The Bartimaeus Trilogy consists of the three fantasy novels: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate, written by Jonathan Stroud. Like Gullivers’ Travels, the books may have been intended for a young audience but adults will find them equally absorbing. The main character or narrator is a djinn, Bartimaeus, who is 5000 years old and has existed since the times of Ptolemy, the Greek-speaking geographer, astronomer and astrologer who lived in Egypt around 14 AD. Running like a vein of gold through the stories is Bartimaeus’ commentary – acerbic, witty, amusing, sarcastic and above all, world weary and cycnical. In a world where we are witnessing a number of “magical” books after J.K.Rowling’s undeniably successful Harry Potter series, this trilogy stands apart as it combines the exoticism of the Arabian Nights with British wizardry. It is also different from the J.R.R. Tolkien clones who have mushroomed in the recent past, all replete with references to races of magical people like ogres, giants, dwarves et al. In contrast, the young protagonist is a “normal” boy living in a world where magicians rule the roost.
In the Amulet of Samarkand, an ambitious apprentice called Nathaniel is learning his first lessons in the art of magic. The setting is London, at a time when society is broadly divided into magicians and commoners. Magicians are all powerful and hold the reins of power including the Government. A rogue magician, Simon Lovelace is planning to overthrow the current Prime Minister and grab power for himself. Nathaniel, who has been dabbling in magic far too advanced for an apprentice under the name of John Mandrake, summons Bartimaeus, a djinn. Bartimaeus plays an important role throughout the book and introduces the readers to the “Other Worlds” populated by afrits, djinn, imps, foliots, marids and other magical creatures.
Lovelace, who is an acquaintance of Nathaniel’s master, has a run in with Nathaniel and humiliates him. In revenge, Nathaniel uses Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. But the plot thickens as Lovelace’s evil plot is uncovered and Nathaniel is now caught up in a maelstorm of murder, espionage, accusations and is under suspicion himself. He meets Kitty, a commoner who seems impervious to magic. She is a somewhat mysterious figure and Nathaniel is strongly drawn towards her despite the battle lines between the two groups being so strongly drawn. As the book swings us through an eye-popping, pulse-racing pace to the ultimate conclusion, Nathaniel saves the day by rescuing the Prime Minister and emerges a hero.
The Golem’s Eye takes up the story, allowing the readers to catch up with Nathaniel who is now a junior minister – an honour for one so young. In this book Kitty Jones is re-introduced and plays a prominent role. She is a part of the resistance movement and along with a band of commoners, seeks to end the oppressive rule of the magicians. The band of commoners seeks to augment its funds by stealing magical objects of value. On one such expedition, Kitty is all set to steal a magical staff belonging to Gladstone, a magician who was a legend but is now dead. The operation goes awry and she sets a seemingly “possessed” skeleton free. Much of the comic relief in the book is provided by Honorius, the afrit, who has possessed the skeleton.
In this book, the political environment is set and a parallel universe, so to speak, is introduced. The Czech empire is a rival of Britain. Monuments and edifices belonging to the World War era are described and the time period seems to be around the 1930’s.
Nathaniel, too is changing. Growing more successful, confident as John Mandrake, he is arrogant and brash. Bartimaeus is his usual witty self and his abrasive humour, coupled with his obviously magnificient powers cannot fail to enthrall readers in this worthy sequel to a very promising start.
Nathaniel is set the task of crushing the resistance movement and capturing the members. His task is made more difficult when a mysterious clay golem, a magical, giant like creature, starts to make random attacks on London, creating havoc. Much to Bartimaeus’ displeasure, Nathaniel summons the unwilling djinni to assist him in unmasking the originator of the golem and ridding the city of Honorius. In the end, Kitty Jones and Nathaniel join hands to defeat the golem and uncover the conspirator.
Ptolemy’s Gate, is the the third book and the last of the trilogy. The mood is somewhat different as the book moves between different ages in time: Ptolemy’s, Ancient Baghdad and the present and two worlds - that of the magical creatures and the normal workaday one.
Nathaniel is a seasoned magician now and a member of the ruling council, an exclusive group of magicians in the government. Bartimaeus is still trapped on Earth by Nathaniel and longs for his freedom as Nathaniel grows increasingly indifferent towards his magical, and temporary, slave. Meanwhile, Kitty Jones has been hiding and in secret, completing her research on magic and spirits by reading obscure tomes. The main theme of this story is a plot to overthrow the government, which may be the most dangerous threat yet in the whole history of magic. Together, Nathaniel, Bartimaeus and Kitty try to save the city of London.
Bartimaeus, by virtue of his long and varied experience, explains that this is a cycle – magicians suppress and rule the commoners using magical spirits and incantations, these spirits cause magic to pervade the city, some commoners gain a resistance to such magical influences and rebel against the magicians. The ruling class is overthrown, the spirits are banished to the worlds they came from and a new order rises from the ashes of the old. The denouement is unexpected but the saga is riveting and as we say goodbye to Bartimaeus, there is a lingering hope that we may yet see him in another avatar.
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
Think you have a book in you? We can help you write it. Check out our book writing services.
Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Suchismitha says, "I'm a hedonist in the true sense of the word - I love to sleep, eat good food, watch good movies (action/thrillers/crime), read loads of books (same genre as the movies plus teen fiction) and laugh at things with my friends. Mostly, I masquerade as the mother of a 14 year old who's going on 70."
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:
The Bartimaeus Trilogy consists of the three fantasy novels: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate, written by Jonathan Stroud. Like Gullivers’ Travels, the books may have been intended for a young audience but adults will find them equally absorbing. The main character or narrator is a djinn, Bartimaeus, who is 5000 years old and has existed since the times of Ptolemy, the Greek-speaking geographer, astronomer and astrologer who lived in Egypt around 14 AD. Running like a vein of gold through the stories is Bartimaeus’ commentary – acerbic, witty, amusing, sarcastic and above all, world weary and cycnical. In a world where we are witnessing a number of “magical” books after J.K.Rowling’s undeniably successful Harry Potter series, this trilogy stands apart as it combines the exoticism of the Arabian Nights with British wizardry. It is also different from the J.R.R. Tolkien clones who have mushroomed in the recent past, all replete with references to races of magical people like ogres, giants, dwarves et al. In contrast, the young protagonist is a “normal” boy living in a world where magicians rule the roost.