SF Signal: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Go to the Movies

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Go to the Movies

SciFi Wire is reporting that a movie adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is in the works. Not surprising. The wildly popular book has made just about every 2004 favorite list. So, has anyone read this? What were your impressions? (And, no, I don't care if your don't do impressions. )

Sidenote and useless trivia from last month's Locus magazine: The title on the cover of the book is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (no period after the Mr), yet everyone keeps referring to the book as Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (with the period). Does anyone know the significance of the missing period? An editing error perhaps? Or does something in the book explain it?

AFAIK, it's a US/UK "two people's separated by a common language" thing. Like color/colour. Take a look at one of the Ace editions of a Alastair Reynolds novel. You should find similar missing periods and the like.

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Thursday March 03, 2005 at 9:58 AM

They are trying to make up for the missing apostrophe from FINNEGANS WAKE.

Posted by Will on Thursday March 03, 2005 at 12:23 PM

It's sitting on my TO READ pile in a rather intimidating way.

Posted by James on Friday March 04, 2005 at 4:09 AM

I went to the bookstore and ordered a copy (as they were sold out). Anybody know if there's going to be a short story collection coming (as, if my memory serves, there were a number of short stories written over the past decade or so)?

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Friday March 04, 2005 at 8:09 AM

Hmmm...you folks usually find this stuff first...one of the stories in the universe is online:

http://www.jonathanstrange.com/copy.asp?s=4&id=10

The book has a website, BTW:

http://www.jonathanstrange.com/

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Friday March 04, 2005 at 10:28 AM

Yep, I linked to the website in the original post. Didn't catch the story, though. Good find!

Posted by John on Friday March 04, 2005 at 10:35 AM

does anyone else think Adrian Brody should be Jonathan Strange?? I think he would be perfect for the role

Posted by elessar on Thursday January 26, 2006 at 9:31 PM

No no, Adrian Brody has got to be Childermass. He's perfect for the part. Brody even resembles the Childermass we see in one of the book's illustrations.

In my version, Brody is Childermass, and Ralph Feinnes is Strange. I have an old bespectacled Joel Grey as Norrel. What'dya think?

Posted by lokstah on Saturday August 19, 2006 at 5:17 PM

This book and the movie will renew interest in 19th Century British novels (and perhaps some 18th century British novels as well) in an unprecedented way because it embraces contemporary reader and audience demand for the sublimely fantastic while remaining solidly footed in literary tradition, and will attract widespread interest in a way the recent spate of uninspired and dreary films drawn from the British literary canon could not. The movie adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will perhaps be the best cinematic favor bestowed upon British literature since Tom Jones.

Posted by Robert on Sunday November 12, 2006 at 2:54 PM

Agh! Adrian Brody as Childermass would be horrible! Ralph Feinnes as Childermass on the other hand *drool*. I'm thinking Ewan McGregor or James McAvoy for Strange. No idea on Norrell, though.

Posted by Gentle-woman with the thistle-down hair on Wednesday January 09, 2008 at 2:43 PM