Christopher Drawlight is a somewhat odious fop of a certain age, whose knowledge of other people's business, and whose propensity for gossip and ability to steal shoes when their owners aren't looking, has made him a permanent, if undesirable, fixture in London society.
Seeing his chance to hop aboard the most fashionable new thing, he allies himself with Gilbert Norrell, appointing himself social secretary and lickspittle-in-ordinary to the Greatest Magician in the Land. For a while, this new position suits Drawlight and his companion Lascelles very well - until their place in Mr Norrell's affections is usurped by the remarkable Jonathan Strange. However, as Mr Strange learns, one should never come between a lickspittle and his master, and Drawlight sets about undermining Strange in any way possible, with the ultimate intention of being able to afford a new pair of lorgnettes.
