John Uskglass and the Restoration of English Magic

“I have never heard of him,” said Childermass. Vinculus looked at him with amusement, “Off course not. You have lived your life in the Mayfair magician’s pocket. You only know what he knows. “So! Said Childermass, stung. “That is not so very trifling is it? Norrel is a clever man and Strange another. They have their faults, as other men do, but their achievements are still remarkable. Make no mistake; I am John Uskglass’s man; or would be, if he were here. But you must admit that the restoration of English magic is their work, not his.”“ Their work, scoffed Vinculus! "Theirs? Do you still not understand? They are the spell of John Uskglass’s doing. That is all they have ever been. And he is doing it now!”

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, Suzanna Clarke

Post #51

Ravings of an Old Fool or a Prophecy from the Raven King

Vinculus, the street magician of London, delivered these remarks to Jonathan Strange while he was traveling through the country.

“Two magicians shall appear in England.
The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me;
The first shall be governed by thieves and murders;
The second shall conspire at his own destruction.
The first shall bury his heart in the dark wood beneath the snow,
yet shall feel ache;
The second shall see his dearest possession in the enemy’s hand…”

Are these the ravings of lunatic or a prophecy of what is to come?

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke, 2004

Book Murder

“Why did Vinculus hate his father? Why did he rejoice when his father was hanged? Robert Findhelm was quite sure that the book was destroyed-that is plain. Nan¹ told me Clegg² had been hung for stealing a book, but Robert Findhelm had brought the charge of book-murder against Clegg. Clegg was the last man in England to be hanged for book-murder³.”

January-February 1812

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke

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¹Nan was one of Vinculus’s ex-wife’s
²Clegg was Vinculus’s biological father.
³Book-murder was a late addition to English magical law. The willful destruction of a book of magic merited the same punishment as a murder of a Christian.

The Ravings of Vinculus

Vinculus is the magician of Threadneedle Street, a theatrical magician. He has broken into Mr. Norrel’s home and has found his way to Mr. Norrel’s library. He startles Mr. Norrel with the following fragmented quote from the book of the Raven King.

“I reached out my hand, thought and memory flew out of my enemies heads like a flock of starlings; my enemies crumpled like empty sacks.

I came to them out of the mist and rain. I came to them in dreams at midnight; I came to them in a flock of ravens that filled a northern sky at dawn. When they thought themselves safe I came to them in a cry that broke the silence of a winter wood.”

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke