History Literature / InTheKeepOfTime

* JustForPun: After jumping down through the magical time mist inside the tower:

* {{Determinator}}: James II is characterized this way, being described as stubborn, fierce, refusing to back down in anything (but especially in battle--"Here was a man looking for victory, no matter what the cost"), and leading his people in rebelling against the English. This turns out to be fatal for him, since it causes him to take far too many risks to win the day, including approving the design of an oversized cannon that ends up exploding and killing him. His sobriquet [[TheRedBaron "James of the Fiery Face"]], while originally referring to the large red birthmark covering it, also refers to this character trait as well as his temper.

* ExtyYearsFromNow: Averted. The author is very careful not to state exactly how far in the future the children travel, with the book Andrew finds making mention of it being the twenty-second century but being no more specific than that.

* TranslationConvention: An odd example of this. The children are all from modern England and speak English. As soon as they arrive in the past and begin speaking, the people of the time recognize their language and respond in kind. This is not indicated to be a magical property of the Tower, particularly since Andrew can understand and be understood while away from it. Thanks to the Scottish having to interact with the English a great deal, they would know the language, and fifteenth-century English was not ''that'' different from twentieth-century (Middle English was already fading into Modern by that point). Yet not once does anyone comment on their language, whether to believe them English spies ([[ProperlyParanoid a possibility which does cross Elinor's mind]]) or wonder about their education (from the monks at the Abbey, for example). Some of this may be due to Anna's mysterious prophecies about them, but even so... Made worse by the fact that there are at least a few instances where one of the children listens in on a conversation where those involved would surely have been speaking Scottish--if not out of habit then because they didn't consider the information important or any of the kids' business to know. And while it's possible language doesn't change for the next several centuries (but unlikely), it also seems odd Vianah can understand them just fine, and that Andrew can read the books about the cataclysm (though those would have been written closer to the modern era). [[PlotHole Hmmm...]]

* ScreamingWoman: Hannah, one of the women at Smailholm, becomes this when she learns her husband died in the English attack; although the sheer grief displayed in her breakdown pushes it toward an in-world OneWomanWail.

* TheResenter: Ian again, in regards to his younger sister's precocious nature and how all the adults dote on her and shower her in praise. "All his life he had heard his parents and teachers go on about Ollie and her reading ability, and it would serve them all right when they found out that Ollie couldn't read any better than he could."

* NobodyCallsMeChicken: Andrew seems to suffer from a bit of this, in the scene where Anna asks him to climb down the backside of Smailholm Tower and he goes after she says Mae is not afraid to do it, as "if she meant to imply that he was afraid".

* PortalSlam: Variation: since it isn't possible to PortalSlam against a portal which consists of simply opening a real door, the children are instead kept from traveling through time by the need to warn the men of the English ambush, then by the key's disappearance. Although the magic of the key comes and goes, this turns out to be a RedHerring and not a ChekhovsGun, as it seems that once "unlocking" a time period, the key remains ready to use until the bearer returns to their own time. Something of a TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot moment, although subverting reader expectations here was also clever.

* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Anna's prediction is that "four would come" with a silver key, and that their coming would spell the end of an age. This is literally true, but also symbolically, since their arrival coincides with the English ambush and the attack of James II on Roxburgh Castle--a battle which, [[WhatAnIdiot despite the king's death]], does mark a critical turning point in the battle for Scottish independence from England. See also RuleOfSymbolism.

* StableTimeLoop: While the trope itself does not explicitly appear, FridgeLogic makes one wonder--if the children had never gone back in time, would [[spoiler:Cedric never have died]]? Meaning that whatever descendants he had suddenly vanished in the present? (There'd be no way of knowing really.) Or was it predetermined they would go back and Andrew would make the choice he did, because it had already happened? Or would [[spoiler:Cedric]] have decided to go to the battle anyway? Similarly, would Vianah have survived anyway until her people returned, if the children hadn't shown up to help bring her food, or did they change the future by saving her? In short, it's not clear whether ForWantOfANail or InSpiteOfANail is operating here.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Aunt Grace is a hilarious, if harrowing, example of this, tearing off erratically with every ride. Ollie-Mae has the excuse of being from the past, but Andrew silently observes that he's just as tempted to hide in the floor of the car, since he's in the front seat with their aunt and therefore "especially vulnerable".

* {{Determinator}}: James II is characterized this way, being described as stubborn, fierce, refusing to back down in anything (but especially in battle--"Here was a man looking for victory, no matter what the cost"), and leading his people in rebelling against the English. This ends up being fatal for him, since it leads him to take far too many risks to win the day, including approving the design of an oversized cannon that ends up exploding and killing him. His sobriquet [[TheRedBaron "James of the Fiery Face"]], while originally referring to the large red birthmark covering it, also refers to this character trait as well as his temper.

** Also, Mae watching Andrew hide the key in the rabbit burrow indicates to the careful reader just where the key has disappeared to when the children find it missing later (Mae was DistractedByTheShiny, and is thus persuaded to return it in exchange for some of Ian's marbles).

** [[AvertedTrope Interestingly however]], when the children are later preparing meals for Ollie-Mae so they can teach her table manners, it is ''Andrew'' who operates the little camp stove, and never once does he suggest Elinor should do it [[FeminineWomenCanCook because she's a girl]]. (She is even rather suspicious who will make the "elaborate lunches", suggesting she expected such a turn of events.) Apparently he learned his lesson!

* StayInTheKitchen: In one of Elinor's few great moments, when Andrew decides he is going off to Roxburgh with the Laird and his men, but Elinor must stay behind.
-->'''Elinor''': You're not going to leave me here waiting again.
-->'''Andrew''': Well, you can't come. It's just men.
-->'''Elinor''': That's no argument. I can do anything you can do.
-->'''Andrew''': But this is the fourteen hundreds. Girls didn't fight in battles.
-->'''Elinor''': How about Joan of Arc?
-->'''Andrew''': You're no Joan of Arc. Not in your jeans and a blanket.
-->'''Elinor''': You don't look like a warrior either, in that dumb brown dressing-gown. Who ever heard of going to war in a dressing-gown!

%% * BlindSeer: Though not blind, Anna is otherwise this trope.

%% * CharacterWitness: Mae becomes this to the Laird and his men, when they capture Andrew.

%% * TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong / NotNowKiddo: Ian, much of the time, particularly on matters of magic and TimeTravel.

%% * {{Determinator}}: James II is characterized this way.
%% * DramaticIrony: At the start of the story, Andrew is positive that the whole summer will only be "boring". How wrong he is is proven later through the CallBack mentioned above.

%% * DrivesLikeCrazy: Aunt Grace is a hilarious example of this.

%% * {{Foreshadowing}}:
%% ** At the start of the story, Andrew is positive that the whole summer will only be "boring". How wrong he is is proven later through the CallBack mentioned above.
%% ** Also, Mae watching him hide the key in the rabbit burrow.

%% * GreenEyedMonster: Ian, toward Ollie.

%% * IJustWantToBeSpecial: Cedric. [[spoiler:And he pays for it.]]

%% * JumpedAtTheCall: Cedric. [[spoiler:And he pays for it.]]

%% * OneWomanWail: Literal example from Hannah, whose husband died in the English attack.

%% * PortalToThePast: Smailholm Tower again, though it's also a Portal to the Future.

%% * TheResenter: Ian again.

No, this isn't ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', despite the similarity in set-up, though it may possibly be an {{Homage}}. A children's fantasy book by Margaret J. Anderson, it tells the story of Andrew, Elinor, Ian, and Olivia ("Ollie"), and how when their parents decide to go on vacation in France and leave their children with their aged Aunt Grace in Scotland, magical adventures befall them thanks to a key and the ancient ruin of Smailholm Tower. [[AnAesop Lessons are learned]], though not as many as would be expected for a children's story written in the 70's, and [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments stronger family bonds are formed]], as the children slip back and forth between the past and the present (and even the future).

* StayInTheKitchen: In one of Elinor's few [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments Of Awesome]], when Andrew decides he is going off to Roxburgh with the Laird and his men, but Elinor must stay behind.

* BlindSeer: Though not blind, Anna is otherwise this trope.

* CharacterWitness: Mae becomes this to the Laird and his men, when they capture Andrew.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong / NotNowKiddo: Ian, much of the time, particularly on matters of magic and TimeTravel.

* {{Determinator}}: James II is characterized this way.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Aunt Grace is a hilarious example of this.

* {{Foreshadowing}} / DramaticIrony: At the start of the story, Andrew is positive that the whole summer will only be "boring". How wrong he is is proven later through the CallBack mentioned above. Also, Mae watching him hide the key in the rabbit burrow.

* GreenEyedMonster: Ian, toward Ollie.

* IJustWantToBeSpecial / JumpedAtTheCall: Cedric. [[spoiler:And he pays for it.]]

* [[MagicalSeventhSon Magical Seventh Daughter]]: [[BlindSeer Anna]] is the seventh child of a seventh child.

* OneWomanWail: Literal example from Hannah, whose husband died in the English attack.

* PortalToThePast: Smailholm Tower again, though it's also a Portal to the Future.

* TheResenter: Ian again.

** [[AvertedTrope Interestingly however]], when the children are later preparing meals for Ollie-Mae so they can teach her table manners, it is Andrew who operates the little camp stove, and never once does he suggest Elinor should do it [[FeminineWomenCanCook because she's a girl]]. (She is even rather suspicious who will make the "elaborate lunches", suggesting she expected such a turn of events.) Apparently he learned his lesson!

* PortalToThePast: Smailholm Tower again, though it's also a Portal To The Future.

* GreenAesop: Rather ahead of its time, too, seeing as environmental concerns were not as strong in the 70's as the 90's and beyond. Also unusual in that with the ColdWar still in full swing, most SpeculativeFiction writers (even children's authors) tended to focus on [[AtomicHate nuclear war]] as the danger to be warned against...here, however, it is global warming, climate change, the energy crisis, and not being good stewards of the planet that are underscored.

Four English children, [[GenderEqualEnsemble two boys and two girls]], travel to the countryside to stay with an elderly chaperone. There, thanks to a bit of magic and the curiosity of the youngest sister, the quartet is sent through a [[PortalToThePast Portal]] to another world, where they have all sorts of adventures...

No, this isn't ''ChroniclesOfNarnia'', despite the similarity in set-up, though it may possibly be an {{Homage}}. A children's fantasy book by Margaret J. Anderson, it tells the story of Andrew, Elinor, Ian, and Olivia ("Ollie"), and how when their parents decide to go on vacation in France and leave their children with their aged Aunt Grace in Scotland, magical adventures befall them thanks to a key and the ancient ruin of Smailholm Tower. [[AnAesop Lessons are learned]], though not as many as would be expected for a children's story written in the 70's, and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming stronger family bonds are formed]], as the children slip back and forth between the past and the present (and even the future).

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong / NotNowBernard: Ian, much of the time, particularly on matters of magic and TimeTravel.

* DistractedByTheShiny: How the children get Ollie-Mae to give them back the key--by trading her Ian's colorful marbles. A case could be made that her taking the glowing key in the first place was itself an example of this trope, since she surely could not know the significance of it.
* DistressedDamsel: Sadly, Elinor is this for much of their time in the past. Mae is too, during the wolf fight, but that's justified since she's only a little girl.

* {{Expy}}: The four children are in many ways quite similar to the four Pevensies of {{Narnia}}. At the start, Andrew is dismissive of his younger siblings and not particularly excited about their stay in the country, and he is also the first to adapt very well to the past and become immersed in the time period and even a warrior mentality, like Peter; Elinor is the one most skeptical about the reality and acceptability of the adventure, as well as the TeamMom, like Susan; Ian is very much resentful and jealous of his youngest sister; and Ollie herself is the one whose recklessness and eager curiosity leads them into the past in the first place. However, they all eventually grow beyond these roles, with Andrew rejecting the past world for the present, Elinor becoming stronger and more willing to believe in the impossible, Ian not betraying them like Edmund did, and Ollie ends up losing herself and has to be taught and bonded with her siblings before she can recall who she is--which may perhaps be a commentary on Lucy's being thought mad and how incredibly willing she was to believe and immerse herself in Narnia.

* IncrediblyLamePun: After jumping down through the magical time mist inside the tower:

* IWantMyJetPack: Very much Andrew's reaction to discovering the future is not that of ''TheJetsons''. Made more intriguing (and amusing) by the exact predictions he makes for the twenty-second century.
-->'''Andrew''': By the twenty-second century, every house should have its own computers and [[RobotBuddy robots]] and maybe people would talk by [[PsychicPowers telepathy]].

* StableTimeLoop: While the trope itself does not explicitly appear, FridgeLogic makes one wonder--if the children had never gone back in time, would [[spoiler:Cedric never have died?]] Meaning that whatever descendants he had suddenly vanished in the present? (There'd be no way of knowing really.) Or was it predetermined they would go back and Andrew would make the choice he did, because it had already happened? Or would [[spoiler:Cedric]] have decided to go to the battle anyway? Similarly, would Vianah have survived anyway until her people returned, if the children hadn't shown up to help bring her food, or did they change the future by saving her? In short, it's not clear whether ForWantOfANail or InSpiteOfANail is operating here.
* StayInTheKitchen: In one of Elinor's few [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments Of Awesome]], when Andrew decides he is going off to Roxburgh with the Laird and his men, but Elinor must stay behind.

* WarIsHell: After initially thinking WarIsGlorious, this is what Andrew comes to realize after experiencing battle [[spoiler:and Cedric's death]]. Although the {{Aesop}} may be partly lost, since he still is glad that [[spoiler:Cedric]] was on the winning side.

* CrowsAndRavens: Before the children go to the past, a dark omen of sorts occurs in the form of a starving black bird trapped in the tower, and falling to its death after they startle it from a window ledge. Later, when the children are returning to the present, another such bird swoops down on them right as they are turning the key.

* MacGuffin: The key, particularly after it vanishes and the children have to scramble to find it, hoping they won't be trapped in the past.

** Oddly, Andrew himself seems to almost indulge in this when, after finding out they've just returned the same moment they left due to YearInsideHourOutside, he believes everything they experienced was "just an illusion". This time it's Elinor who calls him on it, via what has happened to Ollie-Mae. In Andrew's case however, this may have been more due to him not wanting to face [[BigBadassWolf the terrible things]] [[WarIsHell he'd witnessed]].
* BigBadassWolf: Andrew has to fight one to protect Mae.

* ShownTheirWork: Clearly the author did a great deal of research on Scottish and English history, as well as Smailholm Tower itself, which is a real place. In fact Kelso, Roxburgh Castle, and King James (as well as how he died) are all accurate pieces of history.