Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

When Mr. Segundus and Honeyfoot report back to the York magicians, the enchantment prevents them from sharing exactly what they saw. The arrogant York magicians write directly to Norrell to demand that he come to York and perform a piece of magic. He agrees to do so, on the condition that all the magicians in the society sign a legally binding document in which they promise to stop being magicians if he succeeds. Segundus is the only one who refuses to sign. On the appointed day, Norrell sends Childermass in his place, demonstrating that he is so powerful he doesn’t need to leave Hurtfew to perform magic.

Norrell makes all the stones and statues in the cathedral at York talk. The magicians of York disband their society. Segundus discovers only later that Norrell bought the few books of magic the society owned. Childermass manipulates Segundus into writing directly to the London papers about the miracle at York. The narrator notes, “[A] gentleman in Mr Norrell’s position with a fine house and a large estate will always be of interest to his neighbours and, unless those neighbours are very stupid, they will always contrive to know a little of what he does” (39). Segundus hears through the gossip of neighbors that Norrell is leaving for London.

Norrell goes to London and buys a fine house in a fashionable part of town, but after living on a country estate, he cannot bear the closeness of his neighbors. Childermass convinces him to accept an invitation to a grand party to publicize his magic. He reluctantly goes to the party and is shocked by the crush of people and their open talk of intrigue and income. Exhausted by the throng of people, he hides in the library with a book and overhears the social parasite Mr. Drawlight claim to Lascelles, a dandy who is a lackey to rich people, that he knows Norrell. Norrell identifies himself, embarrassing Drawlight, who explains away his lies by claiming that he believed Childermass, who has a dark, brooding look, to be Norrell.

Mr. Drawlight cultivates Norrell to improve his own social status, but Norrell is a disappointing patron because he refuses to perform fancy magic tricks. When people ask Norrell about magic, especially dazzling enchantments and fairy servants, his answers are long, boring, and pedantic. He always insults other magicians, and he also refuses to discuss the Raven King, founder of English magic, because he doesn’t believe the Raven King to be a respectable figure. Norrell asks Drawlight to introduce him to Sir Walter Pole, an important British minister who plays a key role in the war against France. Drawlight refuses to do so. Norrell finally relies on a distant family connection to arrange a meeting.

Walter Pole is preoccupied with his mother-in-law-to-be Lady Wintertowne and her ailing daughter Emma, Pole’s fiancé. Emma and Walter are supposed to marry in 10 days, and Walter needs her income to cover the debts he has from past campaigns and those of his spendthrift father and grandfather, who left his estate in poor shape. Pole declines Norrell’s offer of help because he believes that magic is not respectable. Norrell is downcast and thinks that he would have been able to change Pole’s mind with better arguments. Drawlight, whose social status hasn’t improved because of Norrell’s naivete, grows weary of helping him.

Emma Wintertowne dies before she can make Walter Pole financially solvent. Eager to get into Pole’s good graces, Norrell agrees to resurrect Emma. He knows that this is risky, dark magic, but the emotional, social, and political advantages for everyone are too great to resist.

Norrell calls up a spirit from Faerie, a man with “thistle-down hair” (88) who is also the Lord of Lost-hope and king of Faerie. Norrell’s failure to use all the customary praise and language characteristic of past wizards (including the Raven King) insults the fairy. When Norrell is reluctant to pay him, the fairy threatens to deal with the other magician in England instead, and the existence of another magician is surprising news to Norrell. Despite Norrell’s inadequacies, the fairy agrees to raise Emma from the dead at the price of one half of her natural life and the little finger on her left hand.

After her resurrection, Emma is in blooming physical health and good spirits—quite unlike her personality before her death. Pole feels a growing sense of attraction to her but is shocked when she tells him they need not talk about their future together since she knows he is a busy man. Lascelles and Drawlight make their rounds in society to share gossip about Emma’s resurrection, spreading accounts that exaggerate their roles. Norrell stops Walter on the morning of the resurrection to talk about the importance of using magic to defend England. Conscious of how much he owes the man, Walter accepts the necessity of giving Norrell his attention. Walter and Emma marry.

Walter Pole is hesitant at first to discuss magic with his peers in the government, fearing the reactions of three in particular. However, he finally offers Mr. Norrell’s services to his fellow ministers, but Norrell’s hope to use magic to support the war effort comes to nothing. When the politicians propose reviving dead heroes or eloquent statesmen, Norrell rejects each idea either because the magic doesn’t exist or because he lacks the skill to perform it on a battlefield. The politicians, including Lord Liverpool (the chancellor) are disappointed in part because everyone knows that the Raven King used battlefield magic for English kings. Norrell doesn’t measure up to their expectations.

An implausible fleet of British ships—more than all the ships the English could possibly have—blockades major ports held by the French, including Brest; the French lose ground in the war as a result. The movement of the ships shows that the person who made them had no idea of how ships move at sea, but no one notices that at first. (As it turns out, Norrell is the one who conjured the additional ships from rain by accessing the wild potential of magic.)

Norrell’s stock rises with the public across all classes. Tradespeople and commoners drunk on wine pull the rich people from their carriages one day as they celebrate. When they encounter Norrell, they are so proud of him that they escort him to his destination, while other “respectable people found their horses unhitched and their carriages pushed and shoved into tanners’ yards” (114). He is praised in the popular and respectable press, and Drawlight and Lascelles take advantage. They convince him to start a journal, The Friends of English Magic, under his aegis but edited and written by Lord Portishead, who mostly attacks other magicians. Norrell publishes little himself because his perfectionism prevents him from completing work.