OK, I want you to stop for a moment and imagine a TV show that combines Harry Potter, Jane Austen and The Walking Dead. If you can get your head around that, you’ll have some idea what to expect from Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
This sumptuously made mini-series (7 episodes in total) is an adaptation of the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Susanna Clarke. It was commissioned for the BBC, so you know it’s going to be a quality production. Indeed, the producers managed to secure the use of a number of National Trust properties around the UK to give it an apparently authentic early-19th Century feel.
The series opens (as the book does) in the early 1800s. Mad King George is on the throne and England is at war with Napoleon. In Yorkshire, a “practical magician”, Mr Norrell (Eddie Marsan) is determined to restore “English magic” (which hasn’t been practised for 300 years) to its rightful place. After putting on an impressive showing of his powers in York, Mr Norrell moves to London in an effort to secure the political backing he needs. There he meets Sir Walter Pole (Samuel West) who seems willing to provide the necessary clout. But when Sir Walter’s fiancee Emma (Alice Englert) dies (of consumption, naturally), he entreats Mr Norrell to work some real magic. Although reluctantly, Mr Norrell summons a “fairy” (though possibly a demon – or worse) known as The Gentleman (Marc Warren) and with his help, revives her; much to Sir Walter’s joy. That elation however is short-lived, because after a hasty wedding, the new Lady Pole descends into what seems to be madness. Meanwhile, Mr Norrell is perplexed by a prophecy from a “street magician” named Vinculus (Paul Kaye), who predicts there will be two (real) magicians emerging at the same time. In the countryside, Vinculus encounters Jonathan Strange (Bertie Carvel) and shares the prophecy with him, also providing him with two spells and telling him he will be a “great magician”. Emboldened, and despite the misgivings of his wife Arabella (Charlotte Riley), Strange travels to London to study magic under Mr Norrell’s tutelage.
Director Toby Haynes delivers both visual excitement and a compelling narrative from Peter Harness’s script. He plays the material (as a proper British gentleman should) with a “straight bat”. Like the Harry Potter series, the existence of magic is never questioned, nor is its role in the world. He also brings a rather dark edge to the series. Death, violence and madness are overt elements of the story. In other words, don’t expect this to be some winking, post-modern pastiche.
The typically large cast is led by the wonderful Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as Norrell and Bertie Carvel (Les Miserables) as his erstwhile pupil. Between them they convey the stark contrast between the straitlaced Norrell and the more adventurous Strange. Similarly, in the principal female roles Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures) and Charlotte Riley (Edge of Tomorrow) provide two sides of what could be the same coin as the tormented Lady Pole and the eminently sensible Mrs Strange. Marc Warren (The Good Wife) brings a suitably sinister edge as The Gentleman (known in the book as The Gentleman with Thistle-Down Hair). Among the other standouts are Ariyon Bakare (Jupiter Ascending) as Stephen Black, a servant of Sir Walter’s who makes a rather Faustian pact with The Gentleman; Enzo Cilenti (Wolf Hall) as Mr Norrell’s ruthless henchman Childermass; and Vincent Franklin (The Thick of It) as the foppish Drawlight, a fervent supporter of Norrell.
As you might have guessed, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell requires a significant suspension of disbelief – but most people will know that going in. This is another excellent British mini-series that deserves to draw a wider audience than merely fans of the book. If you’re looking for something to fill your Thursday night, give this a go.
Channel: BBC First
Day & time: Thursday, 8.30 p.m. (from 6 August 2015)
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell will be available on DVD from 23 September 2015.
Phil James
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television