Neither Strange nor Norrell

Though not strictly speaking a mystery, many crime-fiction enthusiasts were enchanted by Susanna Clarke’s 2004 debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. If you were one of those who loved the book, you might want to look for Clarke’s freshly published collection of short stories. Or not.

The Washington Post’s Graham Joyce was underwhelmed by the Clarke’s new The Ladies of Grace Adieu:

With all that goodwill and high profile, the only thing the publisher has to worry about is the follow-up, and while they wait for that next book, there’s the scramble to publish, well, pretty much anything by the author to capitalize on what has gone before. And that’s the problem with The Ladies of Grace Adieu.

Still, he didn’t entirely loathe the book:

The prose, though, is consistently flawless and beautiful. Reading Clarke is like inspecting some wonderful antiquated craft, such as marquetry or fine hand embroidery.

Joyce’s Washington Post review can be found here.