Just finished reading this the other day.What a great book. I was initially put off by the sheer size of this tome which clocks in at over 1000 pages, but once you get into it it its a smashing read. Set during the Napoleonic wars it tells the story of two magicians who attempt to return English magic to its rightful place in society and also aid the British war effort against the French before they fall out with each other. Won't give any more of the plot away, but its a delightful read full of great characters (especially Norrell's servant Childermass and a realy nasty Faery), dialogue as crisp as Jane Austin, magic worthy of Moorcock and action as good as Bernard Cornwell. Take it on holiday.

And while the Sun is out take a long glass and slosh in equal measures of vodka, triple sec and peach schnaps, top it up with the juice of two freshly squeezed oranges and you have an Orange Blossum. If you want it to be really girly stick some fruit on cocktail stick too

To add a little variety to this you could use the juice of a tangerine or a mandarin instead of an orange or add a dash of lime juice.

Very good for combatting outbreaks of scurvy it is too