The Ladies of Grace Adieu

The Ladies of Grace Adieu (2006) Susanna Clarke
Illustrated by Charles Vess

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a collection of short stories set in the same world was Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several of the stories revolve around familiar characters–Jonathan Strange, the Raven King, the Duke of Wellington. Others are retellings and reworkings of folk tales, such as Tom Tit Tot, which is written with language and spellings similar to the tone of the original story.

As much as I loved Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell, I found The Ladies of Grace Adieu to be hit and miss. Some of the stories I loved, some I found disappointing. The stories that I liked the most tended to have the same tone as Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell, including footnotes in Tom Brightwind, which was probably my favorite story in the collection.

On Lickerish Hill was one of the stories I found disappointing. I found the language somewhat difficult to read, and the story jumped around a bit. It’s probable she was trying to keep to the tone and feel of the original story, however, “Tom Tit Tot” is not one of my favorite folktales, in that I’ve never particularly liked any of the characters, which meant that a somewhat difficult story was made more difficult, since I disliked most of the characters involved.

But over all, most of the stories were very good, and I enjoyed them. Mr Simonelli had the feel of a folktale, but I couldn’t place it’s source. Antickes and Frets I found especially interesting, as I recently finished a book or Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scotts.

But my favorite story in the collection was Tom Brightwind. Tom Brightwind tells of the friendship between the fairy Tom Brightwind and the Jewish doctor David Montefiore. Like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, this story had footnotes and added to both the story and the characters. Also like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, the story wandered to and fro, with the details about the characters and the world just as interesting as the tale itself.

If you have not read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, then the story Tom Brightwind should give you a good idea of the tone of the book. If you are already a fan of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, then you’ll snatch this book up, because who knows how long it will be before we see another novel by Susanna Clarke, and while several of the stories were only so-so, others had the tone and feel that I enjoyed so much in the novel.
Rating: 6/10

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