The manuscript for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell sat in progress for a decade, evolving through fragmented writing sessions that began daily at 5:30 am. Susanna Clarke, a former cookbook editor, finally secured a publishing deal in 2003 after the work was initially deemed unmarketable by two other houses, ultimately becoming a global commercial success.
Early Career and Education
Born in Nottingham in 1959 to a Methodist minister, Clarke moved frequently during her childhood across Northern England and Scotland. She attended St Hilda's College at the University of Oxford, graduating in 1981. Her early professional life included eight years in the publishing industry at Quarto and Gordon Fraser, alongside stints teaching English as a foreign language in Turin and Bilbao.
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The conceptual framework for her primary work emerged during her time in Spain following a waking dream about a magician. Upon returning to England in 1993, she attended a writing workshop where she produced the short story The Ladies of Grace Adieu. This piece attracted the attention of Neil Gaiman and Patrick Nielsen Hayden, leading to its inclusion in the 1996 anthology Starlight 1, which later earned a World Fantasy Award.
The Production of Magic
Clarke spent ten years writing her first novel in her spare time, often residing in County Durham while employed at Simon & Schuster. She utilized an unconventional method of writing in segments rather than linearly to maintain narrative depth. Despite early rejections, Bloomsbury purchased the manuscript in 2003 with a significant advance, releasing the novel in September 2004.
Literary Style and Recognition
Her fiction often employs the stylistic conventions of 19th-century authors such as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen to explore themes of Englishness and the supernatural. In 2020, she published her second novel, Piranesi, which secured the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2021. Clarke continues to produce literature, currently focusing on a project set in Bradford.
Fast facts
- Born: 1959, Nottingham
- Education: St Hilda's College
- Debut novel: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- Hugo Award for Best Novel: 2005
- Women's Prize for Fiction: 2021
- Second novel: Piranesi
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
Questions readers ask
What is the premise of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel imagines an alternate history where magic returns to England through the relationship between two rival magicians.
What awards did her debut novel receive?
It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 2005.
Achievements
- Hugo Award for Best Novel — 2005
- Women's Prize for Fiction — 2021
- Notable work: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- Genres: speculative fiction
