History YMMV / JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell

--->[[spoiler: Stephen: [[ChewingTheScenery "I COMMAND THE TREEEEEES!"]]]]

* NightmareFuel:
** What happens to [[spoiler: Lascelles. He's a horrible person who made the enmity between Strange and Norrell far worse, killed Drawlight in cold blood, and disfigured Childermass all for little reasons beyond profit and his pride. But he's also 'compelled' into taking the role of the Champion of the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart (probably along with having his mind wiped to fulfill the role's purpose) until someone kills him in turn. How long will that be?]]
** The Neapolitan soldiers that Strange resurrects. They're mutilated and decomposing, and spend all their time trying to find Strange to beg him to put them to a final rest, or send them home to their loved ones instead of Hell. In the end Wellington orders them to be burnt, though who knows if even ''that'' released them? (Frustratingly, a footnote informs us that the "life" of such corpses can be ended by simply cutting off their eyes, tongue, and heart - but Strange never manages to figure that out.)
** One of the footnotes goes into detail about Simon Bloodworth, a 14th century magician who foolishly enters into a partnership with a fairy called Buckler, only to come home one day to find that all his family save his eldest daughter Margaret, all of his servants and several of his neighbours had been tempted into a magic cupboard by Buckler, who said they would visit Faerie and return in time for mass. Bloodworth himself enters the cabinet to rescue them all, but he never emerges either, and even emissaries sent by John Uskglass are unable to retrieve anyone who was abducted by Buckler. ''Two hundred years later'' another magician, Dr Martin Pale, is journeying through Faerie and finds a human child, Anne Bloodworth, imprisoned in a fairy castle, starved and forced to wash pots for what she believes to be two weeks, and she says once she's done she'll go home to see her parents and sisters. And the footnote simply ends there, with no mention of whether Pale was able to rescue Anne, or what happened to all the other people Buckler stole away.

** One of the footnotes goes into detail about Simon Bloodworth, a 14th century magician who foolishly enters into a partnership with a fairy called Buckler, only to come home one day to find that all his family save his eldest daughter Margaret, all of his servants and several of his neighbours had been tempted into a magic cupboard by Buckler, who said they would visit Faerie and return in time for mass. Bloodworth himself enters the cabinet to rescue them all, but he never emerges either, and even emissaries sent by John Uskglass are unable to retrieve anyone who was abducted by Buckler. ''Two hundred years later'' another magician, Dr Martin Pale, is journeying through Faerie and finds a human child, Anne Bloodworth, imprisoned in a fairy castle and forced to wash pots for what she believes to be two weeks, and she says once she's done she'll go home to see her parents and sisters. And the footnote simply ends there, with no mention of whether Pale was able to rescue Anne, or what happened to all the other people Buckler stole away.

** Lady Pole. She starts off as an {{Ill Girl}} whose mother hates the doctors and won't let them see her, and dies shortly after her introduction. Then, she is resurrected only to be enslaved by the Gentleman, and spends several following years sad and alone, unable to free herself from his enchantment or tell someone about it. And everyone she knows (except Stephen) thinks she's insane.

* CrazyAwesome: Strange, once he intentionally drives himself mad, with emphasis on both the 'crazy' and the 'awesome'.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The BBC series has been praised for its use of special effects, putting on good spectacle while avoiding using it superfluously at the expense of character. The Miracle of York and Horse Sand were particularly praised by critics, but Strange's roads and The King's Road are also impressive.

* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler: Drawlight.]] He's a thoroughly unlikable character with no redeeming features, but his violent, unknown death alone in a forest evokes pity all the same.
** Even more so in the TV series, where he's eminently more pitiable.

* HoYay: Some of the gentleman's interactions with Stephen could be interpreted as this.

* {{Narm}}: Stephen Black [[spoiler: using English magic to defeat the gentleman in the BBC finale. It was a bit-over-acted, the effects on his voice were ridiculous, and the gentleman appears to be so transfixed he does nothing to defend himself (in contrast to his stubborn book counterpart]].
--->[[spoiler: Stephen: [[ChewingTheScenery "I COMMAND THE TREEEEEES!"]]]]
* NightmareFuel: What happens to [[spoiler: Lascelles. He's a horrible person who made the enmity between Strange and Norrell far worse, killed Drawlight in cold blood, and disfigured Childermass all for little reasons beyond profit and his pride. But he's also 'compelled' into taking the role of the Champion of the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart (probably along with having his mind wiped to fulfill the role's purpose) until someone kills him in turn. How long will that be?]]

* SpoiledByTheFormat: The book starts with a John ''Segundus'' trying to revive English magic and getting in contact with the reclusive Mr. Norrell, partnering with Mr. Honeyfoot. While the reader may think that Segundus will ''become'' Strange, it's certain that Honeyfoot's supposition that "Honeyfoot and Segundus" will revive English magic won't work out, given the book's title.

* TheWoobie: Stephen Black. The Gentleman went looking for a woobie and ended up making one.

* JustForFun/XMeetsY: The book has been described as "J.R.R. Tolkien meets Creator/JaneAusten", "Literature/HarryPotter for Adults", or "Harry Potter for History Buffs".

** Also, Lady Pole. She starts off as an {{Ill Girl}} whose mother hates the doctors and won't let them see her, and dies shortly after her introduction. Then, she is resurrected only to be enslaved by the Gentleman, and spends several following years sad and alone, unable to free herself from his enchantment or tell someone about it. And everyone she knows (except Stephen) thinks she's insane.

** The Neapolitan soldiers that Strange resurrects. They're mutilated and decomposing, and spend all their time trying to find Strange to beg him to put them to a final rest, or send them home to their loved ones instead of Hell. In the end Wellington orders them to be burnt, though who knows if even ''that'' released them?