1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. However, scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains — the reclusive and skillful Mr Norrell (Eddie Marsan). His displays of magic soon thrill the nation. In London, he raises the beautiful Lady Pole (Alice Englert) from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.
Soon the cautious and fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of
another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange (Bertie Carvel). While
trying to secure his beloved Arabella’s (Charlotte Riley) hand in marriage, he
meets a vagabond, the magician of Threadneedle Street, Vinculus (Paul
Kaye, Game of Thrones, Stella), who tells him he is destined to be a
great magician. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very
antithesis of Norrell. A dangerous battle ensues between the two great
men. Their obsessions and secret dabbling’s with the dark arts will
cause more trouble than they can imagine.
In an NPR interview, Eddie Marsan describes the show and his character in this way:
Well it is a funny show, that's the thing ... Because Jonathan Strange
is sexy and cool and does really admirable and exciting magic. And Mr.
Norrell doesn't. Mr. Norrell is like a librarian trying to do magic ...
That's the story of my career, really. I stand next to good looking men
and make them look better!
You can see the trailer here as well as the first episode here. The dark previews remind me a little of Showtime's Penny Dreadful (remember, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was first published in 1818). And while I have never read the 2004 novel of the same name, this may encourage me to do so.
It seems to summer will be just as full as the rest of the year. No time for catching up on the old shows.
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