Reading the Chunksters discussion

I will start this one now too. It covers chapters 61 to 65, as events approach the denouement.

Chapter summaries (as always beware spoilers):

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61. Tree speaks to Stone; Stone speaks to Water

Norrell has lost popular support over Strange’s book, but when reports come from Italy about Strange’s madness, things change. An Englishman describes seeing the column of darkness moving to Padua and Strange becomes a figure of horror. This does little to benefit Norrell, whose government work dries up. The Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral asks for Norrell’s help finding a grave a family wants exhumed, but Norrell refuses unless he is told the woman’s name, which the Dean refuses to divulge. Lascelles and Norrell agree that these are worrying developments. Lascelles writes articles denouncing Strange. He reviews Norrell’s magic and suggests improvements. They have been working on an invisible wall that would shield Britain from its enemies. Lascelles suggests marking it with beacons to remind people of their work. On a journey back from Brighton Norrell sees ravens or crows in large numbers, which arrange themselves into Uskglass’s banner. He sees puddles reflecting the sky. Norrell starts to think there is too much magic in England. In London Childermass is waiting for them, wanting Norrell to see a letter about a magical event in Nottinghamshire in which a child was saved. Lascelles sees a summons from Lord Liverpool. Childermass says his letter is more important than Liverpool’s, and pulls Norrell into an ante-chamber. The report on the miracle mentions spells Norrell believed lost for hundreds of years. The magician was a young man who barely knew the spells, but cited “tree speaks to stone, stone speaks to water”. The door starts shaking and Norrell’s servants say his coach is waiting so Norrell and Lascelles depart. Norrell looks worried, and Lascelles denounces Childermass. They find Lord Liverpool in his study with the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth. They have a number of letters about magic being performed. Norrell knows nothing, but Liverpool does not believe him. Spells are being performed by magicians with no magical training or knowledge. Sidmouth accuses Norrell of treason, but he still denies all knowledge. Lascelles suggests that Strange is behind it. Liverpool protests that Strange is in Venice. Lascelles says Norrell thinks one of Strange’s experiments may have gone wrong, or it may be deliberate. Norrell murmurs that it is his doing. He is asked if Strange is involved and says yes. Liverpool gives him a commission to prevent Strange returning to England. Norrell and Lascelles return home and go to the library, where Childermass is waiting. Norrell says he needs a spell which no longer works, and Childermass suggests Stokesey’s Vitrefaction. Norrell tries it and things turn too glass. Norrell says that Strange has brought magic back to England. He also worries that he cannot stop Strange returning to England via the King’s Roads. Childermass proposes that they return to Hurtfew. A letter is brought in announcing that Drawlight is back in England.

62. I came to them in a cry that broke the silence of a winter wood

At a crossroads by a wood, Drawlight is waiting. There is no horse or carriage there and he has been waiting some time. A horse and rider approach. Lascelles appears, and Drawlight complains about how long he has waited, but Lascelles tells him he has nothing better to do. Drawlight complains that he must perform Strange’s tasks. Lascelles takes him into the trees, and they come to a clearing. Drawlight tells Lascelles about Strange’s messages, and the box for Childermass. Lascelles asks for the box and Drawlight reluctantly produces it. He also gives Lascelles the message about trees, stones and water. Drawlight starts to flee and Lascelles shoots him twice, the second time in the head. He sees a small shoot emerging from Drawlight’s eye, and ivy starts winding around him. The trees hide Drawlight’s body. Lascelles finds his horse and returns to the road.

63. The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache

Norrell is expecting Lascelles, who has been away for 28 hours. Childermass tells him Lascelles is no use if Strange returns. Lascelles appears, dishevelled and stained. He tells them Strange is coming. He denies having seen Drawlight but has a letter. They start the journey to Yorkshire. Norrell looks into a shop window and sees three women. A raven flies between them. Norrell is unsettled by Lascelles’ excitement. Norrell says that Strange is a bigger threat than Buonaparte. Lascelles says he has left the letter in London but will tell Norrell what was in it. He mentions that Strange has a finger in a box. Strange’s message is that he is coming. Childermass addresses Lascelles and tells him the servant Lucas told him there was a letter from Drawlight saying what he saw in Venice. Lascelles again says the letter is in London. Childermass suggests that he can take a horse and fetch it. Lascelles changes his story, saying he left the letter at an inn in Chatham. Childermass confronts Norrell, saying he should not have let Lascelles leave London without the letter, and does not trust what Lascelles says. The next day is snowy and windy and the coach struggles to make progress. The servant Davey who has been driving the coach leaves them, exhausted, when they reach Tuxford. They stop just beyond Doncaster, and Childermass rides away across a field filled with ravens. Norrell says he has taken the fairy road. Childermass reappears, and says it is true that the paths to Faerie are open again. He tells them what he has seen, saying he came to a tower, guarded by a young man who told him he was the Champion of the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart, who challenged him to fight, but Childermass retreated. Lascelles accuses him of cowardice, and says he could go instead. Childermass warns Lascelles that he is in Uskglass’s kingdom and should watch what he says. Childermass says he has waited for Uskglass to return all his life. They eventually arrive at Hurtfew just before midnight. Next day Lascelles asks if there were magical duels in the past. Norrell says it is hard to be sure. Lascelles is surprised by Hurtfew, finding it modern, elegant and comfortable but easy to get lost in. Norrell tells Lascelles he should not visit the library alone. Norrell spends his time in the library avoiding both Lascelles and Childermass. His spells to see what Strange is doing have stopped working. Letters arrive from Lord Liverpool and his ministers complaining of more magical events. Childermass lays out cards, and Norrell does not stop him. Lascelles warns that Childermass is reading his cards. He tells Lascelles that he has a message for himself, which Lascelles denies. Childermass lays out the cards again. Norrell wishes Strange was with them, and asks Childermass what the cards say. Childermass says they say that Lascelles is a liar and a thief, and there is more than a message, and he has an object of great value meant for Childermass. Lascelles assaults Childermass, pins him down and draws a knife across his face. Lascelles asks Norrell to dismiss Childermass. Norrell tells Childermass he must go. Childermass tells him he has made the wrong choice, as usual. Childermass returns to his room, cleans himself up and examines the box he has managed to take from Lascelles. He collects his possessions and packs a case. He then remembers his pen, ink and memo book are still in the drawing room, but decides it is too late to go back. The servants meet him in the stables. He tells Lucas that when Strange arrives they should help Strange and Norrell. Davey embraces him. Lucas gives him a bottle of Norrell’s best claret. Childermass starts to ride away and senses magic. A patch of night sky hangs above the abbey, and the constellations in it look wrong. Childermass gallops away. At Hurtfew, all of the clocks strike together. Lascelles asks what the sounds is. Norrell says that “Jonathan Strange is here”. He says a word and the clocks stop. Norrell asks for locks. Lascelles suggests pistols, but Norrell says these are no good. Norrell gets lost and says that Strange has broken his labyrinth and created another. The clocks all strike midnight. Norrell closes his eyes and starts walking a new path, and finds the library door. He addresses Lucas but finds himself alone. The voices of Lascelles and the servants fade into silence.

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Chapter summaries continued (I put so much detail in that I hit the comment size limit!)
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64. Two versions of Lady Pole

Lascelles has just seen Norrell walk through a wall, which is now solid. The servants see that the layout of the house is back to normal. Lascelles sits alone feeling uneasy. He joins the servants in the kitchen, who are discussing what to do. Lucas says they should leave, as there presence is doing Norrell no good and may harm him. He asks for Lascelles’ opinion which he declines to give. They discuss where to go, either to local friends and relations or other farm on the Hurtfew estate. Lucas says it would be wicked to leave the animals in the permanent darkness. They depart, and Lascelles follows at a distance, not wanting to be left alone in the house. They see two bridges where there had been only one, and a servant says that one is a fairy bridge. Lascelles steps onto it. The servants look back at the black pillar. Childermass rides to Starecross Hall and asks for the Master. Segundus comes down in a dressing gown. Childermass asks if he is ill, Childermass blames long proximity to magic. Segundus worries about Norrell, but Childermass says he has too many problems of his own to care. Childermass says that he believes Lady Pole’s illness is due to magic. He says he has something the lady has long misses, and asks Segundus to take him to her. He swears “by Bird and Book” that it will do her no harm. Segundus says his servant Charles will take them, and closes his eyes, and a vision of another house appears. Childermass is affected badly, and Segundus suggests he should close his eyes, and takes his arm. He hears Segundus talking to a woman, whose voice seems to come from two directions. She says she knows Childermass is Norrell’s servant. He opens his eyes and sees two women, one in the house in Yorkshire and a fainter one in the large labyrinthine house he saw on the way. The second woman looks at Childermass with hatred. Childermass persuades her to talk and says he will understand her if she starts speaking madness. Segundus says he has been noting her stories and they are fairy lore. Childermass says she is under a muffling spell. He tells her to give him her left hand. He tries to fit the finger but nothing happens. Segundus suggests finding Strange, but Childermass says they are both magicians and England is full of magic. Childermass suggests a spell and Segundus does the magic. The finger flows into the hand. The corridors disappear and the two women become one. Lady Pole rises from her chair and shows animation and fire. She curses her enchantment “for the sake of a wicked man’s career”. Childermass advises Segundus to let her speak. She tells them she has been dead within and almost dead without, and that Mrs Strange is similarly afflicted. She tells of the balls and the handicap that stopped her and Stephen speaking of them. Lady Pole wants to write to the papers to expose Strange and Norrell. She says Strange is the worse of the two because he betrayed his wife. Childermass rises and says he is going to find Strange and Norrell and offer his assistance to free Lady Strange and Stephen. Lascelles walks into a wood and finds the tower. He sees that the trees are full of serpents that seem to be eating corpses. He sees the pale young man Childermass described, who has no memory of their conversation. Lascelles says he is there to fight for England and challenges the young man to a duel with pistols. The young man misses, and Lascelles’ shot pierces his breast.

65. The ashes, the pearls, the counterpane and the kiss

As the servants are leaving Hurtfew, Stephen is dressing in Harley Street. His chamber is full of rare and wonderful things. The gentleman with thistle-down hair appears and tells him Strange is back in England, and that he saw him on the King’s Roads wrapped in darkness. He fears it will be his end and that they should kill him. Stephen says Strange is probably there to take revenge on Norrell, and is not interested in the gentleman, who still wants to kill someone and suggests Sir Walter or the King. He says he will call on the North Wind to show him the person who is the biggest threat to him. They find themselves on a snowy moor, which Stephen thinks is the country around Starecross. A horse and cart approaches. The gentleman tells Stephen he will tell him his true name, and tells him a convoluted tale of how he found the last traces of Stephen’s mother’s last breath. Stephen laments the number of people killed in this quest. The unknown person approaches in rags. Stephen says he recognises Vinculus. Vinculus addresses Stephen as King. The gentleman tells Vinculus they will kill him, but Vinculus warns he will be hard to kill, and says the Book will save him. The gentleman turns away and laments that thieves have taken Lady Pole from him. He asks for rope, and the sleet and snow form one for him. A tree appears and the gentleman proposes hanging Vinculus from it, which they do, and Vinculus’s neck breaks. Stephen weeps and tells the gentleman about Vinculus’s disfiguration. The gentleman says he will cast a spell on Lady Pole so that she dies in a month or two.

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I've had to put this book off for now. Hope I can get back to it this winter! I'm about to buy a house for the first time ever in my life.

Good luck with that!

I finished the book. This is not the genre I usually read but as I said I liked Piranesi. I liked this book also and rated it 4 stars.

On second thought, I think all mythology is fantasy, so I have been reading them since my student days, just the imagination changed with the author.

We are talking about Rushdie.... he said in an article that fairy tales are necessary for civilisation because they tell children to choose between good and bad and consequences of what we are doing..... I agree with him and I think fairy tales are not meant just for children.

I was a teenager when I read all of Harry Potter series, so its impressions are permanent, I still reread them. There is not just story and hocus pocus but many messages, as Dumbbledor says there are always two ways to choose one is easy and other is right.. I never forget that That is what fairy tales teach our children.

I'll set up the week 18 theead soon so we can discuss the ending.

Lascelles! Quite the demon! Wow he takes no prisoners. Meanwhile, the proliferation of magic by the untrained - is that Strange's doing or the fairies? Will Lady Pole and Arabella be revived or allowed to truly die? Many questions linger. Above all, I hope that Strange defeats Norrell soundly and that Stephen truly does become King!