Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I quite agree with the description “Harry Potter for adults” that I’d heard about this book.

I’d avoided reading this book because I had been given a recommendation by a bookstore person once… “If you like Harry Potter, you’ll love The Thief Lord“, which turned out to be an appallingly bad book. I feared Strange was just another poorly written, pale subsititute hyped to try and catch a little of the Potter sales magic.

But it’s not. It’s very well written, and has a smart humor to it reminiscent of Jane Austen. Set in the early 1800s, it creates an interesting alternate-history where English Magic had died out 200 years prior and chronicles the efforts of two new magicians to bring it back.

I should be surprised if a movie doesn’t come along eventually.