“Why is there no more magic done in England?”
The Society of Yorkshire Magicians doesn’t think this is the right question.
You know, the wait is the worst part. With arms raised, it’s like waiting for a summoning spell to take effect and doing it over and over and still nothing. Days became weeks, months become years, but no effect is forthcoming. Half driven to madness, you try to recall long forgotten magic – magic so old no one remembers, except for the stones, the trees and of course, the raven.
Finally, the long wait is over. The television adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s masterpiece about 19th century magicians who turn mad (deliberately) and faeries doing malevolent things to the object of their affection (also deliberately) has come. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell with all the idiosyncrasies of magicians, are set to bring back magic to television!
If you haven’t read the book, I suggest you start rummaging for copies in your local book store because it is expected to be one of the biggest release for the BBC in 2015.
The TV adaptation has 7 episodes to cover a 900 page book (yes it’s a hefty volume), there’s bound to be pieces lost in translation and anyone who wants to know the full account of a fantastic story must consult the source material before everything gets digested on TV.
It’s been 10 years since its International Bestseller release yet until now no one has attempted to create anything like it, or no one was able to make an original piece that conjures a convincing (and highly practical) fantasy world as that made by Susanna Clarke. Nowadays, we’ve put dystopia and science fiction in a barely respectable position (or at least a profitable position), but we haven’t seen that happening to other genre fiction such as serious fantasy (if we exclude the force of ambition of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and JK Rowling’s biggest hit).
Is Susanna Clarke the practical author to do the job? We’ll have to wait perhaps a few years to measure the amount of space it will occupy in the shelves of literary canon but the TV adaptation will be a start.
Jonathan Strange is will air in Spring 2015 on BBC One with Bertie Carvel as Jonathan Strange and Eddie Marsan as Mr Norrell so keep your eyes peeled!
Meanwhile, you can like the Facebook page dedicated to the TV adaptation here.
Kokay lives and works in Manila, Philippines as writer/producer/director and graphic artist for television. In between breaks and during the many boring hours stuck in Manila traffic, she can be observed suspended in disbelief. She’s currently writing a series of short stories for a monster living inside an old cupboard.
www.ManilaPop.wordpress.com Instagram: @kokay.m Twitter: @im_kokay
