"The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr. Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between the two great men. Their obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts will cause more trouble than they can imagine." - Amazon. To call the relationship between Norrell and Strange a challenge and a battle is a bit of a simplification, of course. I watched this adaptation of Susanna Clarke's monumental fantasy classic once before (on YouTube) but seeing it again in this format blew me away. I am consumed with the desire to share this with my friends and family.
I've had "A Classic Cartoon Christmas" for years, and it is one CD I am always putting on when the season rolls around. I only found out later that there was this sequel years later, and then it took me a while to pin down a copy. I was always hoping to find one in a store, but Christmas after Christmas passed without it turning up. So finally I buckled down and ordered it online. The best song is The Snow Miser/Heat Miser song, of course. The others, while okay, are a distant second.
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