SPOILER ALERT - i am intending this post to be a discussion for people who have read the book. So feel free to divulge anything. IF YOU HAVE NOT
read the book, you are warned.

Strange that such an exquisite book that received so much praise has little to NONE dialog about it's contents.

I have many questions and I will begin with this one:

In the opening chapter when Segundus and Honeyfoot visit Mr. Norrell in his library, Mr. Segundus notices something odd: "A chair was drawn up to the fire and by the chair stood a little table. Upon the table lay the boards and leather bindings of a very old book, a pair of scissars and a strong, cruel-looking kninfe, such as a gardener might use for prunning. Perhaps, thought Mr. Segundus, he has sent it away to be bound anew. Yet the old binding still looked strong and why should Mr. Norrell trouble himself to remove the pages and risk damaging them? A skilled bookbinder was the proper person to do such work."

And that is all that is said of the matter, as far as I can tell. What is it that Norrell is doing? Has he destroyed a book? Which book? Will we ever find out? Is it merely to suggest the dubious, protective nature of Norrell or is something else afoot?

I've been puzzling over this and my puzzler is no closer.

I was describing this book to a friend who doesn't read last night. I only told him a little bit about the beginning and the Yorkshire theoretical magicians. And he mentioned something about it being a battle. And yes the book is all about battles isn't it? The battle between England and France. Norrell and Strange, Lascelles and Childermass, The Raven King and the Gentleman with the Thistle Down Hair - and TGWTTDH and Strange particularly are the most memorable battles. Not sure what to make of that but it is something to notice.

Then there are questions like, what could it be that Vinculous now reads, meaning his tatoos have changed.

Is there such a thing as will in this story?

How come some things are easy to do in magic but others aren't? For instance it is easy to move a whole city temporarily but difficult to make the dead dead again.

What is the dialect of hell? Isn't the cosmology interesting? Heaven/Hell, England/Fairie.

What is interesting you about this story? I would love to see some good artwork of this before the movie people get their hands on it. The only pictures i have found are cheesy anime style drawings. I want The Brother's Hildebrandt.