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Susanna Clarke returns to Raven King lore in The Bishop of Durham

Susanna Clarke returns to Raven King lore in The Bishop of Durham
NewsMythscribe20 October 2026

[Susanna Clarke’s The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is out in the United States today](https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/bishop-of-durham-attempts-to-surrender-the-city-9781639739813/). Bloomsbury lists the illustrated 96-page hardback for October 20, while its UK edition follows on October 22. The short story returns to the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, centuries before that novel’s events.

Susanna Clarke’s The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is out in the United States today. Bloomsbury lists the illustrated 96-page hardback for October 20, while its UK edition follows on October 22. The short story returns to the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, centuries before that novel’s

events. Durham is besieged by an unnatural forest as a fairy host advances across northern England. Ranulf, the city’s bishop, sets out to negotiate with the invaders’ mysterious leader: a young human boy who speaks no human language. His search turns surrender into a journey through competing interests and unfamiliar

rules. For readers interested in the Raven King’s earlier world, the compact release offers new lore without the scale of Clarke’s debut novel. The differing publication dates also give UK readers a clear answer about when their local edition is scheduled to arrive. Image: Bloomsbury Publishing; publisher-supplied

cover distributed by Ingram via Bookshop.org.

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