Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - first US edition

by Susanna Clarke - signed

England, 1806. Hundreds of years after men have lost the ability to perform magic, the reclusive Mr. Norrell stuns the nation. Causing statues to speak, summoning ghostly ships to terrify Bonaparte's army, and raising a beautiful young woman from the dead, Norrell becomes the toast of London. Yet Norrell is soon challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant and arrogant Jonathan Strange. Norrell takes Strange as a pupil, and together they dazzle the world. But as Strange's powers grow, so do his ambitions. He becomes obsessed with the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his reckless attempts at summoning this legendary magician threaten his partnership with Norrell, and everything that he holds dear.

Book has black boards with the title in gold; the end papers are red, which only appear in first printings, subsequent ones being white. Author's signature on title page was personally collected on Sep 28th, 2004 at Powells Bookstore.  The dust wrapper is black with white letters, a variant, as both black and white dust jackets were printed, but the white jacket will only be present on first printings of the first edition.