User:Chuckhoffmann/sandbox/Ch11

Brest is the eleventh chapter of Susanna Clarke's history of the return of English magic, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It takes place in November of 1807.

Summary

A strange rainstorm comes in, the clouds coming from the north despite the easterly wind. A large fleet of English warships — perhaps as many as a hundred — takes up position outside the port of the French city of Brest, blockading the French Imperial Navy ships there. Reports start coming in from ports throughout the French Empire of similar blockades.

Perroquet, the diminutive servant of Admiral Desmoulins, sits in the rain for four days observing the blockading fleet. He reports to Desmoulins and Captain Jumeau that the fleet is strange, not moving in response to the shifting winds, and one of the ships appears to be melting. They sail out and discover that the English ships are made of rain. The rain-ships disperse when the spell does, leaving the French ship alone.