We’re thrilled to share the cover of Susanna Clarke’s The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City, an enchanting illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell—available October 20, 2026 from Bloomsbury.
‘He had already served three kings. He did not see why he should not be useful to a fourth.’
During the conquest of Northern England, the fairy host sweeps across the countryside. The city of Durham finds itself surrounded. But the encircling forces are not fairies, nor even other humans, but trees that trap the city within an eerie wood.
Ranulf, Bishop of Durham—a consummate politician—understands that the survival of the Northern English people depends on his finding a way to unite the two races, human and fairy. And he’s not averse to improving his own position at the same time. With these aims in view, he sets off for the New Castle, in search of the new King—the leader of the fairy host, rumored to be a mysterious human boy, no more than fourteen years old, who speaks no word of any human language.
Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is a bewitching, must-have addition to any fantasy reader’s shelf, featuring beautiful illustrations throughout.
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The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City
Susanna Clarke is the author of Piranesi, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Hugo Award–winning Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Wood at Midwinter, and The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories. She lives in England.
