History Literature / TheBartimaeusTrilogy

* AmericaIsStillAColony: Subverted. The trilogy is set sometime in an alternate 2000's or so (it mentions that is over 100 years since Gladstone's death in 1898), and the third book mentions offhand that the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution is only just beginning, with some of the demons being threatened with [[ReassignedToAntarctica "being sent to fight in the Colonies."]] Interestingly, Bartimaeus turning into a western buffalo to taunt Nathaniel about this implied the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo still happened with the British Empire in the place of the United States.

* AdiposeRex: The last Czech emperor was notably pudgy. British propaganda exaggerates this, claiming he was so fat he couldn't walk and had to be moved around in a specialized wheelchair.

* AlternateHistory: UsefulNotes/WilliamGladstone in this universe led a campaign to conquer all of Europe... and was a magician. Since magic exists in this version of our world, it also fits the NeverWasThisUniverse type of AlternateHistory.

* AmericaIsStillAColony: The trilogy is set sometime in an alternate 2000's or so (it mentions that is over 100 years since Gladstone's death in 1898), and the third book mentions offhand that the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution is only just beginning. Some of the demons are threatened with [[ReassignedToAntarctica "being sent to fight in the Colonies."]]

* HollywoodLaw: Played to a spectacular degree, though only in order to show how ridiculously corrupt and prejudiced the British law in this universe can be. A 13 year old Kitty is summoned to a court case by herself, leaving out any input from her parents and/or legal guardians, and she is expected to face the court alone without any kind of legal defense or assistance from lawyers (which in this universe seem to be non-existent, as the other party doesn't get them either). Psychological and/or medical presence is also missing, despite it being a case where one of the parties was hospitalized in a very traumatic event and should have not one, but two medical reports, and there is no physical evidence regarded either even although we know it exists. However, none of this is remotely important, because the verdict from the judge amounts to a barrage of partialities, legal disfigurations and highschool debate club-level fallacies, including a blatant threat of pressing charges emitted shockingly by the judge herself (in real life, judges cannot do that, and much less restricting an allegation). Finally, as if there were more need to show it, it is also made clear that the jury openly favors magicians in any case and does not see anything wrong with it, which renders the entire thing meaningless.

* KangarooCourt: In ''The Golem's Eye'', we learn that when Kitty was 13, she and her friend Jakob were viciously attacked by a magician who set a demon to cast the Black Tumbler on them. Kitty, possessing Resilience, was only knocked out for a few hours, but Jakob was severely disfigured for life and temporarily blinded. Following the incident, Kitty was invited to bring her case to court. Even though all of her friends and family urged her to decline the invitation, ''knowing'' that it would be a kangaroo court and she would get nothing like justice, she accepted anyway. Things seemed to go well enough at first, with the magician not being present at the start of the hearing and being put down for contempt of court, while Kitty is allowed to tell her side. Sure enough, however, once the magician, Tallow, arrives, he tells his version of events which excoriates her and Jakob and presents himself as a saint. The judge is a fourth-level magician and Tallow's story is accepted without question. Kitty is made to pay a fine of 100 pounds for wasting the court's time, plus a further fine that is much more massive for Tallow's contempt of court in being late, as the loser pays all costs. This is the start of Kitty's days with LaResistance, as the leader of the Resistance group is present at the hearing and realizes based on Kitty's version of events that she possesses Resilience. He offers to pay her fee and has her join the group.

* KidWithTheLeash: Deconstructed/subverted: Nathaniel firmly believes that demons are AlwaysChaoticEvil, and that elaborate incantations and [[ExactWords careful wording]] are necessary to keep enslaved summons in check. While this is not unjustified (Bartimaeus is very open about his willingness to free himself by killing Nathaniel and brags of magicians he has killed in the past), Bartimaeus - the demon - is often [[NobleDemon more moral]] than Nathaniel. He complains about being given less-than-ethical tasks, and there are hints throughout the series that both the djinni and the boy would be better off if Nathaniel [[ThePowerOfTrust had shown more trust in him]]. However, it is quite clear that even Nathaniel and Bartimaeus's strained relationship is unusual and that spirits will destroy their masters in painful ways given any opportunity.

* MistakenForTransformed: During a meeting on what to do about the Golem currently rampaging through London, Bartimaeus compliments what he thinks is a fellow demon shapeshifter into a footstool for his creativity in choosing a form. He is quickly informed that he is talking to an ''actual'' footstool, much to his surprise.

** Played mostly straight, with magicians, at Lovelace's party.
* AffablyEvil: Almost all of the magicians.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies, [[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it since she hasn't had much experience.]] According to Bartimaeus, it's an indicator of a spirit's intelligence (and therefore power) to be able to assume many shapes. Imps are often simple-minded, so they're limited to a handful of simple animal forms like pigeons, frogs, rats, etc., whilst foliots and above seem to be able to take the shape of basically anything (though there are exceptions - the utukku from book one are dead-stupid, and correspondingly don’t seem to have any alternate forms at all). On the absolute farthest end of the scale is [[spoiler:Khaba's marid Ammet, who is so good at shapeshifting the illusion even extends to the seventh plane, something which no other spirit in the series can do]].

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies, [[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it since she hasn't had much experience.]] According to Bartimaeus, it's an indicator of a spirit's intelligence (and therefore power) to be able to assume many shapes. Imps are often simple-minded, so they're limited to a handful of simple animal forms like pigeons, frogs, rats, etc., whilst foliots and above seem to be able to take the shape of basically anything (though there are exceptions - the ‘’utukku’’ from book one are dead-stupid, and correspondingly don’t seem to have any alternate forms at all). On the absolute farthest end of the scale is [[spoiler:Khaba's marid Ammet, who is so good at shapeshifting the illusion even extends to the seventh plane, something which no other spirit in the series can do]].

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies,[[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it since she hasn't had much experience.]] According to Bartimaeus, it's an indicator of a spirit's intelligence (and therefore power) to be able to assume many shapes. Imps are often simple-minded, so they're limited to a handful of simple animal forms like pigeons, frogs, rats, etc., whilst foliots and above seem to be able to take the shape of basically anything (Bartimaeus even appears in inorganic forms like whirlwind and smoke). On the absolute farthest end of the scale is [[spoiler:Khaba's marid Ammet, who is so good at shapeshifting the illusion even extends to the seventh plane, something which no other spirit in the series can do]].

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies,[[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it since she hasn't had much experience.]] According to Bartimaeus, it's an indicator of a spirit's intelligence (and therefore power) to be able to assume many shapes. Imps are often simple-minded, so they're limited to a handful of simple animal forms like pigeons, frogs, rats, etc., whilst foliots and above seem to be able to take the shape of basically anything (Bartimaeus even appears in inorganic forms like whirlwinds and smoke). On the absolute farthest end of the spectrum we have [[spoiler:Khaba's marid, who is so good at shapeshifting the illusion even extends to the seventh plane, something which no other spirit in the series can do]].

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies,[[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it since she hasn't had much experience.]] Djinn seem to have the most diverse forms, with lower-level spirits lacking the imagination and high-level spirits being somewhat mode-locked [[RedRightHand due to their own power.]]

* WillOTheWisp: Will-o'-the-wisps are small spirits that are described as "struggling to keep up with the times." Visible as flickering flames on the first plane, they were once employed to lure travelers to their death in pits or quags, but with the invention of cities, were employed to lurk over manhole covers, to rather less effect.

* TrilogyCreep: It ''was'' a trilogy, then along came the announcement of a prequel. On Wikipedia, it is now listed as "The Bartimaeus Sequence." Not necessarily a straight example, though. The original trilogy remains the trilogy of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel in London. The events of the prequel book are only remotely connected to that trilogy and set in a time period well before it.

* ArmorPiercingResponse: In ''The Ring of Solomon'' Asmira has been a very loyal hereditary guard for the queen of Sheba, even watching her mother die for the previous queen. Due to an incident in Sheba she is sent to Jerusalem. Towards the end of the novel she has [[spoiler: stolen the titular ring and is leaving Jerusalem with it]]. In the process she learns that the reason for her mission was false and doesn't want to confront that fact. Bartimaeus then [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asks her]] [[spoiler: "Why didn't you kill Solomon?]] While she hesitates at first she soon argues again and Bartimaeus cuts through her excuses until he finally hits her with a much more devastating response: If her queens not infallible than it calls into question everything about her life including her mother's sacrifice. [[spoiler: Unfortunately this causes her to suffer a HeroicBSOD, and she doesn't act quickly enough when Khaba comes looking for the ring.]]

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Kitty slaps Nathaniel to motivate him [[spoiler:when he's ready to give up in the face of the Spirit Rebellion.]]

* InstantlyProvenWrong: In ''The Ring of Solomon'', Bartimaeus ends up taking Solomon's form and putting on the ring. He admits the disguise is not quite perfect and the ring is very painful, but he proudly states that "old king's mother wouldn't have known the difference." The entity inside the ring immediately states "You can stop putting on that silly accent,. . . I know your name and your true nature."

* {{Irony}}: In Ptolemy's Gate Bartimaeus' essence has been severely weakened by Nathaniel not releasing him periodically. He is so bitter about his weakness that he thinks that if Faquarl, his ArchEnemy, were to come up with a boneheaded rebellion scheme he'd "have joined him with much high-fiving and inane whoops of joy." [[spoiler: Later in the novel Faquarl initiates his spirit rebellion and Bartimaeus not only doesn't join, but joins up with Nathaniel to foil it and save London.]]