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The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City

by Susanna Clarke

A Durham bishop between human and fairy powers

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A Durham bishop between human and fairy powers

Set seven centuries before *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*, Susanna Clarke’s illustrated short story places Durham under siege during the conquest of Northern England. The city is enclosed not by an army but by trees forming an eerie wood, while a fairy host advances through the countryside. Ranulf, its politically astute bishop, seeks an agreement between humans and fairies to protect the people of the north, while also attending to his own prospects. His journey to find the fairy host’s rumored young leader gives the tale a historical-fantasy frame shaped by questions of power, negotiation, and uneasy alliances.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers familiar with the world of *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*.
  • Readers interested in historical fantasy involving fairies, political maneuvering, and human-fairy relations.
  • Readers seeking an illustrated short story.

Themes

Political power and self-interestNegotiation across human and fairy worldsConquest and the protection of a people

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

'He had already served three kings. He did not see why he should not be useful to a fourth.'

During the conquest of Northern England, the fairy host sweeps across the countryside. The city of Durham finds itself surrounded. But the encircling forces are not fairies, nor even other humans, but trees that trap the city within an eerie wood.

Ranulf, Bishop of Durham-a consummate politician-understands that the survival of the Northern English people depends on his finding a way to unite the two races, human and fairy. And he's not averse to improving his own position at the same time. With these aims in view, he sets off for the New Castle, in search of the new King-the leader of the fairy host, rumored to be a mysterious human boy, no more than fourteen years old, who speaks no word of any human language.

Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is a bewitching, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's shelf, featuring beautiful illustrations throughout.

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