Norrell feels both smug and relieved at once, but he manages to hide it successfully behind a sympathetic wince.

"It is difficult to find some of the rarer texts," he says, a man who holds the largest magical library in England. "I have made it my life's work to collect such things, but it can be difficult. Some are held in private libraries, and not even known about by their owners."

He sighs, lamenting the troubles of books perhaps, then brightens.

"But, of course, I do have some notes I have made from my own copy!"