Characters / Children of the Red King: Charlie's Family

Immediate Family

Amy Bone (née Jones)

Amy Bone

Charlie's mother and Lyell's wife. She is a shop assistant and is descended from Mathonwy, a powerful magician and the Red King’s best friend, though she appears to have no magic of her own.

• Awful Truth: For ten years thought her husband had died in a car crash, when he was really alive and trapped in Bloor's Academy, though with no memory of who he really was.

• Elopement: She eloped with Lyell to Mexico and married him there.
• Extreme Doormat: Played with. She may be quiet and timid most of the time, but she's still willing to stand up to Grandma Bone at certain moments, such as when she defends Charlie during the Aunts' interrogation of him in Midnight for Charlie Bone and tries to get a doctor to help the gravely ill Paton in Blue Boa. She becomes less of a doormat as the series progresses.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Though Amy has golden-brown hair, she has a heart of gold. In the fifth book, her hair is described as blonde.
• Happily Married: To Lyell, before and after his hypnosis.
• Hidden Depths: At first appears to be timid, ordinary and not very significant. Then it's discovered that she's a descendant of Mathonwy, making Charlie the rightful owner of Claerwen the wand. She's also more plucky and brave than she initially appears to be.
• Hypnotize the Captive: In Hidden King she's hypnotized by Count Harken into falling in love with him and forgetting Lyell. This almost results in her being transported into the past, which would have made Charlie an orphan.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Amy has blue eyes, and a very kind and sweet personality.
• The Lost Lenore: Lyell is this for her, though it's subverted because he's not really dead, though she believes he is.
• Marry for Love: She married Lyell for love.
• Nice Girl: There isn't a single mean bone in her body.
• Obliviously Beautiful: Amy thinks she is not as pretty as she used to be, but that doesn't stop Count Harken from courting her.
• Parental Substitute: Becomes one to Billy Raven after she and Lyell adopt him at the end of the series.
• Rags to Riches: Because Lyell inherits the Bloor fortune, she and Lyell go from poor to rich.
• Secret Legacy: She is descended from Mathonwy, a powerful magician and friend of the Red King. This makes Charlie the rightful owner of the wand Claerwen.

• She Cleans Up Nicely: In the fifth book. Charlie is amazed at how beautiful she looks as she leaves for the Grand Ball at Bloor's Academy.
• Shrinking Violet: She is described as rather timid and quiet during the first five books of the series. However, when she gets her husband back, she seems to become a lot more confident and develops more poise.
• Stepford Smiler: Amy typically has an optimistic attitude, preferring to make the best of the life she's been given. However, at certain moments Charlie can see that she is sad inside and missing her lost husband.
• Team Mom: By the fifth book, Amy seems to have befriended quite a few of Charlie's friends' parents, most notably Mrs. Gunn.
• Took a Level in Badass: Though not to the same extent as her husband. Despite being unendowed, she and Lyell deceive the Bloors and their own family (most of which are powerfully endowed) into believing that they are going on a second honeymoon, to prevent them from realising that Lyell is the Red Knight who is riding around the city protecting the good endowed children.
• Tragic Keepsake: Her diamond wedding ring. Her taking it off in Hidden King is very significant, as it means that she's beginning to forget Lyell.

Maisie Jones

Maisie Jones

Amy's mother and a widow. She is very cheerful, plump, and bossy.

• Secret Legacy: Maisie is descended from Mathonwy, a magician and friend of the Red King.
• Starting a New Life: Becomes the new Queen of the Green Canteen in the Bone Academy after Bertha Weedon's departure.

Paton Yewbeam

Paton Yewbeam

Paton is Charlie's great-uncle and Grandma Bone’s much younger brother. He is a power-booster and as such does not go out much during the day. He is in love with and eventually marries Julia Ingledew, Emma Tolly's aunt.

• Dark and Troubled Past: Paton's mother was murdered when he was seven years old, his sisters turned against him and his father, and his gift caused him to be a pariah within the community and his own family as he couldn't go out in daylight. There's also his guilt at not helping Lyell at the cathedral on the day he disappeared.

• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Paton, like Venetia and Lyell, has surprisingly pale skin and dark hair.

• It's All My Fault: Paton never forgives himself for not meeting Lyell at the cathedral on the day Lyell disappeared, and blames himself for what happened.
• Magic Enhancement: Is a "power booster", though this mainly extends just to electronics, lightbulbs in particular. He also knows how to utilize this power effectively, and even manages to fatally electrocute Yolanda with it.

• The Mentor: To Charlie and many of the other endowed children. Olivia is specifically stated to look up to him, and he is one of the few people who can successfully chastise her.
• Missing Mom: Paton's mother died when he was seven, after being pushed down a staircase by Yolanda Yewbeam in Yewbeam Castle.

• Parental Substitute: Paton seems to get into this role as the series goes along. At first he is aloof and a loner, but after he puts his head up he begins to be more of an influence in Charlie's life, and helps Charlie undo whatever evil the Bloors have done and get him out of any trouble he has with Grandma Bone. It's justified, since with Charlie's father out of the picture for ten years, and Paton being the only reliable adult male in 9 Filbert Street, then of course Charlie would turn to him for the sort of fatherly or familial support he needs. By the end of the series, it's clear that they have grown really close and that Charlie looks up to Paton a lot and is terribly upset when he believes Paton has died during the final battle on the heath.

• Sword Cane: Paton has one in his walking stick, used in the final battle. And it's electrified.

• The Reliable One: Charlie always turns to Paton when he needs help with something, and he's usually willing to help in any way he can, unless he's on a road trip, been run over by a car or bewitched by Yorath.
• The Stoic: Paton is usually a tower of strength, and never lets onto his more deeper, personal feelings often.

• This Means War!: When Paton goes to help Benjamin and Runner Bean (who's been attacked by a beast), and sees his sister Eustacia acting as Benjamin's sitter so that the Bloors can steal Dr Tolly's case, he effectively declares war on his sisters, realizing that it’s time to put his head up at last.

Grizelda Bone

Grizelda Bone

The mother of Lyell Bone and grandmother of Charlie Bone. Also known as Grandma Bone. She lives in Filbert Street with Charlie and his family.

• Antagonistic Offspring: Her son Lyell refused to side with the Bloors and Yewbeams, which caused Grizelda to turn against him.
• Evil Matriarch: Not quite evil, and at one point it’s implied that she simply thinks it’s stupid to go against the will of whoever holds the power. She’s certainly nasty enough, though.

=* I Have No Son!: Grizelda's general feelings towards Lyell after he 'breaks the rules'. She turns her back to him and allows him to be hypnotized and lost, and later only thinks of his as an unfortunate episode that has passed.

• Jerkass: She calls Charlie's friends mean names, calls Charlie stupid and foolish, and speaks poorly of her own son at times after his disappearance.

• No Sense of Humor: Nothing seems to amuse her.
• No Sympathy: She has no sympathy for Charlie or his friends. Or anyone, for that matter.
• Perpetual Frowner: She almost never smiles.
• The Unapologetic: She never apologizes for anything, as she never believes she's at fault.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Grizelda is afraid of animals. Especially Runner Bean and the Flames.

Lyell Bone

Lyell Bone

Charlie's father, and Amy's husband. He is an organist who disappeared in 1994 while trying to stop the abduction of Emma Tolly. He is hypnotized by Manfred Bloor into forgetting who he is and spends the next ten years disguised as a teacher at Bloor's Academy. He is eventually woken up and is reunited with his wife and son. During the last three books, he and Amy pretend to go on a second honeymoon while Lyell roams the city as the Red Knight.

• Action Dad: Rides around the Red King's city disguised as the Red Knight, protecting the Red King's children, including his own son. At the very end he battles Count Harken in a duel during the final battle and is able to hold his own very well against him.

• Brainwashed: By Manfred Bloor, eight years before the beginning of the series, for trying to prevent the abduction of Emma Tolly (and also because he knocked Ezekiel Bloor to the ground, crippling him permanently).
• Brainwash Residue: It's said that Lyell did not immediately fully recover from his long ordeal by the time of the events of book six. He is implied to be all better at the end of Red Knight, though.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He is injured during the final battle, in which he fights and kills Count Harken Badlock.

• Chekhov's Gunman: He's Mr. Pilgrim, the strange piano teacher at Bloor's Academy. He's also the Red Knight in books six, seven, and eight.

• Create Your Own Villain: It was Lyell's rejection of Titania long ago that turned her to evil.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Not including his probably troubled childhood (and with a mother like Grizelda Bone, one can't expect his childhood to be a completely happy one) he's hypnotized in 1994 and spends ten years in a state of dazed forgetfulness, lost to his wife and child.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a moment of this near the end of Red Knight, when he remarks that 'rats and a sinking ship comes to mind' when watching Titania and Joshua Tilpin and the Weedons leave Bloor's Academy (and the city) in a black car.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Lyell defeats and kills Count Harken, a powerful enchanter, in the final book, being only armed with armour, an enchanted sword and the mare that is Queen Berenice. He isn't even endowed.
• Disappeared Dad: His dad, Monty Bone, was killed in 1963 when his plane crashed in a desert.
• Distressed Dude: He has to be rescued from his spellbound state by Charlie and Amy, who use the King's tears to wake him up.

• Elopement: Lyell eloped to Mexico with Amy Jones and married her there.
• Faking the Dead: The Bloors faked Lyell's death by making him crash his car into a quarry.
• Fighting from the Inside: While hypnotised, he's aware that something is wrong with him. It's implied that he tries to break through the hypnosis and regain his lost memories when the cathedral bells toll at midday and midnight.

• Happily Married: To Amy, before his disappearance. And after he is woken up.
• Have We Met?: When Amy and Charlie meet him in the chapel in book five, Lyell has no idea who they are, though he seems to know that he should recognize them.

• Hope Bringer: Lyell fulfills this role in the last three books as he acts as the Red Knight, the only person said to be able to save the city from Harken.

• Hypnotize the Captive: Pre-series, he is hypnotized by Manfred Bloor for interfering in the abduction of Emma Tolly, which results in him losing all of his memories. It's said by Dr Tolly that he's spellbound for life, unless something is found that can wake him up. He was made to return home by the Yewbeams, where eventually he received a phone call from his mother ('a summons') that caused him to leave and crash his car into a quarry. He was dragged out of the car just before it went over the edge, and was then taken back to Bloor's Academy where he posed as a piano teacher for the next ten years. He was declared dead to the world, though no body was found in the wreckage.
• Identity Amnesia: During his trance he has no memories of his old life.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Bartholomew Bloor, who he befriended in 1993.
  • He was also revealed to be good friends with a old lawyer named Barnaby Bittermouse, who is unfortunately murdered because of said connection, by the Bloors who are looking for Maybelle's box.
• I Owe You My Life: Lyell practically says this to Charlie after the battle on the heath.
• Kicked Upstairs: At the end of the last book, Lyell becomes the owner of Bloor's Academy as he is the true heir to Maybelle's will.

• Loss of Identity: The result of his hypnotization.
• The Lost Lenore: Is this for Amy during his disappearance, though he's not actually dead.
• Tears Of Remorse: His eyes glitter with tears as apologises to Charlie for his deception in the hospital after the final battle.
• Marry for Love: He married Amy for love, something that earned him the ire of most of his family.

• Messy Hair: When Charlie first sees him, he is described as having unkempt hair that Charlie at first thinks he forgot to comb.
• Mysterious Past: While he's hypnotized, he's frequently thought of as mysterious. No one knows where he came from, or how he came to Bloor's Academy.
• Mysterious Protector: Lyell is this in the last three books. The children and adults in the city (except for a chosen few) have no idea he is the Red Knight.
• Never Found the Body: Even though his car crashed into a quarry, his body was never found. This is because the Bloors and Yewbeams dragged him out of the car just before it went over the edge of the quarry.
• Nice Guy: He's certainly nicer than the rest of the Yewbeams, excluding Paton.
• Not Himself: When he came back from the cathedral after being hypnotized. Amy tells Charlie in the first book that it was as if he were under a spell.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Most of his battles as the Red Knight. Specifically his killing of Amos Byrne and whatever he did that calmed the sea at the end of Shadow of Badlock, when Charlie and Paton were returning from the Island of a Thousand Blues.
• The One That Got Away: Is this for Titania Tilpin, who he rejected for Amy.
• Only Friend: Lyell was most likely Paton's only friend before his disappearance.

• Screwthe Rules Im Doing Whats Right: This seems to be his attitude for most of the series. Even before the series, he 'broke the rules' when he tried to save Emma Tolly from being abducted by the Bloors and paid for it dearly.
• Secret-Keeper: He's the keeper of the box containing Maybelle's will.
• Secret Legacy: he's the true heir to Maybelle's will.
• The Confidant: To Rufus Raven.
• Determinator: And how. Even after ten years of spellbound silence, he's still determined to bring the Bloors down.
• The Only One I Trust: Lyell was (presumably) the only one Rufus trusted to guard the box containing Maybelle's will.
• The Piano Player: Lyell is a gifted pianist and organist. According to Gabriel, he is absolutely brilliant.
• The Power of Love: It's implied that the only reason he's survived for so long while hypnotised is because his wife and son refuse to forget him.
• Took a Level in Badass: In the last three books. Though he is still recovering from his ten-year-long trance, Lyell chooses to roam around the city as the Red Knight, protecting the endowed children, including his own son. With a mare that used to be the Queen, an unbeatable sword, and the Red King's cloak, he kills a fair amount of enemies during very dramatic battles. He even kills Count Harken Badlock, a powerful enchanter and the Big Bad of the series.

• Wistful Amnesia: During his spellbound years, Lyell has no memories of his past life but senses that something is wrong with him. At midnight and midday, when the cathedral clock chimes, the hypnotism weakens briefly and he can sense hidden memories. When Amy and Charlie meet him in the Academy chapel, he doesn't recognize them but realizes that he should.

Extended Family

Lucretia Yewbeam

Lucretia Yewbeam

One of Charlie's three great-aunts. She is a Matron at Bloor's Academy.

• Baby Sitter From Hell: Lucretia is a Matron at Bloor's Academy. The children think of her as ‘the closest a woman can get to a dragon’.
• Beware the Nice Ones: The only thing scarier than an angry Aunt Lucretia is a nice Aunt Lucretia.
• Child Hater: Noted by Billy Raven in the second book when he is told off by Ezekiel for kicking Blessed.

Eustacia Yewbeam

Eustacia Yewbeam

One of Charlie's great-aunts. She has the gift of clairvoyance.

• Baby Sitter From Hell: She acts as Benjamin's babysitter in the first book, and treats him and Runner Bean horribly.

• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: She is a clairvoyant.

Venetia Yewbeam

Venetia Yewbeam

One of Charlie's great-aunts. She has the gift of bewitching clothing.

• Beware the Nice Ones: She's most evil when she's acting nice.

• Gold Digger: She only marries Arthur Shellhorn for his money and to gain access to Eric's endowment.

• Wicked Stepmother: In the sixth book she marries Arthur Shellhorn, who has two young children. Venetia corrupts one of them and abuses the other.

James Yewbeam

James Yewbeam

Paton Yewbeam's father and brother to Henry. He is over ninety years old and lives with his housekeeper Pearl in a cottage near the sea.

• Affectionate Nickname: Henry always called him 'Jamie' before his disappearance from 1912.
• Anger Born of Worry: When Henry recounts the story of how he found Enkidu, he says that James felt this when he climbed down the face of a cliff to get to the kitten.
• Antagonistic Offspring: Four of his children turned against him completely, siding with their evil Great-Aunt Yolanda. James was forced to flee Yewbeam Castle for his life with Paton, who was only seven years old at the time. Decades later, James is still estranged from his daughters who all want nothing to do with him.

• Happily Married: To Solange Sourzac, before she was murdered by Yolanda Yewbeam in Yewbeam Castle.
• Killed Off for Real: He dies of old age a year before the events of Henry and the Guardians of the Lost.
• Nice Guy: He is a nice man with a gentle and kind personality.
• Promotion to Parent: Takes on a semi-parental role toward Henry after Henry returns to live at Ocean View after the events of Time Twister.

Henry Yewbeam

Henry Yewbeam

A relative of Charlie who found himself in the 21st century through accidental use of the Time Twister.

• Beware the Nice Ones: He is normally very polite and friendly. However, if anyone tries to hurt his cat, he becomes much less so.
• Big Damn Heroes: He, Bramble and Enkidu travel through the forest to rescue Mark from the Reeds' house in Timeless.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Is a part of the Yewbeam family, who Skarpo the Sorcerer called a family of scoundrels, and on a much larger scale the many descendants of the Red King, who are in an ongoing battle with each other.
• Cheerful Child: He is usually very optimistic and cheerful.

• Constantly Curious: He is very curious about most things. The Princess points out that if he wasn't so curious, he wouldn't have looked into the Time Twister and been transported through time in the first place.

• Family of Choice: His is with his brother James (before James' death), his Auntie Pearl, Charlie and Enkidu.
• Happily Adopted: In a strange way, by his own brother James Yewbeam, who is now elderly, and his housekeeper Pearl, in the present time.

• Hero with Bad Publicity: Henry starts off on a bad foot with the Shaidi when he brings a cat into the Littles' House. Because they are the last of their kind, and one of their own was killed by a cat only a few years earlier, they are frightened and angry, and play mean tricks on Henry during his early days in the House.

• Intergenerational Friendship: With Pearl, his adoptive aunt. Also Treasure, who looked after him while he was hiding in Bloor's Academy.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Henry is inseparable from his cat, Enkidu, who he rescued as a kitten and formed a strong bond with.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His first (and only) attempt to go back through the Time Twister results in him almost dying of hypothermia in a locked freezer.

• Parental Abandonment: His biological parents are long dead. His brother, who'd been acting as a Parental Substitute, died a year before the events of Guardians of the Lost, of old age.
• Parental Substitute: His brother and Pearl become this for him after he is transported through time.
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives his speech to Twig, calling her a bad mother because she failed to make sure Bramble knew how to tie her shoelaces.
• Starting a New Life: After finding himself in the 21st century he goes to live in his old home, Ocean View, with his now-elderly brother and his housekeeper.
  • After discovering that a nameless group of people are hunting him, he's forced to go to the Littles' house to live, where he can start growing again. He has to get used to the very different life the people in the house lead.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He is extremely similar to Charlie in physical appearance. Paton comments on it in surprise when he first sees the family photo of Henry's family which Charlie shows to him in Time Twister, and later on Ezekiel Bloor also points it out, musing that Charlie's similarity to Henry may be why Ezekiel can't stand him.