History Literature / ChildrenOfTheRedKing

The series begins with [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Charlie Bone]] accidentally getting the wrong photograph from the photo developer... And discovering that he can hear people talking in the photo. While he is perturbed at this [[{{Pun}} development,]] his [[{{Jerkass}} grandmother and great aunts]] inform him he has magical abilities and enroll him in [[WizardingSchool Bloor's Academy]] where he becomes part of the music department (because of his [[DisappearedDad supposedly dead father]], [[ChekhovsGun who played the piano]]). At Bloor's, Charlie makes [[TrueCompanions new friends,]] encounters strange magic, and learns all about the history of his BigScrewedUpFamily.

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Idith and Inez Branko.

* {{Awesome McCoolname}}: Olivia Vertigo, Lysander Sage, Tancred Torsson, Gabriel Silk, Eric Shellhorn, Alice Angel, Orvil Onimous, anyone with the last name "Yewbeam"... yeah, there's a lot of these.

* BalanceOfGoodAndEvil: What Cook/[[spoiler: Treasure]] does. This actually is almost her downfall in the fourth book when the good children start getting systematically picked off by the bad ones.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: [[spoiler: Miss Chrystal/Titania Tilpin]] gets increasingly ugly after she turns out to be an evil witch.
* [[BenevolentBoss Benevolent Ruler]]: The Red King was certainly this, when he ruled the Red Castle centuries ago. He was kind and fair to all who were put under his care, and everyone respected and liked him.

* [[CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase Character Name and]] {{the X of Y}}: All of the books except the first in the U.S.

* ChekhovsGunman: Mr. Pilgrim, who in the fifth book is revealed to be [[spoiler: Lyell Bone, Charlie's ten-years-estranged father. He's also the Red Knight]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Mr Pilgrim's talent as a pianist clues the reader in to the fact that he is really [[spoiler: Lyell Bone, Charlie's lost father]].

* CoolUncle: Paton Yewbeam.

* DramaQueen: Olivia Vertigo.

* FantasticRacism: The Yewbeams look down upon Charlie's mother and maternal grandmother because they're unendowed and without any impressive lineage. [[spoiler: Though unknown to them, they're actually descended from the Welsh wizard Mathonwy, who was a close friend of the Red King.]]

* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:Billy Raven, at the end of the series]]. This is unfortunately subverted earlier on when his initial adopted parents turn out to be evil.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: Paton and Julia Ingledew, at the very end of the series. Also Amy and Lyell, before and after Lyell's disappearance.]]

* HaveWeMetYet: [[spoiler: When Amy and Charlie go to Bloor's Academy in the fifth book to finally awaken Lyell, Lyell doesn't recognise them.]]

* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler: Charlie's father. He was imprisoned in Bloor's Academy for years, where he posed as a piano teacher. When Charlie starts attending the Academy he sees him without ever realising who he really is. After finally discovering where he's been hidden Charlie is quite bitter about this.]]

* HypnotizeTheCaptive: [[spoiler: Essentially what Harken does to Amy Bone in the fifth book, to ensure that Lyell doesn't wake up from his trance.]]

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: In addition to Christopher Crowquill in ''Castle of Mirrors'' and Mr. Pike, BigBad Manfred and his grandfather Ezekiel die at the end of the last book]].

* MundaneUtility: Charlie uses his wand to help him remember things he's studied for school. [[spoiler: Olivia sometimes uses her illusion power to stir up mischief when she gets bored.]]

* OfficialCouple: Paton and Julia Ingledew.

** Tancred and Emma count as well, as [[spoiler: at the end of the final book they have acknowledged their feelings for one another and are pursuing a relationship of some sort]].

* PapaWolf: Do not kill [[spoiler: Yolanda Yewbeam]] or [[spoiler:Tancred Torsson]]. Their fathers will be ''pissed''.
* ParentalAbandonment: Emma's dad, Mostyn Tolly, traded her to the Bloors for a replica of the Toledo knight when she was a baby. He eventually tries to put this right, but is murdered before he can.

* PunnyName: An example that overlaps with NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Belle Donner. [[spoiler:Who is actually [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Yolanda Yewbeam]]]].

* SadistTeacher: Tantalus Ebony, otherwise known as [[spoiler: Yorath Yewbeam]].

* SecretLegacy: In the third book, it's revealed that Charlie is really a descendant of the wizard Mathonwy, and as a result is the rightful owner of the wand Claerwen (which he originally stole from Skarpo the Sorcerer).
** [[spoiler: It turns out that Lyell Bone is the true heir to Maybelle's will, and thus heir to the Bloor's immense fortune.]]

* TwoActStructure: The first five books focus on Charlie and his friends as they try and foil the Bloors' evil plans and rescue some of the Bloors' many victims. Throughout it all Charlie strives to find his father, who was hypnotised and lost long ago. [[spoiler: He does eventually, and they bring him home in the fifth book]]. The last three books focus on the quest to find Maybelle's will and lead up to [[spoiler: Harken's second (and final) attempt to take over the city]].
* UnexpectedInheritance: [[spoiler: At the end of ''Red Knight'' it's revealed that ''Lyell'' was the true inheritor of Maybelle's will, which means that he inherits all of the Bloors' fortune ''and'' Bloor's Academy.]]
* UnfazedEveryman: Benjamin, Fidelio, and Olivia [[spoiler: until she turns out to be endowed in the fourth book]].

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler: It would've been much easier for the Bloors if they'd just killed Lyell in that car accident in 1994. The only reason they didn't was because Grizelda insisted on sparing him, and they also wanted to find out from him the location of the pearl-inlaid box that contains Maybelle's will. However, this is subverted in the fifth book, when Harken (with the Bloors' and Yewbeams' full knowledge) makes Amy forget Lyell to stop him waking up from his trance, as it's heavily implied, if not stated outright, that Lyell will ''die'' if Amy forgets him completely. Then in the last three books the Bloors resort to trying to drown him before he remembers where he put the pearl-inlaid box.]]

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Mr. Onimous sounds a lot like o'''m'''i'''n'''ous. [[SubvertedTrope He's one of the good guys though]].
** Also, [[AwesomeMcCoolName Count Harken Badlock]].

* PlotInducedStupidity: By all rights, Tancred and Lysander as a team are powerful enough to solve just about every problem Charlie has ever struggled with -- especially when it comes to the Bloor family, who are all terrified of them. Why they never seem to remember this is a mystery.
** Tancred actually isn't very good at controlling his powers, and often has to force himself from losing control of them. Lysander doesn't really have an excuse, though.

* EvilOldFolks: Quite a few, but Ezekiel Bloor deserves special mention; he's a GrumpyOldMan taken to [[UpToEleven the extreme]].

%%* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

%%* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* AdultFear: There's quite a bit of this for a children's series.

%%* ActionGirl

* AdultFear: There's quite a bit of this for a children's series.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[JerkassWoobie Dagbert Endless]], whose CharacterAlignment changes with the moon. [[spoiler:At the end, he seems to have finally settled somewhere on [[LawfulGood the]] [[ChaoticGood "good"]] [[NeutralGood spectrum]]]]. Billy Raven switches to the bad side for several books before rejoining the heroes.

* PunnyName: An example that overlaps with NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Belle Donner. [[spoiler:Who is actually [[ShapeShifter Yolanda Yewbeam]]]].

* {{Shapeshifting}}: Yorath Yewbeam and his daughter Yolanda are traditional shapeshifters, able to become literally any living thing (even plants, apparently, in Yorath's case). Emma Tolly and Asa Pike are slightly different, with Emma able to become any type of bird she wants, including made up ones, and Asa being more of a werewolf and transforming depending on how light or dark his surroundings are.

* HypnotizeThePrincess: [[spoiler: Essentially what Harken does to Amy Bone in the fifth book, to ensure that Lyell doesn't wake up from his trance.]]

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Tancred is drowned by Dagbert Endless in ''Shadow'', but is brought back from the bring of death by the Flames]].

[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CharlieBoneFirstCover.JPG]]

The series begins with [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Charlie Bone]] accidentally getting the wrong photograph from the photo developer... And discovering that he can hear people talking in the photo. While he is perturbed at this [[{{Pun}} development,]] his [[{{Jerkass}} grandmother and great aunts]] inform him he has magical abilities and enroll him in [[WizardingSchool Bloor's Academy]] where he becomes part of the music department (because of his [[DisappearedDad supposedly dead father,]] [[ChekhovsGun who played the piano]]). At Bloor's, Charlie makes [[TrueCompanions new friends,]] encounters strange magic, and learns all about the history of his BigScrewedUpFamily.
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* HeroicAlbino: Billy Raven, though he flip-flops a bit before settling on the side of the good kids.

* HeroicAlbino: Amadis.

* ABoyAndHisX: For Benjamin, 'a boy and his dog'.

* PowerPerversionPotential / GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Charlie can go into any still image. ''Any'' still image. Think about it.

* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:Billy Raven, at the end of the series]]. This is unfortunately subverted earlier on when his initial adopted parents turn out to be LawfulEvil.

* AcademyOfAdventure / WizardingSchool: Bloor's Academy.

* OffingTheOffspring: What Lord Grimwald intends to do to Dagbert, due to their family's curse.

* MultigenerationalHousehold: Charlie's house up consists of him, his mother, both his grandmothers, and his great-uncle.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: In addition to the aforementioned Christopher and Mr. Pike, BigBad Manfred and his grandfather Ezekiel die at the end of the last book]].

* KillItWithFire: What Borlath did to the Castle of Mirrors and its inhabitants. The only survivor was Amadis' youngest son, Owain.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Christopher Crowquill in ''Castle of Mirrors''.]]
** [[spoiler: At the end of the series, Manfred and Ezekiel Bloor.]]

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Christopher Crowquill was framed for robbery by the Bloors and sent to jail for seven years. After he gets out, he comments that the only person who still stood by him even though he was a criminal was Alice Angel.
** In ''Blue Boa'' Charlie becomes a pariah within the school for one day because of Skarpo's causing mayhem with his magic, as everyone knows that it was Charlie who released him out of his painting. A similar incident happens in the fifth book, with most students in the school becoming angry with Charlie because he managed to return his friends' pets and not anyone else's, and won't reveal where the rest of the animals are.

* DramaQueen: Olivia Vertigo.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Yorath Yewbeam's feeding on Paton in ''Blue Boa''.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Usually the setting is fairly strict on OnePersonOnePower. However, Yolanda Yewbeam is both a shapeshifter and a hypnotist, Manfred takes up pyrokinesis after losing his hypnotism (only to get his old power back and keep his new one), and Charlie is both a Picture Portal Person and a hereditary wizard, though the latter only becomes clear as the series progresses. Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, had at least four endowments: psychic power, illusions, spirit-summoning, and witchcraft. Possibly justified in that she was so closely related to the Red King, but then again her siblings only seem to have had one endowment a piece.
* CoolUncle: Paton Yewbeam.

* ABoyAndHisX: For Benjamin, 'a boy and his dog'.

* BodyHorror: Also Asa's ancestor, Cafal (called 'The Changer').

* TheDreaded: