Two magicians shall appear in Engl&. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon & centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nations past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London he raises a beautiful woman from the dead & summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young handsome & daring Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England & France. & their own obsessions & secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.