Gilbert Norrell
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Gilbert Norrell |
| Occupation: | Theoretical Magician, Practical Magician |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Gilbert Norrell, or Mr Norrell is one of the main characters of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, based on the 2004 novel by Susanna Clarke and subsequent 2015 BBC television mini-series.
Overview
Gilbert Norrell is a 19th century scholar and practitioner of magic.
After hoarding books of magic for years and managing to build an extensive library of magical book at Hurtfew Abbey, Yorkshire, with the help of his servant/advisor John Childermass, he accepted his role as England's "only practical magician" and became involved in political and military matters.
Norrell took on Jonathan Strange as his pupil, before being surpassed by Strange and becoming his rival.
Pairings
Despite being one of the main characters, Norrell is not part of the main pairing for the fandom. He features as a tagged character in over 300 stories on AO3 but often as a side character.
The main pairings involving Norrell are (as of Feb 2021 on AO3):
Fanon & Common Tropes
- Reclusive or antisocial Norrell is hiding a secret, for example:
- Trans!Norrell
Example Fanworks
Art
- Gilbert Norrell digital portrait by wandarer3 (Nov 29, 2015)
- book-inspired-jonathan-strange-and-mr-norrell, digital drawings by cy_lindric (Jan 7, 2018)
Fic
- the biblical noun phrases trilogy by bookhobbit, trans!asexual!autistic!Norrell/disabled!Childermass, 100k, completed April 2016.
John Childermass spends roughly 26 years in Gilbert Norrell's service, and hidden between the lines of what we see there are many memories. Here are a few.
- More Than Service by icarus_chained, Norrell/Childermass, 3k, posted Sept 2015.
It was not service, what happened between him and the master in private. It would be seen that way, which was why it was private, but that was not the truth of it. It never had been.
- a spell for attracting someone's attention by bookhobbit, Norrell/Strange, 10k, posted August 2015.
Strange and Norrell attempt to woo each other.
They are not, in fact, very good at it.
Podfic
- (Podfic) Ravens in Winter by Luzula, Norrell/John Uskglass, 24min, June 2010.
Resources
- Gilbert Norrell AO3 tag
- Gilbert Norrell wiki page, The Library of Hurtfew Wiki