thispaperlife:
For iambecauseiwrite: Susanna Clarke made up every single book referenced in Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell. Clarke made frequent footnotes regarding these books and made up people from English history. The footnotes become part of the story by adding "historical" citations for references made by Norrell, and help create the appearance of authority on behalf of Norrell. It's a clever device to validate the history and knowledge of the characters.