Midnight for Charlie Bone

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Midnight for Charlie Bone is a novel in the Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo.

[edit] Plot summary

The story begins with eleven-year-old Charlie Bone making a birthday card for his loner friend, Benjamin. He intends to put a photograph of Benjamin's dog onto the card, but when he opens the envelope from the photo developer, he finds a picture of a man cradling a baby. He begins to hear static noises, followed by voices out of the photo. Later that day Charlie's great-aunts, Venetia, Lucretia and Eustacia, and his grandmother Grizelda Bone, test Charlie to see if he is magically endowed. When they find out that he can hear voices from photographs, they send him to Bloor's Academy. But Bloor's Academy isn't all that good, considering Manfred Bloor (a hypnotist) and his great grandfather, Ezekiel Bloor (an evil, flawed magician). But soon with the help of his new friends he begins to discover the secrets of himself, the academy, and his father.

Charlie returns the photo to its rightful owner, a Miss Julia Ingledew, who lives near the cathedral where his missing father once played. Miss Ingledew tells him the story of a lost baby, given away by a Dr. Tolly. She gives him a heavy metal case and a metal dog (actually a tape recorder) as he leaves. At Benjamin's house, Charlie plays the dog's tape, which gives instructions on how to open the case and awaken the baby who would now be the same age as Charlie.

When he goes to Bloor's, Charlie meets the Headmaster's son, Manfred Bloor, who hypnotizes Charlie temporarily. He learns about the legend of the Red King and meets all the other endowed children. He also makes friends with Fidelio Gunn, Billy Raven, and Olivia Vertigo. Together, they figure out that a girl named Emilia Moon is the lost child, and plan to bring her out of her hypnotic state, which they do at Fidelio's house. Emilia is returned to Miss Ingledew as her long-lost niece, Emma Tolly (Emma can fly by turning into a bird). Through several setbacks and double crossing, their plan succeeds.

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.

• There are plans for Midnight for Charlie Bone to be made into a feature film; it will be distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures and released in 2007.