Henry Lascelles is an idle chap with too much money and not enough humanity. In the absence of anything more interesting to do, he follows Christopher Drawlight into the circle of Mr Norrell, where a sense of destiny unexpectedly overtakes him. Lascelles realises it is his life's purpose to be Norrell's deputy; to promote Norrellite magic, and to fight to preserve its dominance over English life. To this end, he edits a periodical, The Friends of English Magic, and embarks upon a book, Gilbert Norrell Esq and Jonathan Strange, both of which are designed to cement the position of his master and to enlarge the importance of Henry Lascelles.
When Lascelles finds his position is threatened, he demonstrates some of the remarkable feats that he is capable of: none of which do him very much credit, and none of which he can bring himself to be even remotely ashamed of.
