A Plaine Discouverie of the Whole Revelation of St John

This book by John Napier is one which attracts the attention of Mr Norrell whilst he is attending a fashionable party at the home of a Mrs Godesdone, some three weeks after his first arrival in London. A fashionable London party is not an entertainment best suited to please a scholar fond of seclusion and quiet. Tired by the noise and crowds, suffocated by the heat of many candles, Mr Norrell retreats to a quiet corner near a window where he happily discovers a bookcase, takes down the Napier and begins to read[4].

Notes

A Plaine Discouery of the Whole Reuelation of Saint Iohn is a real book, first published in 1593 in Scotland. It is likely that the version read by Mr Norrell is either a copy that has been rebound, or a later edition, given the changes in the spelling of the title. Unlike Napier's other works, it was written in English. It is most notable for predicting the end of the world in 1688 or 1700, and is briefly discussed in the Theology section of the Wikipedia article about John Napier.