The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories ~Susanna Clarke
–published 2006
–235 pages, Bloomsbury
–4.75/5 stars
“Magic, madam, is like wine and, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk.”
It is a foregone conclusion that you dear readers are every bit like myself–there are books on your shelves that you had every intention of getting to the moment that you purchased, or were given, them but instead they have languished unread. And then that fateful day arrives in which you gently slide the book off the shelf, turn back the cover, and you find yourself swept away. As you close the last page you wonder aloud, “How could I possibly have waited so long to read this book?”.
Such was my experience with Susanna Clarke’s collection of short stories, The Ladies of Grace Adieu.
For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Clarke, her debut magnum opus, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a novel 10 years in the making, arrived on American shelves in September of 2004 to much fanfare. Jonathan Strange’s intoxicating language won the hearts of many fans and won Susanna Clarke the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2005. Neil Gaiman hailed the work as “unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years”. I must embarrassingly admit to having read the first 250 pages or so, delight at each word whirling through my brain, and yet (as I am wont to do) ended up setting it aside because of other reading distractions and have not gotten back to it again. I think I have an unreasonable fear of large books!
Based on my attraction to Ms. Clarke’s writing style I ordered the special autographed edition of The Ladies of Grace Adieu. It arrived in November of 2006 and I promptly purchased the regular store edition as well, mostly because I really liked the pink coloring on the flowers and the raggedy edged pages.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a wonderfully illustrated set of short stories adorned with artwork by the incomparable Charles Vess. You can see examples of his finished works for this collection here. As with Jonathan Strange, reviews seemed to be pretty mixed on Susanna Clarke’s short story collection. While I have read far more who have loved both than have hated them, her works are certainly ones which engender both critical praise and harsh criticism. To add to that, short stories, inexplicably, are not everyone’s cup of tea. It is a prejudice I admit to not understanding in the slightest because I have always treasured the format.
The conceit of The Ladies of Grace Adieu is that it is a collection of stories based in a world in which Faerie is every bit as real as the common world. Like Tolkien and others who have followed, Clarke’s works seek to establish a mythology and folklore for England based around the true existence of a magical realm. This volume begins with a fake introduction by Professor James Sutherland, Director of Sidhe studies at the University of Aberdeen. He proceeds to describe how one should approach the eight stories in this collection. From there one progresses to the titular story, a vignette set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
As the collection progresses one finds enchanting stories of strong, determined women, men befriended by faeries of renown, and tales in which the creatures of this magical realm trick and befuddle mankind. Included also are more light and easy-going stories that “describe the somewhat easier, less fraught relationship with fairies and magic which our English and Scottish ancestors once enjoyed”, a story set in the world created by Neil Gaiman for Stardust, and a very intriguing historical narrative concerning Mary, Queen of Scots.
Throughout all Clarke’s language delights. I personally felt as if I was reading stories written in the early part of the nineteenth century. More than once I compared the style to that of Jane Austen, most especially in one of my favorite stories of the collection, Mr. Simonelli or The Fairy Widower, whose introducing letter reads every bit like the letter Mr. Darcy leaves with Elizabeth Bennett after she has hurled accusations at him. The story then proceeds in diary format with characters named from a variety of Jane Austen novels and situations too similar at times to be anything but an homage to her work.
This was a collection that was over all too soon for my liking. Clarke presents a series of magical vignettes that are unrelated and yet give a feeling of cohesion as they are set in relatively the same mythological place and time. I devoured each story wanting to go on to the next as soon as I possibly could. I have no illusions that this is the kind of thing everyone would like. I myself am partial to stories that have a feeling of ancestry to them and Clarke masterfully presents these in a way that feels as if these were the works discovered from long-dead authors instead of tales written by a contemporary writer. And as I mentioned earlier, I am quite fond of short stories. They don’t engage in the same way that a novel does and yet those that are well-written are no less engaging, just different. There is an artistry to crafting an enchanting short story that I admire and Susanna Clarke proves herself a worthy purveyor of the medium.
I highly recommend this collection. It is a perfect fairy tale selection for the Once Upon a Time II Challenge and one I will certainly find myself reading again, mostly likely aloud to my darling wife.
I’m reading Jonathan Strange right now and loving it. Thanks to your great review, I will be picking up The Ladies of Grace Adieu to read sometime later this summer!
I absolutely adored Jonathan Strange and had to buy myself a second copy as I needed to pass it on so others could share it, but knew I’d want to read it again! There is a beautiful copy of The Ladies of Grace Adieu waiting for me at home, and after your excellent review I cannot wait to get back and devour it!
Glad to hear you liked this one. I haven’t read Jonathan Stranger either (unreasonable fear of chunksters). I almost picked this one up on audio the other day. Do you think it’d make for an equally good listen or is it better read?
ever since I looked at the cover I’ve wanted to read it. now I know it’s gonna be a great read, too:)
thank you
That’s funny – I’m reading (listening to, actually) Jonathan Strange right now, too. I can see why you put it down partway through. As much as I’m enjoying her use of language, and the evocative atmosphere of certain parts of the book, I’m finding it not terribly gripping at this point. I think my problem is that I don’t find myself really caring about any of the characters yet (I’m about a third of the way through it), Nymeth told me she had trouble getting into it, too, but that she really enjoyed it after a while. I’m sticking with it with that in mind, and I’m hoping for a good payoff! Not that I dislike it – it’s just that if I’m going to spend that much time with such a long book, I want to love it!
The short stories sound intriguing – thanks for the review!
Yup. The pink looks fantastic on the cover! It’s amazing how a bit of color can draw us right into a book.
I finished Jonathan Strange, only out of sheer will power. One of my quirks is that I have to finish a book I start. Can get tedious with some books. While I enjoyed the language and the overall story, I felt the pacing was a bit sluggish for my taste.
That’s why I’m so intrigued with these short stories. Clarke’s writing style is very appealing to me and I love short stories. Always have. I think it takes a lot of talent to draw a reader into the characters and story so quickly and then wrap things up satisfactorily. So, one more book to add to my never-shrinking list of “Gotta Read”. Thanks!
Hmmm, that’s kinda funny that you set Johathan Strange aside, at just about the same point I stopped reading it… I’m not sure if the size was daunting or if it is like Rachel said… slow. and I can only do slow for so long without falling asleep! (heh).. anyway.. like you, one day I will get back to it, I’ve promised myself this…
I myself don’t care for short stories..and it seems funny that someone who would write such and excessively looooong book would then write short stories! lol…
Deslily: For me it wasn’t slow at all…or rather I should say that I really enjoy that kind of pacing with novels when I am in love with the language and can feel something bubbling under the surface of what is going on. I used to be much, much worse about this than I am currently–I used to get very distracted by the next shiny object (i.e. book) that came across my path so no matter how much I was enjoying what I was reading I would, with good intentions to keep up with both, start reading the shiny new book. I used to have 5 or 6 books going at once and over the last year I’ve tried to break myself of the habit.
For me I can say in all honesty that there was absolutely nothing negative about my experience with Jonathan Strange…I was totally absorbed…the biggest trouble was lugging the hardback everywhere. If I recall I was working a lot of evening shifts back then too and started taking smaller books with me. Again, I just got ADD about it and got distracted.
That is really funny, Deslily.
Rachael: As I said to Deslily, I am trying very hard to be a one-book-at-a-time person and so far it is working out okay. I’m actually doing much better at it than I anticipated I would. I certainly cannot speak to the pacing of the book as a whole since I only read a portion of it, but as I mentioned above, I was loving it when I stopped around page 250.
Darla: I’m not sure if I would enjoy listening to Jonathan Strange. For me the joy of reading these type of stories is getting off track with the footnotes she includes and seeing the words and the beauty of the way her sentences, etc. are constructed.
Valentina: I look forward to your thoughts on it.
Andi: ‘Unreasonable Fear of Chunksters’ is a sound clinical diagnosis for me! 🙂 I would love to listen to this one now that I’ve read it, but Charles Vess’ illustrations and the couple of stories that have footnotes make me feel like it would be much more enjoyable to experience this in its written form first. I enjoy audio books and yet there have been many times that friends have listened to stories that I have loved and haven’t been as captivated by them and I have to believe part of it is that listening to a story while out and about is not entirely as engaging as sitting down to read one.
Mariel: I can relate. Someone else read this already for this challenge…Nymeth maybe?…and I was so stirred up by the review that I determined that Ladies was going to be my next book read. I am glad I was motivated to do so.
Traci: I am certainly more motivated to return to Jonathan Strange at this point. I had forgotten how wonderful a writer Ms. Clarke is.
While I’m a little bit familiar with Susanna Clarke (I’ve been shamefully avoiding Jonathan Strange for a while now – I’ve had a bit of chunkster-phobia lately), I wasn’t aware of this story collection at all – you’ve made it sound like both volumes need to go on the must-read-now pile . . . this challenge is proving to be a pretty effective antidote to all of the bookish maladies that I’ve been afflicted with lately – Thanks!
I thought you had read and reviewed this one already! I’m losing it! I love this book…it’s one of the “treasures” of my collection. The stories are amazing and like you said, they remind me old victorian fairy tales. In fact, the book itself reminds me of a victorian fairy tale book with it’s antiqued pages, canvased cover, vintage looking illustrations by Vess, and wonderful stories by Clarke. I think my favorite was the Rumplestiltskin-esque story…not the best story in the collection but I’ve always enjoyed retellings of that tale.
Okay, you really had me wanting to dig this out of my pile immediately, as in Right This Second…that is until you mentioned Jane Austen. Now I’m afraid to. Ever the heathen, aren’t I?
This has been on my “must read” list for an age. Yet somehow it remains unread. Unpurchased even. Shocking, but true 🙂
I will get to it. Some day. Soon.
Debi: I wouldn’t let the Jane Austen bit throw you. I was reminded of lines from the Jane Austen films I like in that one particular story more than Jane Austen lines that I have read (although they are similar). You won’t be put off by the language in this one.
Chris: I cannot believe I didn’t describe the book itself more. I agree with you totally. Its slightly aged appearance and the way it is crafted is just lovely. I loved holding it in my hands as I read it because I could feel the texture of the book and the lettering on my fingers. It was a pleasure to read on so many levels. I had posted pics when I bought this back in 06, but never read nor reviewed it.
Ken: I agree, I certainly get great reading ideas from these challenges. As I mentioned in a comment above, it was another challenge participant who lit the fire under my butt to grab this and get to reading.
Fence: Perhaps your unpurchased status makes up for me having immediately purchase two copies. 🙂
Ah yes!
I am reading Jonathan Strange now and am pleasantly surprised. What a writer!
I have to catch up in a big hurry – it’s exciting that she has a new book out – or not so new, apparently, from the copyright date. It’s just me that is out of touch.
“Could you kill a man with magic?”
“I suppose you *could* kill a man by magic, but no gentleman would.”
I forgot to mention it and you cannot really see it in the picture, but the collectible edition is a light pink with inset flower patterns like the art on the book. You can see more detailed pics towards the end of this post. You can also see pictures there of our dog Razz. It has been almost a year since we lost him and he is still missed.
I bought this one just a week ago, funnily enough, after seeing it blogged about in several places. After your fantastic review I now cannot wait to read it!
I’ve been eyeing her books for a long time. Sounds like it’s time to read them. I completely understand your feelings about the thickness of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, though. That’s why I haven’t taken it on yet, but I need to do it anyway.
I have to read Jonathan Strange this year (on my challenge list) but now you’ve made me think I should pick this one up too! drat! oh well, at the rate I’m reading, it can be for next year’s fairy tale challenge!! Thanks for the review, it sounds very good, fun, faerie and everything I love….and I love your copy.
I can’t believe I’ve left this one sitting on my shelf untouched for so long. I’m really looking forward to reading it – even more so after your review!
This is on my list for me to read this year already. I loved Jonathan Strange last year and am looking forward to reading more from Clarke. I only recently started reading short stories and I can’t believe it took me so long as there are some great short stories of fairy tales out there. This definitely sounds like another one.
How very cool!! I may be in need of another book of short stories soon!! I’m one of those people that has Jonathan Strange on my shelf here, but still haven’t picked it up!! I don’t know why. I’ve heard such good things about it!
I struggled with Jonathan Strange initially but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I think that because I knew what her writing style was like, I was expecting it more in Ladies of Grace Adieu and as such didn’t have any hangups about it. Liked it a lot and will eventually purchase it, I should think.
Then again, I also like nineteenth century novels 😉
Provided blogger lets me upload pictures, you might want to check out my blog post today. It is in honour of the Once Upon a Time Challenge… You might enjoy it. 🙂
Okay, blogger cooperated:
http://myreadingbooks.blogspot.com/2008/04/charles-macdonalds-faerie-cottages.html
As you know, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a firm favourite of mine, and I was utterly delighted by The Ladies of Grace Adieu last year. Susanna Clarke’s writing is superb, and her style gives me that warm feeling only truly special books do.
I must admit that yes, I am like yourself – there are a number of books on my shelves which I had intended to read as soon as I bought them home, and which are still sitting unread. It even happens with books by my favourite authors, even Neil Gaiman books…I think there is an element of wanting to save them, and to savour them.
I am like that on occasion with my favorite authors. I remember American Gods sitting around for awhile before I finally got to reading it, Anansi Boys as well.
Clarke has become an author like Gaiman for me in that she doesn’t write fast enough! Although with her at least I still have her major work to finish.
Get to finishing it! You will love it. There is a relatively slow point somewhere in the middle, but by the end I bet that, like me, you will be wishing it could go on forever.
I am determined to finish (actually I’ll probably just start from page one) both Jonathan Strange and Glass Books before the spring/summer is out. It is well past time!!!
I look forward to seeing a post from you about JS&MN! Will be great to hear your thoughts on the book.
Ditto Glass Books, which I’m reading soon too!
I have just been introduced to your lovely blog! I loved, loved, loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell… I just adored it. I don’t usually like short stories but I am guessing that I would really enjoy these, since I do have a penchant for this sort of literary style. Looking forward to more of your reviews as I make it through some archives!
Thanks Daphne, so glad you found your way over here. I really do think you should try this, the language is lovely and the stories are truly delightful. If you click on ‘book reviews’ in the category drop down menu top right of my blog it will take you to…oddly enough…the book reviews and allow you to skip over other stuff if you wish.
Having been a rabid fan of Ms Clarke for a couple of years now I was shocked to find there were signed editions of her books of which I was unaware! I have ordered a copy of the signed Jonathan Strange but have not yet found a signed copy of the short stories.I realise some people find the obsession for rarity among book collectors quite mad, but when you really love a writer you want their works in the most beautiful format available! Much modern fantasy leaves me cold, and am forever returning to writers such as M.R.James and Clark Ashton Smith instead, but Ms Clarke has created a credibly magickal world – my how I love those footnotes! I managed to prise a first edition of Strange from a friend – it has the black on white jacket, while later printings reversed the colours; I also bought the unsigned slipcased Ladies Of Grace Adieu. What I would really like,though, is for her to publish a new book! Please do it soon!
Sandy Robertson (ex rock journalist; maintainer of the grave of antiquarian/occultist Montague Summers – he was like a character in one of Ms Clarke’s tales!)