His subjects cover a wide range of historical periods, such as The Crown of Violet, set in Ancient Greece, The Red Towers of Granada, Middle Ages, The Hills of Varna, Renaissance Europe, Cue for Treason and Cloak for a Spy, Elizabethan England, Fire on the Wind and Popinjay Stairs, Restoration London, Thunder of Valmy, French Revolution, The White Nights of St Petersburg, the Bolshevik Revolution and Tomorrow Is a Stranger, World War II. An enduring belief in equality and fairness is a theme in many of his books, as are links between the historical settings of his novels and contemporary issues.īows Against the Barons was translated into Russian and sold immensely well there his next work, Comrades for the Charter was less successful but Cue for Treason in 1940 proved enduringly popular and remains his best known work. This included the use of modern English, rather than linguistic mannerisms, strong male and female characters, often from less privileged levels of society and meticulous attention to detail.

Inspired by this, in 1934 Trease wrote Bows Against the Barons, a left-wing update of Robin Hood that showcased a radical approach to historical literature for young people. Trease described his own childhood reading as 'a diet of classist and racist historical adventure' but in 1933, he came across a translation of a Russian book titled Moscow has a Plan, in which a Soviet author dramatised the First five-year plan for young readers. 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. His ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949) pioneered the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. Trease is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched.

He is best known for the children's novel Cue for Treason (1940). His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences on his work. His work has been translated into 20 languages.

(Robert) Geoffrey Trease FRSL (11 August 1909 – 27 January 1998) was a prolific British writer who published 113 books, mainly for children, between 19, starting with Bows Against the Barons and ending with Cloak for a Spy in 1997.

Fire on the Wind by Geoffrey Trease