In appearance, Jonathan Strange is a relatively handsome man whose charm, wealth, and creativity make him an instant success. He is the neglected son of a member of the landed gentry, and at the opening of the novel, he is struggling to determine what he wants to be now that his father is gone. He is an impulsive person who decides to become a magician after a chance encounter with a street-magician, and although Strange loves Arabella, his girlfriend and later his wife, he is so ambitious that he ignores her once he becomes a pupil of Gilbert Norrell. During his time fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, he becomes an excellent practical magician but does not practice restraint.

His greatest conflict in the novel is with his teacher, Mr. Norrell, who refuses to share his theoretical knowledge with Strange and who distrusts the wild, practical knowledge that intrigues his apprentice. Strange and Norrell are thus foils to each other. Strange’s interest in the wild magic of the Raven King leads to a breach in Norrell’s relationship with him, and his mingling with an important government minister brings his wife to the attention of a powerful and amoral fairy who kidnaps his wife and fakes her death.