Description: I recently watched Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell on Netflix so my next read had to be The Ladies of Grace Adieu. I remember finding Jonathan Strange a tome but The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a slim collection of fairy tales brimming with all the same magic and twists of fate. There are petulant princesses, vengeful owls, and educated, country ladies who pass their time studying magic (unbeknownst to their bumbling husbands). The Raven King makes an appearance in several of the stories, as does Jonathan Strange and the Duke of Wellington.
Favourite Moment: In the story “The Ladies of Grace Adieu”, the three women — Mrs. Field, Miss Tobias, and Cassandra — are making their way home in the dark. They happen upon Jonathan Strange, who has fallen asleep under a tree while reading his book.
“What is it?” asked Miss Tobias.
Cassandra peered into the darkness. “It is a man,” she said with great authority.
“Gracious Heaven,” said Mrs. Field. “What kind of man?”
“The usual kind, I should say,” said Cassandra.
“I meant, Cassandra,” said the other, “what degree, what station of man?”
Jonathan Strange got to his feet, perplexed, brushing straw from his clothes. “Ladies,” he said, “forgive me. I thought that I had woken in the Raven King’s Other Lands. I thought that you were Titania’s ladies come to meet me.”
The ladies were silent. And then: “Well!” said Mrs. Field. “What a speech!”
“I beg your pardon, madam. I meant only that it is a beautiful night (as I am sure you will agree) and I have been thinking for some time that it is (in the most critical and technical sense) a magical night and I though perhaps that you were the magic what was meant to happen.”
“Oh,” cried Cassandra, “they are all full of nonsense. Do not listen to him, my dear Mrs. Field. Miss Tobias, let us walk on.” But she looked at him curiously and said, “You? What do you know of magic?”
“A little, madam.”
The conversation that transpires is very funny because the three ladies practice magic. In fact, one of them is a governess and has just done away with the pesky guardian of her charges. He was up to no good, anyway. Now they are, perhaps, aware that they’ve stumbled upon Jonathan Strange, the London magician. They have quite a few arguments with Strange’s recent writings, and once they establish that he is the man before them, they take him to task. Strange confides that he agrees with them but must do the bidding of Norrell, which draws their chiding and ire. It’s a delightful taking down of the top magician by some country ladies.
Perfect for fans of Jonathan Strange, Neil Gaiman, or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
The hardcover (pictured above) is a lovely book, no jacket, with debossed pink flowers.