The year is 1807. Hundreds of years ago, with no explanation whatsoever, Magic and its practice disappeared altogether from England, the only place in the world where it was found. Before this time, Magic was deeply rooted into English history, nature and land and gave rise to the English national character. However, within the past few years, Magic has returned to England through the independent efforts of the seasoned scholar Gilbert Norrell and the young and brash Jonathan Strange. Both are land-owning aristocrats. Norrell has been studying Magic for decades and hoards most of the useful books of Magic in England for himself, and it is only by becoming his pupil that Strange is able to develop his ability.

War rages across the European Continent as Britain stands alone against the Napoleonic Menace. The British Government asks Jonathan Strange to accompany a large detachment of the British Army as it lands in Iberia to support Spanish and Portuguese resistance against the French occupation, and support Britain's war effort through magical means.

"Level One" or High Functioning Autism is a DSM category of diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder. People with level one autism tend to struggle with organisation and planning, enjoy special interests, and find difficulty regulating their emotions and senses, needing to stim. Level One Autistics tend to find social cues and expectations difficult and are often seen as "weird" by others, struggling to understand why. However, they are often able to successfully "mask" and avoid being seen as stereotypically autistic by society as a whole, successfully living life without supports or even the knowledge that they are autistic.

The Dominion of Newfoundland joined Canada via confederation as a province in 1949 ratified through referendum. 

The Economic Union Party (formally the Party for Economic Union with the United States) was a political party in Newfoundland in 1948 that advocated for Newfoundland to remain independent for the purposes of negotiation of entry into the United States of America

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy was recently involved in a catastrophic meeting with USA President Donald Trump and VP J.D. Vance. Both US presidents verbally attacked Zelenskyy in this contentious televised affair, including alleging he is "gambling with World War 3" and accused Zelenskyy of not working towards peace.