The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

Some of the stories such as “On Lickerish Hill” ring with folkloric familiarity, while other stories such as “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” reference the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Part of the book’s charm is Charles Vess’ illustrations, which are delicate and whimsical, but never detract from the often darker situations Clarke suggests in her stories. The Ladies of Grace Adieu & Other Stories is a collection of eight short stories published in various places from 1996 to 2004 and finally published as a collection in 2006. If you like 19th Century literature and you like fairy tales you should most definitely take the time to peruse Clarke’s novel and short stories.

Likewise, I am sure that she has not only read these authors but has done a very close reading as every page is loaded with appropriate decorum and etiquette and a beautiful use of syntax. Clarke is not historical fiction in the sense of writing in a fairly modern style in a historical envionrment, but it would certainly not surprise me to hear that Clarke has read most everything by Radcliffe, Austen, Sterne, Inchbald, Thackeray, Fielding, Richardson, and so forth and has loved every single one of these authors. The one aspect of Clarke’s works that I am sure people grapple with is her use of an early 19th Century literary tradition. When her novel first came out, I remember glancing at a review, which described the book as an adult Harry Potter - this could not be more wrong.Īs I also previously mentioned, a lot of people dislike Clarke’s works (and I was certainly one of them), but I have located a definite charm in this short story collection. At the same time historical fiction does not seem like an apt description either. Clarke usually appears to be listed under fantasy, but despite the fantastical notions of her works it still does not seem an appropriate genre to place her in. Norrell, which came out in 2005 and received quite a few awards and quite a bit of criticism. Clarke is perhaps best known for her lengthy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. I just so happened to finish it on this rather chilly, autumn afternoon.

Yesterday I mentioned that one of the books I was working my way through was Susanna Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories. Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: charles vess, fairies, fantasy, jonathan strange & mr norrell, ladies of grace adieu, quotes, short stories, susanna clarke “Above all remember this: that magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger.”

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke