Children of the Red King

Children of the Red King is a popular series of children's fantasy and adventure novels written by British author Jenny Nimmo. It is also known as the "Charlie Bone" series and, before it was extended to eight books, as the "Red King Quintet".

Plots

Midnight for Charlie Bone

When Charlie finds out he can hear voices in photographs, he is sent to Bloor's Academy, where there is a hypnotised girl named Emilia Moon who can fly, who he must wake up. He has trouble, because the Bloor Family is out to stop him and will try everything, including setting a werewolf to find him. He wakes Emilia up using a case given to him by Emilia's aunt, called Tolly Twelve Bells. Once woken up, it is revealed Emilia is actually named Emma Tolly. Emma is then taken to Bloor's and locked up. Emma escapes by flying and joins her Aunt Julia Ingledew. At the end of the book, on the longest night of the year, Emma and Miss Ingledew have a party, and everyone has lots of fun. Charlie's evil grandma insists they don't want Tolly Twelve Bells anymore, but Charlie knows they do, because his father is still alive and they don't want him woken up.

The Time Twister

The Blue Boa

The Castle of Mirrors

Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf

Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight

Characters

Charlie Bone - Charlie is the main character of this series. He grew up relatively normal with his mother, two grandmothers, and his great-uncle Paton until his talent was discovered. Charlie is descended from the Red King's youngest daughter, Amoret, oldest son, Borlath, and 2nd oldest son, Amadis. He is also descended from a Welsh magician named Mathonwy, a friend of the Red King, through his mother, Amy Bone (née Jones)

Amy Bone (née Jones) - Amy Bone is Charlie's mother. She is married to Lyell Bone (who is missing, presumed dead) and her mother, Maisie, lives with them. She is also descended from the Welsh magician, Mathonwy. She works at a greengrocers shop and has no endowment.

Lyell Bone - Lyell Bone is the son of Grizelda Yewbeam and Montague Bone, who disappeared after "breaking the rules" according to Grizelda. Everyone thought that he was in a car accident, and that he drove off a cliff. Lyell was hypnotised by Manfred Bloor, and he was looked down on for marrying Amy Bone because she wasn't endowed. He was discovered to be Mr. Pilgrim at the end of book 5.

Grizelda Yewbeam - She is Lyell Bone's mother and sister to Eustacia, Venetia, Lucretia, and Paton Yewbeam. She has no endowment.

Paton Yewbeam - He is Charlie's great-uncle and is one of the few good Yewbeam characters. He is a power-booster, meaning he can explode lights.

Ezekiel Bloor - He is the father of Bartholomew Bloor and Harold Bloor, the principal of Bloors' Academy, and is also a (failed) magician.

Manfred Bloor - He is one of the evil characters in the series. He is also a hypnotist. He hypnotized Lyell Bone, causing Lyell to lose his memory. Toward the end of the series, Manfred's endowment changes and develops into that of his ancestor Borlath's, meaning he could generate and control fire.

Asa Pike - Asa is a shapeshifting were-beast who would change his shape at dusk. He was originally an evil character and was Manfred's sidekick until book 5 when he helped Charlie and his friends. For this he was punished.

Dorcas Loom - She has two brothers, and can bewitch clothing. She is also an evil character.

Billy Raven - Billy is an albino, and has the ability to speak to animals. He is an orphan.

Emma Tolly - She was hypnotized by Manfred Bloor for eight years and renamed Emilia Moon. Charlie and his friends rescue her from that and she lives with her aunt, Julia Ingledew. She is a good character.

Olivia Vertigo - Olivia is an illusionist, which she finds out in the fourth book. She is constantly changing her appearance, especially her hair color.

Tancred Torsson - He can command thunder, rain, wind, lightning and snow(shown in the fifth book). He proves this in 'The Time Twister' when he gets upset and goes into a mood that was very destructive and lasted a long time. He's Charlie's friend.

Lysander Sage - Sander can call up his spirit ancestors, and he is Tancred's best friend. Lysander has two sisters, Hortense and Alexandra, who are both unendowed. He inherited his ability from his mother, Jessamine Sage.

Fidelio Gunn - He is not endowed, but is excellent with music. He come from a family of musicians and owns a deaf cat. He is one of Charlie's best friends.

Gabriel Silk - Gabe's endowment is Psychometry, meaning he knows what happened to the people whose clothing he wears. He also breeds gerbils. He has three sister, June, Mai, and April who are all unendowed.

Benjamin Brown - He is one of Charlie's best friends and lives across the street from him. He has no endowment. His dog is Runner Bean.

Cook (Treasure) - Cook, whose real name is Treasure, is the 'lodestone' at Bloors'. She keeps the balance.

Julia Ingledew - She is the owner of Ingledew's Bookstore and is Emma Tolly's Aunt. She has a relationship with Paton Yewbeam.

Books

There are currently eight books in the series:

• Midnight for Charlie Bone
• The Time Twister (or Charlie Bone and the Time Twister)
• The Blue Boa (or Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy)
• The Castle of Mirrors (or Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors)
• Charlie Bone and the Hidden King
• Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf (or Charlie Bone and the Beast)
• Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (or Charlie Bone and the Shadow)
• Charlie Bone and the Red Knight
• The Secret Kingdom (Chronicles of the Red King Book 1)

External links

• Charlie Bone Series site
• Jenny Nimmo's official site