{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: "The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City" by Susanna Clarke by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review:

"The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City"

by Susanna Clarke

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

Susanna Clarke is the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, published in 2004. It was an enormous, epic fantasy that was the author's debut novel. A worldwide bestseller, that "fairy" tale of alternative history nevertheless felt incomplete because it ended on a cliffhanger with critical threads never achieving resolution in the volume. The author intended a sequel set a few years after the first. More of that world was explored in the author's short story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, released in 2007. Diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, Clarke spent the next decade all but unable to write. During that time, she reported that the fate of the novel's sequel is still “a long way off” and may never be finished. 

Let me state for the record that I would follow Susanna Clarke anywhere, literarily speaking, especially if it's back into the world she created in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. A new installment is cause for instant purchase of the hardcover in this house. "The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City" is a 96-page novella released October 2026 by Bloomsbury Publishing that introduces the origins of the Raven King (aka John Uskglass--magician and ruler of Northern England). Written as a fable, historical fantasy, as well as in the tone of a children's story, this book is physically similar to her previous release, "The Wood at Midwinter" (not related to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell). Gorgeously illustrated and gilded, this edition has to be seen in hardcover format to be truly appreciated. The fabulous Victoria Sawdon illustrated it, as she did "Midwinter"--and again, she didn't get her name on the cover! A crime! Every single page spread has unique border drawings with full-pages ones between the few chapters. I recommend reading the story, then going back and carefully studying the artwork. 

"The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City" takes place seven hundred years prior to the main volume and is essentially summed up in its very odd title. Taking place amidst real-life figures, settings, and historic events in the twelfth century, a bishop risks all to ensure his own status and well-being when human and fairy vie for control of Northern England. 

While the initial chapter was little more than backdrop landing on the page like autumn leaves scattered in the wind without perspective, subsequent chapters set up Ranulf as the lead character who, with his unblinking ambition and unwavering know-how, swept me into a morsel of a tale that one Goodreads reviewer aptly called "a captivating little story, full of the peculiar magic and political maneuvering (or political magic and peculiar maneuvering) that makes Clarke's fictional world so interesting". That same reviewer also called this "posh edition for full-novel price" a "foil-edged symptom of Bloomsbury's impatience for another Susanna Clarke book". 

Honestly, I can't blame the publisher. I'm so hungry for more of this world, I grabbed and gobbled this one as soon as it hit the plate. Unfortunately, I instantly wanted more because "The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City" isn't really a story so much as a peek-hole glimpse of the beginning of one. What I really hunger for is for the story gifted to readers twenty-two years ago in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell to be resolved--if not properly than at least satisfactorily. We have been fed a few tidbits of late. These small projects are clearly more manageable, considering the author's condition (which I fully sympathize with) and it gives me hope that, though I don't expect to ever get another massive volume like the first, perhaps a final, uncomplicated chapter to round out the jagged edges of that plot will eventually be served. Alas, what a holiday feast that would be! 

Oh, if you're interested, "The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City" includes a long essay from Clarke detailing her love of childish things, which is what led her to fantasy fiction in the first place. Also, do a search for the author on this blog to find out what's currently available and to read my reviews of her previous works. In the meantime, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is calling to me for a long overdue re-read. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series. Visit her website here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/