Susanna Clarke's debut novel, the bestselling
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, came with its own fairy mythology tucked within the story and among its many footnotes. With
The Ladies of Grace Adieu, she fleshes out more of this mythology, telling of ten more stories where the fairy world and human world mixed. Some of them contain characters from the first novel, and others concern historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots. Using the same humor and satire found in
Jonathan Strange, these stories are a welcome addition to her fairy world. The Independent says, "These are stories based on stories, full of wit and conversational shrewdness, for readers who relish the focus away from the human that fantasy and imagination provide. Gracefully and knowingly written, they provide highly entertaining sidelights to a fantastical landscape almost unrivalled in contemporary fiction."
