History Literature / TheTheodosiaThrockmortonSeries

* WifeHusbandry: [[spoiler:Nigel Bollingsworth, the First Assistant Curator of the museum and one of her father's employees, implies he's open to the idea of doing this to Theo, proving both aware of Theo's PrecociousCrush and ''disturbingly'' willing to bribe Theo with the idea of becoming a [[UnholyMatrimony Villainous Power Couple]] if she [[WeCanRuleTogether joins the Dark Side.]]]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Serpents of Chaos,'' Theo is told by a fortune teller that she has "the thumbprint of Isis" glowing on her forehead. [[spoiler: We later learn in ''The Eyes of Horus'' that Theo was basically born an unintentional offering to Isis--[[EmissaryFromTheDivine an offering that was accepted.]]]]

* MysticalPregnancy: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Theo's mother's pregnancy with Theo was normal right up until the point where she gave birth on her dig site, a Temple of Isis, and the only suitable surface to give birth on was the Altar... on the day in which the Egyptian gods traditionally claimed everything presented to them in their temples as their property. The result was Theo's marked difference from... everyone, really.]]

* MysticalPregnancy: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Theo's mother's pregnancy with Theo was normal right up until the point where she gave birth on her dig site, a Temple of Isis, and the only suitable surface to give birth on was the Altar. On the day in which the Egyptian gods traditionally claimed everything presented to them in their temples as their property. The result was Theo's marked difference from... everyone, really.]]

* MilitaryMage: Most of the Egyptian priests involved with imbuing magic into weapons, but especially Amenemhab, vizier under Thutmose III, the GreaterScopeVillain of the first book. He devised the a plan to make the Heart of Egypt a cursed object before all other cursed objects, turning it into a TrojanHorse so that any enemy of Egypt who took the Heart would bring a civilization-destroying curse upon their people and make them easy for Egypt to conquer. [[spoiler:It's implied some members of the Serpents of Chaos are there to wield magic for the alleged benefit of their respective countries' military efforts]].

* MysticalPregnancy: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Theo's mother's pregnancy with Theo was normal right up until the point where she gave birth on her dig site, a Temple of Isis, and the only suitable surface to give birth on was the Alter. On the day in which the Egyptian gods traditionally claimed everything presented to them in their temples as their property. The result was Theo's marked difference from... everyone, really.]]

* AdultFear:
** [[spoiler:Because you and your child literally perceive the world differently, you have spent her entire childhood unaware of when she's struggling or needs help. You've brushed aside very real fears as childish imaginings and accidentally convinced your child she's on her own when it comes to managing these problems. Now your child doesn't consider you a reliable source of support, won't be honest with you about her actual concerns, and never reaches out to you for help, even in very dangerous situations.]]
** [[spoiler:You find out your young child is secretly involved in very dangerous activities behind your back, and the more you try to reach out to her, the more you realize you don't actually know her]].
** In general, your child is seriously negatively affected by something in their lives and you do nothing out of sheer lack of awareness towards their plight. While Theodosia is the most visible example of this, Henry also suffers [[spoiler:after being manipulated by Tetley's vengeful spirit]] and none of the adults in his family are even aware enough of what is going on to help him.

* AnimateInanimateObject: The jackal atop the Shrine of Anubis in the basement comes to life to protect the Orb of Ra hidden inside it--or, later, whenever there's disorder afoot. [[spoiler: Awi Bubu implies in ''The Eyes of Horus'' that the jackal was sent from the ''actual'' god Anubis to assist Theo. He implies a similar origin for Bastet, Theo's cat.]]

** [[spoiler: The Dreadnought Hoax. In reality it was just Virginia Woolf and her friends playing a racist joke on the British military by posing as visiting Abyssinian dignitaries and getting a free tour of the ship; in ''The Staff of Osiris,'' it's a magical terrorist organization seeking to sneak aboard, murder the grew with the titular staff, then use it to puppeteer their corpses and hijack the ship]].

* TheMasquerade: As the books go on, Theodosia is exposed to more and more people who know perfectly well that magic and curses are real, but she tries to keep all of this from her family. [[!spoiler:It breaks for her family in Book 4]].

* TheMasquerade: As the books go on, Theodosia is exposed to more and more people who know perfectly well that magic and curses are real, but she tries to keep all of this from her family.

** Her WiseBeyondTheirYears independence and assertiveness are a consequence of having to find ways to take care of herself in spite of her neglectful parents, and further, shouldering the weight of defending the lives of the museum staff and her family from curses at a young age, without any guidance or support. Not only did she have to learn to take care of herself and everyone around her, but this cost her any ability to relate to the lives of "normal" children, and is implied to have made her largely blind to how creepy and strange she is from an outsiders' perspective.

* ShootTheMessenger: In the opening of the second book, the adults of Theodosia's family become furious at her for disrupting Lord Chudleigh's party... by exclaiming in shock that the "ancient" mummy he was unwrapping was actually the deceased corpse of a recently vanished British Museum employee. Most seem more concerned with Theo embarrassing them by talking with the adults around her like an equal than they are with the fact that a man was clearly murdered and his corpse has been put on display for a party.

* WifeHusbandry: [[spoiler:Nigel Bollingsworth, the First Assistant Curator of the museum and one of her father's employees, implies he's open to the idea of doing this to Theo, proving both aware of Theo's PrecociousCrush and ''disturbingly'' willing bribe Theo with the idea of becoming a [[UnholyMatrimony Villainous Power Couple]] if she [[WeCanRuleTogether joins the Dark Side.]]]]

* WifeHusbandry: [[spoiler:Nigel Bollingsworth , the First Assistant Curator of the museum and one of her father's employees, implies he's open to the idea of doing this to Theo, proving both aware of Theo's PrecociousCrush and ''disturbingly'' willing bribe Theo with the idea of becoming a [[UnholyMatrimony Villainous Power Couple]] if she [[WeCanRuleTogether joins the Dark Side.]]]]

* SupernaturalSensitivity: How Theo's unique abilities [[spoiler:initially]] manifest. She can sense the curses and magic in objects acutely enough to be able to tell what ''kind'' of curse it is, although she doesn't know the details unless she can read curse itself, which she can do if the object is placed under moonlight. To her, the curse appears as a jumble of words buzzing around the surface of the cursed object.