Saraband For Shadows Trease G

by Geoffrey Trease

London and Basingstoke, Macmillan. Part II of the Mandeville Trilogy As the book opens Lord Ravenswood is showing his friend Mandeville, and Anthony Bassey his new castle of Crucorney "seeming to float upon a foam of mist, peach tinted by the sunrise, Curcorney looked just such a fairy fortress--one that would never know the smell of gunpowder, save what was needed for a firework display. ... "Oh, it is only what we call the 'Little Castle', where we shall have our private family apartments. The main buildings will stretch all along the ridge, with a terrace below." (11) This is a description of William Cavendish's Bolsover. In this book Mandeville and Anthony go to see his friend Lord Ravenswood, foiling a plot to kill him to the very first day. Ravenswood, alarmed by the type of men who surround a King who will not mingle (the Stuarts did not continue the Progress tradition of the Tudors) and who will not call a Parliament, plans to become a courtier. However he has a rival, a Marquis of Lockerbie. Not a nice man. Meanwhile Amoret is at court with the Queen, trying to avoid being married off by her grandmother. They all meet up at court and there are lots of descriptions. Amoret is seen with Anthony and the Queen, seeking not to offend the Marquis, gives her leave to take a vacation. Amoret gets herself and her brother invited to Mandeville where she discovers she isn't in love with Mandeville after all. Lord Ravenswood decides he needs a plan to attract the King's attention and decides on a Masque. Amoret promotes it to the Queen and the King decides to go.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1982

About the author

Robert Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 (Bows Against the Barons) and 1997 (Cloak for a Spy). His work has been translated into 20 languages. His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences towards Trease's work.

He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.