Brynn, did you see my post in Natter? The actual source (surprised the hell out of me -- I could've sworn it was Wilde himself) was his lover Bosie Douglas.

Oh, well, that is surprising. Thanks for the research all. Once again, Buffistas are the ultimate Scoobies.

Darn I despretely want to talk about the book! So, heh, spoilers for bits of the whole thing.

Like the adorable way that the footnotes tell their own amusing story!

Also, I am totally suprised that with the ending no one has written any Childermass/Vinculus slash. It's such a cute theif like relationship they have at the end.

And was any one scandalized that Jonathan left his wife behind?! Because, towards the end He went to all the trouble of getting her to out of the fairy realm, only to leave her to work with Norrell at God nows where?

Did any one else feel severe pride during the meeting of the new Learned Society of Yorkshire Magicians, when the gentlewoman was the only magician out of 5 sibblings that wanted to bother with the group? Heh. I loved the way her father defended her, despite the fact he thought they were all idiots.

I'm finally reading HHGttG. It's like the Buffistas wrote it. I can't stop laughing. That is all.

It broke me to think that after all that Jonathan and his wife could not be together.

I need a sequel. NOW.

I need a sequel. NOW.

Me too. After the first 100 pages I literally got sucked into that book. Harry Potter for adults, my ass. I love HP books for what they are, but the two aren't even in the same league.

No, they're really different.

A friend of mine has Jonathan Strange on CD and listened to it while she was doing her long-ass commute. I asked, "how did they handle the footnotes?" She says, "just said, 'footnote,' and read them." I'm intrigued, and want to do the whole thing over again, this time in audio.

Who is reading it?

Simon Prebble

I want to do both.

Harry Potter for adults, my ass.

If I may say, what the fuck? The two universes couldn't be entirely more different!

In Mr. Norrell's world practical magic is extremely suppressed in any one other than, well, Mr. Norrell and Mr. Strange. And in Harry Potter, well, there are kids running around, casting spells with wands as their only conduit, and speaking in specific langueges, that all fit into the disturbingly wonderous canon of J.K. Rowling.

I mean, for the love of the Raven King! Dude, there's nothing compatable between him and Merlin! I see no similarity other than being powerful men!

They say that Ms. Clarke is working on a sequel but, since Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell took, when, 7, 8, 10 years to write (I know it was more than 6), we might not get to read it any time soon.

The spellcraft in the book strikes me as vibrantly similar to the spells in texts and in Romanian folklore. The intricate connections between the powers comanded by nature, and the powers men fool themselves into thinking they can control, astound me in the ease of believability that command.

The way the story is brilliantly written, (which oddly reminds me of a non-serial Dickens) allows one to accept the words as a well accepted piece of history. It feels entirely as if you are a white elephant in the room, not spoken of or to, but still acknowledged to be there with the characters and accepted. The information is given gradually and the characters prove themselves into a stunning series of climaxes!

Also, who else is in love with Stephen Black, AKA the Nameless King? I think he's one of the most fascinating characters of English literature I've stumbled accross. A man I would not immediatly notice on the street, until his presence demanded attention. A king among slaves, and a saint among beggars.

As much as I aadore the series, there ain't no Stephen in Harry Potter. And there's certainly no Nameless Fairy Gentlemen, like Lost Hopes ex-ruler, now is there?