Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (signed edition)

Susanna Clarke

Illustrated by Charles Vess

Introduced by Neil Gaiman

Explore the realm of English magic with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in this Folio Society edition of Susanna Clarke’s masterpiece. Introduced by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Charles Vess. 100 copies of this special collector's edition have been signed by Susanna Clarke and Charles Vess.

£375.00
£375.00
‘Perfectly conveys all that can be brilliant about British literature.’
  1. Guardian


For this unique hybrid of nineteenth-century novel and fantasy adventure Folio have created a lavish edition full of special features and exquisite details. Neil Gaiman, friend and avid supporter of Clarke, revisits his original introduction of the novel with a warm account of discovering her writing, while legendary fantasy artist Charles Vess summons a whole host of fae delights with 18 colour illustrations, integrated black and white images, an illustrated slipcase and charmingly characterful binding designs. This gorgeous three-volume set also features stunning fold out endpapers, making this an edition that even the famously discriminating bibliophile Mr Norrell would consider among the finest in his collection.

A new age of magic has dawned in the turmoil of the nineteenth century and two practicing magicians stand at its helm. The Raven King’s prophecy foretold of two magicians, but will the two be friends, or rivals? As Mr Norrell and Jonathan Strange find their place in this new world and with each other, the dangerous realm of faerie threatens to encroach on both their lives…

An edition that is not signed is available here.

Signed by Susanna Clarke and Charles Vess

Three volume set 

Bound in blocked cloth 

Set in Bell 

1008 pages in total over three volumes 

18 colour illustrations total over 3 volumes

6 black & white integrated illustrations over 3 volumes

Illustrated title page printed two colours in each volume 

Printed fold-out endpapers with a different design in each volume 

Printed slipcase 

9 ½˝ x 6 ¼˝ 

Printed in Italy

 

Susanna Clarke’s magical debut took the world by storm, with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell lauded around the world as a modern fantasy masterpiece. Endlessly witty and written with a clear love of the literary period she is conjuring, Clarke also spins a story full of longing for the haunted English landscape and a magical history that remains just out of reach. When conceiving ‘the gentleman with the thistle-down hair’, the novel’s most unsettling antagonist, Clarke found inspiration in Charles Vess’s illustrations for The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman. It is appropriate then that Vess has brought his own unique flavour of magic to this very special production of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; his eye for the details of both interiors and exteriors bring the period to life magnificently, while humour, terror, adventure and whimsy all jostle companionably on the page. Above all, his exquisite line work twinkles with character, evident in the cavorting faeries of the title page and the set of three spectacular fold out endpapers.

About Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke was born in Nottingham and studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford. Following this, she became an editor for Simon and Schuster, working on their cookbook list, and went on to teach English as a foreign language. Clarke's first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, was published to huge acclaim in 2004, winning the Hugo Award and reaching the New York Times bestseller list. Her second novel, Piranesi, won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021. She has written full-time since the success of Jonathan Strange and is also the author of The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of short stories based in the same world as Jonathan Strange.

About Charles Vess

Charles Vess has been drawing ever since he could hold a crayon and crawl to the nearest wall. His long list of accomplishments include cover and interior art for Marvel, DC, Tor and Subterranean Press as well as many illustrated books and graphic novels for which he has won two Hugo, four World Fantasy, three Chesley, five Locus, a Mythopoeic and two Will Eisner awards. Charles’ art has been featured in many gallery and museum exhibitions across the nation, including ‘Spectrum: The best in Contemporary Fantastic Art’ at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators and ‘Enchanted, A History of Fantasy Illustration’ at the Norman Rockwell Museum. His work has also been shown in Paris, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the UK. His four-year collaboration with Ursula Le Guin resulted in a fully illustrated edition of all her Earthsea stories. Published by Saga Press, The Books of Earthsea garnered many awards. 2021 saw the release of Honeycomb (Saga) written by Joanne M. Harris with many color and black and white illustrations and The Art of Stardust (Titan), an informal history written by Vess and with an introduction by Neil Gaiman. He lives in a house down on the North Fork River in southwestern Virginia where he works diligently from his studio, Green Man Press.

About Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a critically acclaimed writer of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His many notable works include the groundbreaking series Sandman (the first comic book to win a literary award, the 1991 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story), and the novels Good Omens (1990, in collaboration with Terry Pratchett), Stardust (1999), American Gods (2001, The Folio Society 2017; winner of the Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Best Novella, and a Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers),  Anansi Boys (2005, The Folio Society 2019) and Neverwhere (1996, The Folio Society 2022). Gaiman also wrote introductions to Folio editions of Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun (1980, The Folio Society 2020) and Mervyn Peake’s The Gormenghast Trilogy (1950, The Folio Society 2024). Credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, Gaiman is an author whose work crosses many genres and reaches audiences of all ages. His most recent publication is What You Need To Be Warm (2020).

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