Sir Walter, a fashionable gentleman of Harley Street, is a Member of Parliament and Secretary of State for War in this difficult time; Napoleon is running rampant across Europe, and Britain's allies are rapidly discovering their mistake and becoming her enemies.
Sir Walter is a politician down to his bones; a noted orator and person-about-town, whose engagement to the charming Emma Wintertowne has caused much interest in society. What causes even more interest, however, is when the engagement is prematurely curtailed by the death of that beautiful young lady, and Sir Walter allows Mr Norrell, the magician, to bring her back to life. This happy circumstance leads Sir Walter into a new chapter of his career: as the political face of English Magic, his fate bound in, for good and ill, with that of Messrs Strange and Norrell.
