A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians: A Novel
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- Create Date：2021-02-01 04:13:25
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：H. G. Parry
- ISBN：9780316459075
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Summary
Notes From Your Bookseller
Both wonderfully ambitious and achingly intimate， Parry's second novel A Declaration on the Rights of Magicians has a sweeping scope in a magically infused 18th century。 If you enjoy historical fiction， fantasy， well-paced mystery， political intrigue and absolutely splendid characterization， this alternative history is your next read。
A sweeping tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own， A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a genre-defying story of magic， war， and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world。It is the Age of Enlightenment of new and magical political movements， from the necromancer Robespierre calling for a revolution in France， to the weather mage Toussaint L'Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom， to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic amongst commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas。But amidst all of the upheaval of the early modern world， there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilization into violent conflict。 And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries， magicians， and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to darkness and chaos。Praise for A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians:"A rich， sprawling epic full of history and magic， Declaration is Jonathan Strange with international politics and vampires。 I loved it。"―Alix E。 Harrow， Hugo Award-winning author"A witty， riveting historical fantasy。。。Parry has a historian's eye for period detail and weaves real figures from history-including Robespierre and Toussaint L'Ouverture-throughout her poetic tale of justice， liberation， and dark magic。 This is a knockout。"―Publishers Weekly （starred review）The Shadow HistoriesA Declaration of the Rights of MagiciansA Radical Act of Free MagicFor more from H。 G。 Parry， check out The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep。
Editor Reviews
"A rich， sprawling epic full of history and magic， Declaration is Jonathan Strange with international politics and vampires。 I loved it。"Alix E。 Harrow， author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
"A witty， riveting historical fantasy。。。。Parry has a historian's eye for period detail and weaves real figures from history-including Robespierre and Toussaint L'Ouverture-throughout her poetic tale of justice， liberation， and dark magic。 This is a knockout。"Publishers Weekly （starred review）
"Impeccably researched and epically written， this novel is a stellar start to what promises to be a grand new fantasy series。"Booklist （starred review）
""I absolutely loved it。 It held my attention from the beginning and throughout。 It's a beautiful tapestry of words， a combination of carefully observed and researched history and a well-thought-out and fascinating system of magic。 An absolute delight to read; splendid and fluid， with beautiful and complex use of language。"Genevieve Cogman， author of The Invisible Library
"Fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will be enchanted by this sprawling epic of revolution and dark magic。"Locus
"It's no simple task to wrangle fifteen years of tumult in a few hundred pages， but Parry manages it with a deft hand。 Her alternate history puts a human face on the titans of the past， while weaving in supernatural elements that add a whole new dimension。 I stayed up well past my bedtime to find out what happens next。"
Marie Brennan， author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series
"Impressively intricate; fans of the magic-and-history of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will be delighted。"Alexandra Rowland， author of A Conspiracy of Truths
Praise for H。 G。 Parry:
"A star-studded literary tour and a tangled mystery and a reflection on reading itself; it's a pure delight。" Alix E。 Harrow， bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
"Many have tried and some have succeeded in writing mashups with famed literary characters， but Parry knocks it out of the park。。。 Just plain wonderful。" Kirkus （starred review） on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
"Fun， witty， and full of insights about the powerful effect of stories on our lives， this book is highly recommended。" Booklist （starred review） on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
"H。G。 Parry's ambitious debut novel is a delight of magic and literature， love and adventure。 With vibrant characters and a passion for story that shines through every word， this engaging read establishes Parry as a writer to watch。" Kat Howard， author of The Unkindness of Ghosts on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
"A delightful blend of adventure and mystery and marvel， a story in which the fantastical becomes real。 This beautifully-written novel is an exploration of the power fiction wields the power to inform and to change， even to endanger， our everyday world。" Louisa Morgan， author of A Secret History of Witches on The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
"A rollicking adventure that thrills like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere mashed up with Penny Dreadful in the best post-modern way。 Equal parts sibling rivalry， crackling mystery， and Dickensian battle royale， it'll be one of your most fun reads this year。" Mike Chen， author of Here and Now and Then
"A joyous adventure through all the tales you've ever loved。 Funny， charming， clever and heartfelt， you're absolutely going to adore The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep。" Tasha Suri， author of Empire of Sand
Reviews
Sercalunna
，
I'll be short: I loved everything in this book。 I loved the cover， the plot， the world building， the historical background and the characters。 Can't wait to read the next book by this author。 It's strongly recommended。 I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review。
Alli
，
3。5 & many flashbacks to political theory classes
Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard
，
Rtc
William Southwell-Wright
，
Wasn't sure if this was more of a 3 or 4 for me but was feeling generous。 It's all very silly， but it's an enjoyable silliness。 Wasn't sure if this was more of a 3 or 4 for me but was feeling generous。 It's all very silly， but it's an enjoyable silliness。 。。。more
Cally
，
Enjoyed this。 Would read more by this author。
Kim Beckwith
，
I'm not finishing this。 It may be touted as a book that will "captivate fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell，" but I am certainly not captivated。 Far from it， in fact。 I have no desire to continue to read about what is essentially a trio of fraternity brothers （I mean this in the behavior sense） in the 1770's， nor any of the rest of the premise of this book。 Perhaps， if the writing were better， I might have been interested in giving it another chapter or two at least， but no。 Life is too sho I'm not finishing this。 It may be touted as a book that will "captivate fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell，" but I am certainly not captivated。 Far from it， in fact。 I have no desire to continue to read about what is essentially a trio of fraternity brothers （I mean this in the behavior sense） in the 1770's， nor any of the rest of the premise of this book。 Perhaps， if the writing were better， I might have been interested in giving it another chapter or two at least， but no。 Life is too short， as they say。 。。。more
Connor Hansen
，
It starts off so strong， the pacing， characters， and plot invite you and draw you deeper in。 It’s a very enjoyable read but boy oh boy does it start to drag at the end of the story， the last 150 pages are an absolute drag。 Still a fine novel though at the end of the day。
Izzie
，
I had mixed feelings about this book， even going in - this might just be a personal thing， but I find historical fantasy about real historical figures kind of strange， so I admit I was a little hesitant。 But I tried to let go of my prejudices and just dive in， but I found even that hard to do， since the pacing was slow and the moments of action were few and far between， interspersed by long scenes of parliamentary debates and visiting family and friends。 Far too many， to the extent that it somet I had mixed feelings about this book， even going in - this might just be a personal thing， but I find historical fantasy about real historical figures kind of strange， so I admit I was a little hesitant。 But I tried to let go of my prejudices and just dive in， but I found even that hard to do， since the pacing was slow and the moments of action were few and far between， interspersed by long scenes of parliamentary debates and visiting family and friends。 Far too many， to the extent that it sometimes dragged。The magic was cool， and the way it shaped the situation in Europe and contributed to the divide between social classes， with Commoners unable to use their magic。 And yet。 I never really could let go of the fact that these were supposed to be real historical figures， but again that was my own hang up。It was well-written， despite the pacing issues， so I gave it three stars。 I think I liked it enough to read the sequel， especially with the introduction near the end of a notorious historical figure （of whom I know admittedly very little， so it shouldn't cloud my judgment too much！） who will no doubt shake things up。 。。。more
Jenn
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Dnf at about 200 pages。 It was just slog fest
Laura （crofteereader）
，
DNF at 18%There's a few different reasons for this outcome: our main characters （on the English front） are two politicians who just。。。 Talk all the time。 All the time。 We don't actually see them doing anything worthwhile apart from one scene with a Shadow。 But at this point in the story we know absolutely nothing about how magic works， how many different kinds of magic there are， what limits there are on people's abilities （in the magical sense， not the legal sense）， how prevalent magical abilit DNF at 18%There's a few different reasons for this outcome: our main characters （on the English front） are two politicians who just。。。 Talk all the time。 All the time。 We don't actually see them doing anything worthwhile apart from one scene with a Shadow。 But at this point in the story we know absolutely nothing about how magic works， how many different kinds of magic there are， what limits there are on people's abilities （in the magical sense， not the legal sense）， how prevalent magical abilities are in society （ie we know Wilberforce doesn't have magic in his family but we don't have even a sense of how many magical vs nonmagical families there are）。 And did I mention that all they do is TALK？I was very interested in the idea of uprisings in Haiti and among enslaved populations， but we've only seen the barest hints of that （and the French Revolution） so far - just enough to say "hey， I have actual interesting ideas coming but you have to slog through Pitt and Wilberforce for a long while yet before you get there" and ugh I was so tired of our English politicians。I think this is on of those books that is really cool in theory but without a lot more specifics on magic and how it works as well as actually bringing the more interesting points to bear early enough to keep our attention would have done much more to keep me going。 I also would have wanted different narrators for the different sections of the audiobook， to make the transitions a little more obvious when we do finally leave the Englishmen behind。{Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC; all thoughts are my own} 。。。more
Erica S
，
This one was a tough one to rate。 It was sweeping， ingenious， and charming despite the bloodshed。 But it also was tedious at times。 If I could， i’d give it another half star for sheer creativity at retelling a sordid history。
Scott
，
This book has made me fall in love with historical fantasy all over again。 It focuses so much more on the actual history than most of the historical fantasy I've read， but seamlessly integrates magic into it。 This book does not shy away from the darkness of the historical events and often amplifies that darkness with magic。 I loved it and cannot wait for the sequel。 This book has made me fall in love with historical fantasy all over again。 It focuses so much more on the actual history than most of the historical fantasy I've read， but seamlessly integrates magic into it。 This book does not shy away from the darkness of the historical events and often amplifies that darkness with magic。 I loved it and cannot wait for the sequel。 。。。more
Alexander Litwin
，
Fun fantasy take on history。 Really got drawn into the characters。
Liz
，
DNF。 The plotting was too diffuse and did not focus sufficiently on any one main character to keep my interest。There are authors who can make history textbooks read like thrilling novels; this author made what should have been a thrilling novel read like a history textbook。
Sean
，
Along the lines of Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell， not really what I signed up for。 While the underlying alternate motivation for the revolution is interesting in theory， I could only take 800 or so pages of handwringing fireside chats between politicians and a magic system that Parry seems to have spent all of 20 minutes thinking through before giving up on anything exciting or unexpected happening。 It is clear there is an audience for this kind of story， but it is not for me。
Annie Primera
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Interesting， fun， enthralling。。。 Just read it。
Korynne
，
Unfortunately， I did not finish this book because I wasn’t connecting to the characters or the story at all， and I began to dread the moments I would press play on the audiobook。 I debated for two whole weeks if I should push myself through or not， but ultimately I decided to just quit because of my lack of enjoyment。 Although this book was not for me， I feel that this would be the perfect book for the right audience。A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a historical fantasy， and fans of t Unfortunately， I did not finish this book because I wasn’t connecting to the characters or the story at all， and I began to dread the moments I would press play on the audiobook。 I debated for two whole weeks if I should push myself through or not， but ultimately I decided to just quit because of my lack of enjoyment。 Although this book was not for me， I feel that this would be the perfect book for the right audience。A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a historical fantasy， and fans of that genre will likely enjoy this book。 While I love fantasy， I struggle with historical narratives， and this book was much more historical than I expected it to be; it’s very rich in both history and culture。 It almost feels like it could be a nonfiction story if only magic had been real。Set in the late 1700s， this book tackles civil rights and revolution。 The story starts out following a common man who uses magic and is put on trial and jailed for using magic since commoners are not allowed to use magic， and this is the basis for the story。 Magicians want different rights for the use of their magic， thus the title。There are a few perspectives here。 The main story follows a vampire and his friend in England， but we also have the POV of a slave girl from Jamaica。 I didn’t read far enough to hear much about the girl， but her story goes hand in hand with the main storyline as some magicians are working to abolish slavery while they fight for the rules regarding the use of magic to be changed。I thought the discussion about magic in this book was actually pretty cool。 The commoners are forced to wear bracelets that prevent them from using magic， but of course some higher class magicians think this is wrong and want change。 There are a few different types of magicians in this book too， and my favorite part was that that blood magician was actually a vampire。 Because consuming blood is how he got his magic to work。 If heavily historical novels with lots of politics and moral discussions and magic are your cup of tea， then I encourage you to give this book a go。 I feel like I could potentially enjoy A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians at a different time in my life， and I hope eventually I will be willing to pick it up again and finish it。 I do know， however， that I would get a lot more out of it and feel more connected to it reading it with my eyes， so I can say with certainty that if I were to come back to this story， I would not be continuing the audiobook。 The narrator had a nice voice and I feel that he adequately portrayed the characters and the story， but something about either him or this book just wasn’t letting me grasp what was going on while listening to it。 So maybe if you want to give it a shot try reading it instead？ Even though this book wasn’t exactly my thing， I still want to read The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H。 G。 Parry， and I would definitely consider reading other novels from her in the future too。 I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 My Book Blog: Storeys of Stories 。。。more
Anurag Sahay
，
Jeez Louise， that was damn near perfect。The idea of the French Revolution as an expression of the freedom of magic is extremely enthralling -- I've been thinking about some version of that since I read McClellan's original Power Mage books。 But this book satisfied an urge I've had that neither McClellan nor Novik's Temeraire really managed to satisfy， namely an alternate history with magic that truly makes magic part of the history so well that it's often hard to tell what really happened and wh Jeez Louise， that was damn near perfect。The idea of the French Revolution as an expression of the freedom of magic is extremely enthralling -- I've been thinking about some version of that since I read McClellan's original Power Mage books。 But this book satisfied an urge I've had that neither McClellan nor Novik's Temeraire really managed to satisfy， namely an alternate history with magic that truly makes magic part of the history so well that it's often hard to tell what really happened and what is embellishment。In any case， the characters of history who make up this story are very interesting， even though the style in which they are written of is a little aloof。 I enjoyed Robespierre and Pitt the Younger the most。 Fina seems to be an original character， but her story is the most compelling in some ways。Overall， I enjoyed this very much - I especially like how much Robespierre and Pitt are compared to each other through the narrative， even though neither of them ever meet。 They both start out as men trying to make the world freer， and where they end up is quite exciting。Perhaps the best part about these books， to me， was the mythology of the Vampires。 I really hope that Parry's able to stick the landing in the next book， and that she continues to write more books in this world once she's done with the French Revolution and it's aftermath through to the Battle of Waterloo。I highly recommend this book， especially if you are fond of history and retellings。 。。。more
Sarah Swarbrick
，
Alternate history of the French Revolution， with elements that you just don't expect。 Alternate history of the French Revolution， with elements that you just don't expect。 。。。more
Rachel
，
I received a digital copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway and it was absolutely fantastic。 The world absolutely drew me inside and I really understood the desires of the characters while the different twists and turns of the plot intrigued me。 I would definitely recommend any who likes historical fiction or fantasy novels to try this series。
Maria Cardona
，
DNF at 45%。 Magic + historical fiction executed well， but pace was much too slow for me。
Carrie K
，
It’s like a mediocre historical novel about the French Revolution crossed with a magical teen fantasy。 The only thing worse than the premise was the ending。 Don’t bother！
Katie
，
Sounded like an interesting book， but I could have done with 100 less pages。
Manda Scott
，
Brilliant。 Captivating。 Intriguing I have never found the 18th century particularly interesting， but then it’s never had Pitt as a vampire or Robespierre as a necromancer before。。。 Even Wilberforce becomes someone worth following rather than the sanctimonious bore he always seemed before。 This is a beautiful book， brilliantly written。 It captures neatly the intelligences of the time and while the dark magic may not have been intended as a metaphor for the evil at the heart of capitalism， it achi Brilliant。 Captivating。 Intriguing I have never found the 18th century particularly interesting， but then it’s never had Pitt as a vampire or Robespierre as a necromancer before。。。 Even Wilberforce becomes someone worth following rather than the sanctimonious bore he always seemed before。 This is a beautiful book， brilliantly written。 It captures neatly the intelligences of the time and while the dark magic may not have been intended as a metaphor for the evil at the heart of capitalism， it achieves that end with remarkable skill。 。。。more
C。 S。
，
It's with deep regret that I finally admit that I'm just not that into this book and that I'm going to DNF it for now。 It should be reading candy for me， but it's just not。 The beginning， which set up multiple different characters in very short sections， just didn't give me enough to latch onto。 Maybe I'll try it again when the audiobook comes out in January。If magical alt-history door-stoppers are your thing， give it a try - maybe it'll speak to you in a way i didn't to me。 It's with deep regret that I finally admit that I'm just not that into this book and that I'm going to DNF it for now。 It should be reading candy for me， but it's just not。 The beginning， which set up multiple different characters in very short sections， just didn't give me enough to latch onto。 Maybe I'll try it again when the audiobook comes out in January。If magical alt-history door-stoppers are your thing， give it a try - maybe it'll speak to you in a way i didn't to me。 。。。more
Chad D
，
Quite a frustrating book。 Some wonderful ideas and moments， some drab ones。 Could hardly put the book down the last hundred pages， put it down many times pp。 100-400， almost quit。 Rather than achieving a satisfactory fusion between magic and the historical French Revolution， it doesn't quite develop either sufficiently enough。 The emotional heart of the book is in friendship， male friendship specifically， between Wilberforce and Pitt， between Robespierre and Camille， and in the exposition of sai Quite a frustrating book。 Some wonderful ideas and moments， some drab ones。 Could hardly put the book down the last hundred pages， put it down many times pp。 100-400， almost quit。 Rather than achieving a satisfactory fusion between magic and the historical French Revolution， it doesn't quite develop either sufficiently enough。 The emotional heart of the book is in friendship， male friendship specifically， between Wilberforce and Pitt， between Robespierre and Camille， and in the exposition of said friendship it does not disappoint。 。。。more
Andrea
，
I kept trying to give this book a chance。 I would pick it up， read for a while， get insanely bored again， or confused， and put it down。 Wash， rinse， repeat。 I had a really tough time getting into this book。 It just really wasn't pulling me in。 I was so excited to read the book initially as the subject matter was a genre I normally read， fantasy and magic。 I was sorely disappointed， and bored to hell。 The pace was too slow， and the book was longer than it needed to be。 I never felt close to the c I kept trying to give this book a chance。 I would pick it up， read for a while， get insanely bored again， or confused， and put it down。 Wash， rinse， repeat。 I had a really tough time getting into this book。 It just really wasn't pulling me in。 I was so excited to read the book initially as the subject matter was a genre I normally read， fantasy and magic。 I was sorely disappointed， and bored to hell。 The pace was too slow， and the book was longer than it needed to be。 I never felt close to the characters， they were not engaging。 I never felt like I knew much about them。 It felt like I was being kept at arm's length or only seeing the 1000 foot view of things。 Overall it was pretty tough to read。 I applaud anyone who made it through the entirety of the book。 I've noticed that people either seem to really love or really hate this book。 Sadly it just wasn't for me。 With so much upended and crazy going on in the world with this current pandemic， it's caused me to re-evaluate and prioritize what's truly important。 Rethink what's truly worth spending my time on。 Reading a whole book that is boring me to death is not how I want to spend my time。 I had to finally create that DNF shelf and throw this on the pile。 Resolution for me not to waste my time on boring books anymore。 It pains me to dnf a book， I try to make it all the way through。 I'm a curious person and like to know how the story pans out， how things end， will the story get better。 Sadly I couldn't take it anymore， and my sanity won out。 Once I finally threw in the towel it was an immense sense of relief。 **Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a giveaway。** 。。。more
Sinuhe
，
The most important thing to know， if you're going to read this， is that this is not a standalone novel！ This is part 1 of 2 and it does not end with a resolution。 I considered quitting at the halfway point， but I made myself hold on to find out how it ended 。。。 and it didn't。A basic summary: In a magical version of late eighteenth century Europe， change is brewing。 In England， Pitt the Younger and William Wilberforce want to improve things for Commoner magicians （who aren't allowed to do magic） The most important thing to know， if you're going to read this， is that this is not a standalone novel！ This is part 1 of 2 and it does not end with a resolution。 I considered quitting at the halfway point， but I made myself hold on to find out how it ended 。。。 and it didn't。A basic summary: In a magical version of late eighteenth century Europe， change is brewing。 In England， Pitt the Younger and William Wilberforce want to improve things for Commoner magicians （who aren't allowed to do magic） and achieve the abolition of slavery， both through sensible incremental legal means; in France， Commoner magicians rise up against the Aristocrats， led by Robespierre， a secret necromancer with the power of mesmerism， backed by a mysterious， powerful benefactor。 On Haiti， the potion that keeps enslaved people docile zombies has failed， allowing a violent rebellion against white plantation owners。The writing is very good， and I truly came to care about the characters。 Robespierre in particular is compelling - he has a real emotional journey， and of course， a tragic end。Altogether， though， I don't think it deserves the comparison to Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell。 I see where they come from， but ultimately， JSMN is a novel that stands on its own feet， with sparse but extremely consistent worldbuilding， and very strongly drawn characters。 This novel is， again， not a standalone， and I found the worldbuilding pretty erratic and the characters a bit samey。 Where JSMN is extraordinarily intricate， with a constantly moving plot， this novel seemed to have a lot of filler - it certainly could have handled the whole plot in one book， rather than leaving it to a second to finish。I'm also uncomfortable with the way that the Caribbean plotline is so sidelined。 The prologue is Fina's perspective as a child being stolen into slavery and drugged with the potion that will make her placid and obedient。 This sets up the horror of slavery as a central pillar of the story 。。。 but it actually isn't。 Fina gets much less page time than the other characters; Pitt and Wilberforce concentrate on abolition quite a bit at the beginning， but it gradually loses out to the situation in France。 It seems weird to me that nobody involved in the editing process， in this day and age， threw up a stop sign and made a change。 。。。more
Maria Young
，
Perfect alternate history fantasy fiction。 Lots of historical detail and fact interwoven with magic。 Can’t wait for the second
Equifinality
，
A very ambitious book that you’ll probably like if you enjoy politics and probably not like if you’re a historian。
Alexandra
，