Talk:Susanna Clarke/GA1

GA Review

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I will review Susanna Clarke. It will take a day or two to read the article and compile comments. Cheers! Wassupwestcoast (talk) 02:42, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

I've read the article, and without doubt, it is at a GA level. A couple of comments.

• How well did Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell do? Obviously, it reached #3 on the NYT list but for how long? Presumably Bloomsbury earned back their advance. Is their any source that pins down the novel's financial return?
  • I added how long it was on the NY Times bestseller list. I didn't find any information on how much money the book made, unfortunately. Awadewit (talk) 04:07, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• Small quibble about referencing a whole 'Early life' paragraph rather than per sentence. This being Wikipedia, someone is bound to insert text into the paragraph and, thus, break the reference.
  • Added more. Awadewit (talk) 04:07, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• I assume the photos are OK.
  • They are, yes. Awadewit (talk) 04:07, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• Outside of her successful novel, the article doesn't delve much into other aspects of her life...the biography part of the article is a bit modest. Penguin books usually print author bios - although brief - that delve a bit more into the author's life than this article. For example, she seems to have siblings as one source says she is the oldest daughter and that her father is a Methodist minister
  • Did you find a Penguin bio on her? Awadewit (talk) 04:10, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

No! Sorry, I meant those little bios at the beginning of novels published by Penguin and Puffin books. They tend to be information dense in comparison to the usual author bios. Cheers! Wassupwestcoast (talk) 04:14, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't think there is a Penguin edition of either of her works yet, though. Awadewit (talk) 04:23, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• There is a Publisher's Weekly interview that quotes Clarke as saying she read and re-read Lord of the Rings just prior to starting the novel. Interesting detail.
  • Do you have the citation for that interview? I would appreciate it! Awadewit (talk) 04:10, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• Stockton, Jessica. "Harry Potter Meets History" Publishers Weekly; 7/12/2004, Vol. 251 Issue 28, p42-42, 1/2p
• Dewey, Joseph "Susanna Clarke" Guide to Literary Masters and Their Works. 2007. Great Neck Publishing

• Thanks! I'll look these up. Awadewit (talk) 04:23, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• I've found the PW interview, but not the Guide. I can't find it in Google Books or my library catalog. Awadewit (talk) 03:01, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I found the guide at "Literary Reference Center - Powered by EBSCOhost" through my local public library. This is supposed to tbe a permanent link to the article. I'm not sure though if you can access it outside of a subscription. Cheers, Wassupwestcoast (talk) 03:22, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Do you know which part of EBSCO? I have access, but it is a multi-part database and I need to know the subsection. Awadewit (talk) 03:25, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

The front end is called 'Literary Reference Centre' and is a product of EBSCO. The site doesn't say which database it is using, though. Not helpful. Your local public library probably subscribes. I have a feeling it is a product aimed at public libraries. I access it through the Vancouver Public Library. Cheers, Wassupwestcoast (talk) 03:48, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm just not finding it. Anyway you could copy/paste it into an email and send it to me? Awadewit (talk) 04:09, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I've just checked out the EBSCO product page, and 'Literary Reference Center' is indeed a product sold to public libraries. I checked my university library University of British Columbia and there is no matching database under the EBSCO logon. I'll send the text. Cheers, Wassupwestcoast (talk) 04:10, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Thanks so much! Awadewit (talk) 04:13, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

All in all, this article deserves to pass GA. Cheers, Wassupwestcoast (talk) 02:53, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

• Thanks! Awadewit (talk) 04:11, 16 May 2009 (UTC)