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.