Susanna Clarke's last book, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, runs over 1,000 pages in paperback. It's written in an imitation 19th-century style and moves at an extremely slow, though not boring, pace. The novel is compelling enough to finish, but the reader has to take it slowly. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is an incredible book, but it is also intimidating because of its sheer size.
Clarke's new book, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, is a short story collection that spans only 235 pages. Like its predecessor, this is a work of historically-based fantasy that describes an England where there is magic and where one can enter the world of Faerie (though Clarke's fairies, it should be pointed out, are rather nasty creatures). Faerie is consistently dangerous, and the faux-scholarly introduction laments the "appalling unpreparedness of the average 19th-century gentleman when he accidentally stumbled into Faerie," where he might very well meet an unpleasant end. While The Ladies of Grace Adieu would be a good introduction to Clarke, it would be much more entertaining to a reader whom is familiar with her previous work. Several of her stories reference Strange & Norrell, and two feature some of that novel's lead characters. Simply put, a story featuring Jonathan Strange or the Raven King will be much more enjoyable to readers familiar with those characters.
All the stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu share the recurring themes of magic and England, yet there is much more variety than one might initially expect. The length of the various stories is one obvious distinguishing characteristic. At least two of the stories are novella-length, while two others are only slightly longer than some of the longer footnotes in Clarke's first book. (Of course, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is known for its multi-page footnotes, so these stories are likely longer than this may have led you to believe.) Clarke is often quite funny; the reader may laugh out loud several times while reading The Ladies of Grace Adieu, though much of Clarke's humor is dry and classically British.
In all but one of the stories here, Clarke writes in the style of the early 19th century, period spellings and all (The one exception to this rule is a story written in a 17th-century style). While reading Clarke, we have to remind ourselves that she is a living writer and not a contemporary of Jane Austen. Like her literary models, Clarke avoids graphic descriptions of violence, and she never explicitly mentions sex. Whatever else she may be, Clarke is not a writer of pulp fantasy. Clarke's stories are more about enjoying the (very good) writing and the magic of Faerie than the plot; one could argue that she makes style take precedence over substance, though Clarke's style is so good that it would be wrong to complain.
Clarke's use of magic is one of her defining characteristics. Her descriptions of the supernatural are always creative, and Clarke always manages to keep the fantastic elements of her stories mysterious. Unlike those of some other fantasy authors, Clarke's worlds never become predictable or stale; her writing still seems fresh.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu, though not as good as her novel, is much more entertaining, funny, and well-written than most books on the market. Whether or not you are a fan of fantasy or "genre" fiction, you should consider reading Susanna Clarke. A-
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