Bartimaeus Trilogy
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The Bartimaeus Trilogy is a fantasy series by Jonathan Stroud and was published as a series of three novels between 2003 and 2006.
The three novels are:
The title character, Bartimaeus, is a five-thousand year old djinni, a spirit of approximately mid-level power. There are five basic levels of spirits, in order of increasing power: imps, foliots, djinn, afrits and marids. There also exists a variety of subclasses in each level. Above these levels exist more powerful entities, who are only occasionally summoned. Most notable of these entities are Ramuthra and Nouda.
The story is told through the viewpoint of four characters, the magician John Mandrake (birthname Nathaniel), the djinni Bartimaeus, the commoner Kitty Jones, and, briefly, the foliot Simpkin.
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[edit] Setting
The three novels are set in an Alternate history to our own, though many countries, cities, events, and people are from actual history (such as Prague, Solomon, the Roman Empire, William Gladstone, the American Revolution, etc.). The books take into account the idea that magic, magicians, and Djinni have been active throughout history, thus radically altering it. In particular these changes are reflected in various contrasts between modern aspects (electricity, cars) and older ones (colonial era weapons such as muskets). The current time period is purposefully never given, although one can draw the conclusion from some dates given that it takes place in the mid to late 1900s. The books incorporate references to various world mythologies and folklore, such as the Arabian Nights and Homer.
In the Alternate history existing in the story, a type of feudal society exists (the British monarchy is mentioned in passing, but is said to have been overthrown long before the events of the book) where the people are mainly of two classes.
The magicians are the governing class who hold the important posts in the government. The magicians have limited powers of their own and mainly perform their magic indirectly by summoning, binding and controlling various types of spirits, and creating magical artifacts to do the same.
The commoners are those who can not invoke magic and make up the rest of the society. They are kept in line by the governing class through the use of fear and ignorance. It should be noted that some commoners are born with a resistance to magic, or a sensitivity to its presence.
The books blend modern day England with past epochs. The London in the trilogy still has the Crystal Palace, which was destroyed by a fire in 1936. It is where the climax occurs. Because it is stated that the trilogy occurs over a hundred years after the death of William Gladstone (1898), it is clearly not 1936. Airplanes and e-mail are mentioned, so it can be assumed to be set in modern times. The Tower of London is still used as a prison. A chandelier in the first book is said to be made of "crystal taken from the ruins of Versailles," and it is implied that France, Germany, and Italy belong to Britain. Britain's main rival is the Czech Empire, which has fallen in power, but still resents Britain.
In the third book, the war against the "American colonies" is a main cause of the commoners' dissent. Apparently, Britain retains its power in North America and is sending troops there to suppress discontent.
[edit] Overview of the Trilogy
As the books progress, three cycles become evident. The first and largest from the overarching plot line standpoint is the rise and fall of London as a world power. The second and third are more personal; the boy changing from the pitiful, yet noble, Nathaniel, to the power hungry, arrogant John Mandrake and back again to the boy he was, and the third, involving Kitty and Bartimaeus, who have one of the most unusual relationships ever between human and spirit, who restore each other's faith in their races. Though nothing is certain, in one of his visits to the Bartimaeus trilogy forums Jonathan Stroud did say he was planning on making a Bartimaeus "bible".
[edit] The Amulet of Samarkand
The first book in the series introduces Nathaniel as the gifted 12-year old apprentice of a middle-aged mid-level magician, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. He assumes a new name -John Mandrake-to protect him from those who would wish to harm him, as magicians always wish to do to each other, sooner or later. When the magician Simon Lovelace cruelly humiliates Nathaniel in public, Nathaniel decides to have his revenge by stealing a powerful amulet from Lovelace. Unknown to his tutor, he begins the study of advanced magical incantations in order to summon the djinni Bartimaeus and enslave him. But Bartimaeus overhears Nathaniel's birthname, which greatly reduces Nathaniel's hold over him (since he can cast counterspells incorporating the birthname). Things soon get out of hand and Bartimeaus and Nathaniel find themselves caught in the middle of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt; in which Nathaniel defeats a powerful entity, Ramuthra, and a rebelious Lovelace.
[edit] The Golem's Eye
The second book picks up almost three years later and features Nathaniel as a junior magician working his way up the government ranks. In this book Kitty Jones is introduced as an important character. She is a part of the resistance movement which seeks to end the oppressive rule of the magicians. Nathaniel is tasked by his superiors to crush the resistance movement and capture the members. His task is complicated when a seemingly invulnerable clay golem starts to make random attacks on London. Much to the displeasure of Bartimaeus, Nathaniel recalls the djinni to aid him in uncovering the origins of the golem, and to save his own skin.
[edit] Ptolemy's Gate
In the final book of the series, Nathaniel is a senior magician and a member of the ruling council, an elite class of magicians in the government. Bartimaeus is still trapped on Earth by Nathaniel and is treated with disdain. Meanwhile, Kitty Jones has been hiding undercover and completing her research on magic and spirits. She hopes that this will enable her to break the endless cycles of conflicts between djinn and humans. The main plot of this story is a conspiracy to overthrow the government which causes the most dangerous threat in the history of magic. Together, Nathaniel, Bartimaeus and Kitty try to save the city of London from this dangerous threat.
Bartimaeus tells us that there is a never-ending cycle going on, where magicians take over commoners, the magicians summon spirits, the spirits spread magic throughout the city, some of the commoners gain a resistance to magic, the commoners rebel against the magicians, the magicians are overthrown, and the spirits go back to the Other Place until once again another magical empire rises up. This cycle proves to be the main plot, with the overthrowing of London. Bartimaeus makes references to other magical empires in his long life, such as Baghdad and Egypt, all of which have fallen from power as well.
[edit] The Other Place
The Other Place is the world of demons where time supposedly does not exist and where demons are all one entity while in it. In The Other Place, the essense of the demons can heal and replenish. The only known visitors to The Other Place include Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) using a focusing reversal while summoning and Kathleen Jones (Kitty Jones). It is the world where the witty fourth-level Djinn, Bartimaeus, dwells when he's not off as the slave of some magician.
[edit] Main Characters
- See also: Characters of the Bartimaeus trilogy
[edit] Bartimaeus
One of the main characters of the trilogy, after whom the trilogy is named. Bartimaeus is a sarcastic djinni. He usually provides comic relief in the form of footnotes which provide various views into his past exploits as well as the nature of djinn and magic.
One of Bartimaeus's most important masters is Ptolemy, who was a very good master to Bartimaeus, and gave him three great gifts. The first gift was that he treated Bartimaeus like an equal, which most magicians never do. The second gift was that he gave Bartimaeus freedom to walk the Earth and the Other Place. The final gift was that when death was inevitable, he sacrificed the last few seconds of his life to dismiss him, (Sending him back to the Other Place) saving him. Nathaniel would later do the same in the fight against Nouda.
In the first book of the trilogy, Bartimaeus learns the young magician Nathaniel's birth name, and therefore gains some power over him . This knowledge complicates things for Nathaniel, much to Bartimaeus' amusement.
[edit] Nathaniel/John Mandrake
One of the trio of major characters in the series. In the first book, The Amulet of Samarkand, he foils a coup and saves the life of the Prime Minister, Rupert Devereaux. In the second book, The Golem's Eye, after assuming a mantle in the government, he works towards stopping various attacks occurring in London. In the third book, he is caught up in an all-out revolution by djinn on earth, but ultimately manages to stop it, with the help of various others, though with tragic results (Ministers death). Over the course of the trilogy, Nathaniel the innocent young boy, hungry for knowledge, is transformed into the arrogant John Mandrake, who is hungry for power. By the end of book three, however, he becomes more responsible and honorable, more like his younger self. He becomes more self-conscious, helps destroy an evil demon, saves Bartimaeus (following Ptolemy's example), and indirectly falls in love with Kitty, which can be proven when Bartimaeus reveals his thoughts about her.
[edit] Kathleen (Kitty) Jones
A commoner formally known as Kathleen Jones who is one of the main characters of the trilogy; she appears in book one, but only for a few scenes, and has about five lines in the entire book. However in book two, The Golem's Eye she assumes a much larger role and some of the story is from her point of view. In book two she is duped into unleashing a terrible afrit onto the streets of London as a result of her work in the anti-magician rebels, the Resistance.When Bartimaeus lies to Nathaniel, She is believed to have been killed by the golem that was one of the major antagonists in that book but in fact wasn't. In book three, Ptolemy's Gate, she assumes a more important role as she searches to look for an end to the human-djinn hatred by following the steps of Ptolemy and going into the Other Place. She also becomes fond of Nathaniel, through their adventures together.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Bartimaeus Trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Books | The Amulet of Samarkand | The Golem's Eye | Ptolemy's Gate |
| Main characters | Nathaniel | Bartimaeus | Kitty Jones |
| Other topics | Magic in the Bartimaeus trilogy | Characters of the Bartimaeus trilogy |
