the first English magician in over 300 years to enter Faerie. He studies his surroundings. The light leads him to a house surrounded by a high wall. He mutters a couple of spells, and a gateway appears in the wall leading into a courtyard of bones. He sees that only part of the house is built of stone, the rest is earth. He enters and finds a vast room of dancers, who do not see that the room is badly damaged. Strange is accosted by Stephen Black. Stephen finds the gentleman with thistle-down hair and tells him that the magician is there, but neither of them knows what he wants. The gentleman is anxious, and tells Stephen that Strange is cleverer than he realised, and he does not know what to do. Stephen sees a fairy woman in black. He speaks of his depression and asks forgiveness. Strange enjoys the ball, and asks a fairy woman to dance. She tells him he is bold, and that many English magicians have never escaped. He rejoins the dance and sees a beautiful woman with a finger missing. He starts to ask how she lost it, and sees her talking to Arabella, who recognises him. The woman asks Strange if he is there to help them, which confuses him. She tries to lead Arabella away. Both women turn away and he sees the gentleman with thistle-down hair. The light changes, and the ball disappears, but Stephen is still in Lost-hope, where only Strange, Stephen and the gentleman remain. Strange calls his wife, and tries to head for a door, but the gentleman tells him to wait. The hall fills with birds, who strike Stephen. The room fills with leaves and the magician looks lost. It then fills with rain, and Strange disappears. Stephen asks where he has gone, and the gentleman says he has sent him back to Altinum’s sea colony [a footnote explains he means Venice]. The gentleman is triumphant but seems ill. His voice fades away and Stephen is left alone in darkness.

56. The Black Tower

Dr Greysteel is sleeps and dreams someone is calling him, and wakes to see Frank, who tells him Strange has arrived. They go down to the canal and see a gondola. Dr Greysteel barely recognises Strange, who speaks in an unfamiliar voice, addressing the gondolier in fluent Italian. Strange says he is cursed and urges Dr Greysteel to take his daughter away because someone wishes her harm. He says Norrell was right, but has lied to everybody. The gondola leaves. Dr Greysteel wishes Strange was not involved in magic. Frank suggests that he and Dr Greysteel should take care of Strange while the aunt takes Flora away. In the morning Dr Greysteel tells Flora the plan, and she objects. Dr Greysteel explains that Strange is ill. The aunt does not understand either, and Dr Greysteel tells her the full story, and she concludes that he is drunk. Frank gives a more precise account which convinces her, but she insists on telling Flora the truth. She reluctantly agrees to leave. Frank returns and shows Dr Greysteel a huge black tower outside. There is a loud knock on the door, and a group of men enter. Two are priest, and the rest wear bright military uniforms. Colonel Wenzel von Ottenfeld, secretary to the Austrian governor of the city introduces himself and his companions. He asks Dr Greysteel if he is “the Doktor, friend of the Hexenmeister of Vellinton”. Von Ottenfeld explains that the tower is the night. A priest explains that the sun failed to rise in Strange’s parish, where night continues. Von Ottenfeld asks Dr Greysteel to ask his friend to do no more magic in Venice. Dr Greysteel and Frank step over a bridge into the Night. They reach Strange’s house and knock, but nobody answers. The door is open so they go up to investigate, finding Strange at a table looking at a silver dish radiating white light. Greysteel addresses him, and Strange asks what he is doing, to which Greysteel replies that he has come to see how he is. Strange returns to the dish, pours water in and adds two drops of liquid. He drinks the mixture. Dr Greysteel smells the cat woman’s room. Strange says his wife is still alive, that he was told she was dead but she was enchanted and stolen away. He complains that his spells no longer work and he cannot return to the house. He refuses to stop doing magic, and Dr Greysteel asks if he can undo the Night, which Strange says is not his doing. Strange asks Greysteel if he is afraid the candle will go out, pointing to his forehead. The next day, the parish is still in the Night. A servant girl asks Frank if he knows that the magician is mad – there are rumours around town. It emerges that Byron has been to see Strange and told his circle about Strange’s ravings. Greysteel goes to see Byron, who tells him Strange has written to his brother-in-law asking him to come to Venice to see his sister. Byron claims to understand Strange’s madness from experience, saying that Strange is depressed by his powerlessness compared with the raven king, and feels his depression is like his own in Switzerland. He says Strange is giving him inspiration for a poem about a magician, but feels he is an imperfect model.

57. The Black Letters

Strange’s letter to Henry Woodhope is quoted. He says he has seen Arabella and spoken to her, citing their half-enchantment the previous Christmas. He asks Henry to come to Venice. His second letter talks about the brugh (fairy castle), her enchantments and the history of stolen humans. The third letter talks about Strange’s depression at being unable to break the spell. He also claims to be the first magician to recognise that madness is the key to magic. The gentleman with thistle-down hair boasts of having inflicted 100 years of darkness, misery and solitude on Strange. He and Stephen observe Strange in his room and see that Byron is with him. He says that Byron has wronged him and will die in another five years. Strange raises his hand and says “I know you are there” and tells Byron he is being spied on by the fairy and the butler. The gentleman asks Stephen if he can see the little box. They see it but the gentleman does not pick it up. Stephen realises that he no longer has all of his power. Strange appears to have forgotten about the box.
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And to think I never knew the color of heartache before reading this section! I'm wondering if the bird/greysteel apparition is a sign of something nefarious from Strange's new friends. There are many swirling bizarre events in this section, but many of them Strange had nothing to do with. He eventually gets desperate and drinks a vial of a concoction hoping to achieve madness, which he now believes is the gateway to magic. I'm curious to see if Arabella is actually alive or if strange was just imagining her.

Till reaching these chapters, I was always intrigued by the cover of the book which shows a bird. I have a fetish for justification of title and book cover, if they are absent, the author fails me, that rarely happens with the kind of books I choose for myself.

Here bird is integral part of the story, symbolically and physically.

Such an excellent point Nidhi, thank you for pointing that out!