I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell about a year ago, which helped a lot in terms of following the story. My girlfriend, who read the book many years ago, found it more confusing.
The book is terrific, wonderfully combining history and fiction, and the author had a wonderful ear for writing of the time.
The movie generally tells the story well, but it can be episodic and at times truncates elements in a way that makes them seem almost extraneous.
The actors are quite good, particularly Marc Warren as "The Gentleman" and Ariyon Bakare as Stephen Black.
While it's all pretty good, the series never quite grabbed me as the book had. There is something a little murky about it all, both in the lighting and in the story. I would have liked it more if it had shown the meticulousness you get in series like Downton Abbey, but the series never quite felt like history and I wish it had.
I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.
The book is terrific, wonderfully combining history and fiction, and the author had a wonderful ear for writing of the time.
The movie generally tells the story well, but it can be episodic and at times truncates elements in a way that makes them seem almost extraneous.
The actors are quite good, particularly Marc Warren as "The Gentleman" and Ariyon Bakare as Stephen Black.
While it's all pretty good, the series never quite grabbed me as the book had. There is something a little murky about it all, both in the lighting and in the story. I would have liked it more if it had shown the meticulousness you get in series like Downton Abbey, but the series never quite felt like history and I wish it had.
I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.