Susanna Clarke’s novel was published in 2004.To a television lineup that includes time-traveling adventures and clone-related intrigues, BBC America is adding a little magic. That network and its British sibling, the BBC, said on Monday that they would be producing a television adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s best-selling novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,†which will be shown as a miniseries in 2014.
Originally published in 2004, “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell†is set in Britain in the early 1800s as the Napoleonic Wars are raging, and centers on two competing conjurers, Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange, who becomes Norell’s pupil, as they variously work with and against each other to restore magic to their world. (Ms. Clarke’s novel, which pays tribute to many 19th-century literary styles, also runs nearly 800 pages and includes some 200 footnotes.)
The BBC said its “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell†miniseries will be presented in seven hour-long installments, adapted by Peter Harness (a screenwriter and playwright whose credits include “Wallander†and “Is Anybody Thereâ€) and directed by Toby Haynes (“Doctor Who,†“Sherlockâ€). BBC America said it will show the miniseries on its Supernatural Saturday programming block, which includes science-fiction and fantasy-themed shows like “Doctor Who†and “Orphan Black.â€
No casting was immediately announced for Jonathan Strange, Mr. Norrell or the footnotes, and we’ll assume Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch are otherwise occupied.
