Mandeville Series

by Geoffrey Trease 3 books in this series

The Mandeville Series follows Sir Renold Mandeville and a recurring circle of servants, secretaries, performers and musicians through the political and cultural world of seventeenth-century England. Mandeville introduces the household during the reign of Charles I, while Saraband for Shadows returns to the characters after the civil wars and Restoration, when a court masque becomes the setting for a threat against Charles II.

Trease uses aristocratic patronage without limiting the story to aristocrats. The series pays close attention to the people who make court culture function and to those, including the musician Pietro Zorzi, whose talents are valued within a society that also treats them as curiosities or dependants.

Reading order

Books in this series (3 books)

1. Mandeville

Geoffrey Trease

3.7(6)

The first Mandeville novel introduces Sir Renold Mandeville and the recurring circle around him in England during the reign of Charles I. Court service, aristocratic households and the work of musicians and performers place private ambition beside a monarchy moving towards political crisis. Trease uses the…

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2. Saraband for Shadows

Geoffrey Trease

4.0(4)

Sir Renold Mandeville and his secretary Anthony race to prevent an assassination when Charles II attends Lord Ravenwood’s masque. Political violence, court entertainment and secret loyalties turn a private performance into a matter of state. The second Mandeville novel carries the recurring characters into the Restoration.…

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3. Cormorant Venture

Geoffrey Trease

Set in 1663 England, the story follows royalist adventurer Anthony Mandeville, who finds his new mercantile enterprise, the "Cormorant Venture," entangled in dangerous political espionage and treason. Navigating a deeply divided nation, he must survive treacherous conspiracies that test his loyalties and resolve in this high-stakes…

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