Pure Dead series
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The Strega Borgia Chronicles by Scottish writer Debi Gliori, follows the Strega Borgia family, a quirky, bizarre, Italian family, Signor and Signora Strega-Borgia (Luciano and Baci.) and their four children, Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve, who live with their mythical companions in their fictitious home StregaSchloss, in Argyll. It consists of two trilogies ; the Pure Dead trilogy and the Deep trilogy.
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[edit] Characters
{{Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.}}
- Luciano, aka Signor Strega-Borgia, is the hot-tempered husband of Baci and father of Titus, Pandora and Damp. He is very fond of his family, despite leaving them in a temper in the first book and frequently arguing with Baci. He disapproves of Pandora wearing make-up and earrings and enjoys coffee, especially cappuccino
- Baci is Luciano's wife and is often called Signora Strega-Bogia. She has been pregnant (which she hates) four times by the end of the series. She goes to witch academy, although she is absolutely appalling at magic.
- Titus, son of the above, is a computer freak, who sometimes makes mistakes.
- Pandora is Titus's younger sister and the eldest daughter. She is obssesed with make up, believes that technology is dreadful and loves her pet rats, Multitudina and Terminus.
- Damp is the no-longer-youngest Strega-Borgia (following the birth of Nieve in the final book), and a baby witch.
- Nieve, is the new baby and younger son, born in the beginning of the last book.
- Strega-Nonna is the cryogenically preserved many-times-great grandmother of Titus, Pandora and Damp. She was also an extremely powerful witch in her time.
- Mrs Flora McLachlan is the nanny, a gifted witch who sometimes secretly helps Baci out with her spells. She is famous for her cooking skills especially with cakes.
- Marie Bain is the terrible French cook. She makes disgusting food and gets very offended if the family doesn't eat it. In the fifth book, bribed by Don Lucifer, she arranges Luciano's arrest (see below) and later chokes to death on a putrid Christmas cake of her own making, which was rejected by the family the previous year.
- Latch is the butler. He answers the door, and the phone, is engaged to Mrs McLachlan and often irons the newspaper.
- Don Lucifer di S'Embowelli Borgia is Luciano's evil half-brother. He hates his brother and is always trying to kill him. He is in high power at the Mafia. He has had plastic surgery on his face, to reduce the size of his nose. However it went wrong and made him look, and sound, like a mouse. He is one of the main antagonists of the series.
- Ffup is a teenage dragon. She is pregnant twice during the series and has son called Nestor. She is fiancée to The Sleeper, a mythical beast from Lochnagargoyle who is Nestor's father. She can be very annoying, especially when it comes to nails and dieting.
- Sab is a griffin and has the ability to turn to stone.
- Tock is a crocodile, who lives in the castle moat. He is also a vegetarian.
- Knot is a yeti who loves revolting food (including Marie Bain's slippers and the contents of Nestor's nappies.
- Nestor is Ffup's young son.
- Multitudiana,is an illiterate rat and Pandora's pet.
- Tarantella is Pandora's pet spider. She is obsessed with lipstick. She also likes eating male spiders.
- Astaroth is the Second Minister of the Hadean Executive. He accidentally loses the Chronostone and the plot of Pure Dead Brilliant concerns his quest to regain it for his Boss. He disguises himself as a beautiful witch named Fiamma de'Infer to do so but after his/her failure he is reincarnated as a gnat in punishment and later becomes imprisoned in amber. He possesses the sarcastic sense of humour that apparently comes naturally to all high ranking demons in the series.
- Isagoth is a demon determined to do his terrible duty for S'tan. He is introduced in Deep Trouble and appears to be somewhat less intelligent than Astaroth also just as ambitious and ruthless.
- S'tan also known as the Boss is the ruler of Hades and it is implied that he is the Biblical character of the Devil. He draws his power from the Chronostone the main plotline of the books concerns his quest to regain it. In Deep Water after the Stone drops out of the time space continuum he discovers that he is losing his power. As a result the stress owing to his power loss he becomes very overweight. He enjoys cooking. His name is a play on the word "Satan".
- The Sleeper is the fiance of Ffup and father to Nestor. He is also known as the Loch Ness Monster and lives in the Strega-Borgia's Lochnagargoyle Loch in their back yard. He loves it when his fiancee brings him food and places it under the jetty.
- Pronto- Don Lucifer Dis Embowellis right-hand man. He is very intelligent and presents a soothing foil to his psychotic boss in his moments of hysteria.
- Atilla The Bun- One of the four gangsters hired to take out Titus Strega Borgia, and anyone who stands in their way, in Don Lucifer's attempt to steel Titus' fortune. Always sports a full rabbit suit, which causes chaos on the journey to Strega Schloss.
[edit] Books in the series
{{Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.}}
Accompanied ISBNs are for paperback editions, published by Corgi Children's in the UK.
[edit] Pure Dead Magic
(0552547573)
- The first novel in the series sees the arrival of the children's new nanny Mrs Flora McLachlan, shortly after Signor Strega-Borgia, has left, following an argument at the breakfast table. While Signora Strega-Borgia is away at the witch academy, Pandora's rats are accidentally unleashed onto the internet via email by their mother, Multitudina. Unaware of this, Pandora enters into a foolish bet with Titus, to the effect that, should she fail to find the rats, she must swim around the castle moat, the home of the crocodile Tock, who has, it seems, eaten all the previous applicants for the job of the Strega-Borgia's nanny. Little do they know that Flora McLachalan is a witch who will save their lives after winning them over with her delicious food and kindly, sensible personality. Meanwhile, Signor Strega-Borgia could not have picked a worse day to storm out of his house, seemingly for good. He has been kidnapped by his evil half-brother, Don Lucifer Di S'Embowelli Borgia, who is now holding him hostage, demanding that he sign over his son Titus' inheritance, to his half-brother. And that's just the beginning of his dastardly plan.
[edit] Pure Dead Wicked
(0552548472)
- The second novel in the series. The roof of the ancient family home is badly damaged and the Strega-Borgia family are forced to decamp to the local hotel, leaving the frozen granny, the rats and the spider behind. However, the builders appear to be up to something... Such as destroying a roof, murdering hotel proprietors and dating fur lovers. Titus has made 500 clones.
[edit] Pure Dead Brilliant
(0552547514)
- Baci's friends from the witch academy are coming to stay, much to the family's despair. However there is something suspicious about one of the guests. Pandora and Titus have continuous fights over the money to Titus which stop when they discover something that lets them travel back in time. Damp is revealed to be a Magus and Latch offers Mrs.Mclachlan a marriage proposal.
- The title comes from the popular Scottish expression Pure Dead Brilliant.
[edit] Deep Trouble
(0552550469)
- A vengeful demon is trying to invade Stregaschloss. However, Titus is too busy on the internet looking up the world destroying company Sapiantech, Pandora only has eyes for the gorgeous new butler temporarily replacing Latch and the beasts areraising funds to give the moat a makeover by volunteering for medical science. Only Flora McLachlan has noticed and is doing something about it!
[edit] Deep Water
(0552550477)
- Flora McLachlan, witch and housekeeper extraordinaire, has vanished; Luciano is arrested for crimes he did not commit; Damp is tutored by a bat, Vesper; Uncle Lucifer has struck a bargain with Hades; and Ffup, the dragon, is annoying everyone with her new diet. How can life get worse for the Strega-Borgia family?
[edit] Deep Fear
(0552550485)
- This is the penultimate in the series. Stregaschloss is invaded by werewolves, demons, vengeful Mafia uncles, and a changeling while Isagoth puts his plan to take over Hell into action.
Spoilers end here.
