Amy Butler Greenfield Books In Order

Publication Order of Chantress Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Amy Butler Greenfield Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Ra the Mighty: Cat Detective Books

Amy Butler Greenfield is an award-winning American writer and historian. She loves to write children’s books, young adult novels, and historical fiction stories. As an experienced and enthusiastic speaker, Greenfield has featured on several TV shows and numerous radio programs. Greenfield has also delivered her talks at Oxford University, Harvard University, and the LA Public Library. She has also spoken in many bookstores, lecture halls, and classrooms. Greenfield began her career in the field of writing nonfiction with the book called A Perfect Red. She has narrated red dye cochineal’s history in this book. The critics praised the book very much and appreciated her writing style. The book has been published in as many as 8 languages and has won the Albrand Award in the US as well as the Veolia Prix DU Livre in France. This nonfiction work by Greenfield has featured in a number of publications such as Smithsonian, Gastronomica, Cricket, etc.

Before receiving a grand success with her first nonfiction book, Greenfield tried to work on writing children’s fiction. She wrote a novel called Virginia Bound that describes a historical adventure story revolving around a boy, who gets abducted and taken to Jamestown. This novel won many awards & accolades and was also nominated for several prestigious awards like the Choice Award, Julia Ward Howe Award, Young Hoosier Book Award, etc. Later in her career, Greenfield wrote her successful Children’s Book series called Chantress. This series tells the story of a girl, who has the ability to sing magic, but her talent is forbidden in her world. Greenfield has set this fantasy series in a world of alternate history. This series has also received huge praise from numerous critics all around the world. Author Greenfield was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1968. She was brought up in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains.

Greenfield completed her graduation summa cum laude from Williams College. Later, she joined the Oxford University, where she was honored as the Marshall Scholar of Modern History. Greenfield’s research work at the university was based on the chocolate trade of the earlier times. As of now, Greenfield is happily married and resides in Cotswolds, England, with her family. She dedicates all her day time in writing stories. In her spare times, she likes to try her hand at baking and other exciting stuff. Greenfield loves to spend time in the company of her family members. Greenfield belongs to a family which is a descendant of dyers. This enabled her to develop an interest in studying the history of colors and also helped her to write her nonfiction book about red-dye cochineal. This valuable and vivid dye was the object of rivalry in the 16th century and that is what caught the eye of Greenfield while studying about it. The book was labeled as a smart mixture of science & culture by Kirkus Reviews. When asked about what inspires her as a writer, she says that writers can take inspiration from a number of places such as newspaper, life crisis, dreams, reports, and books. The most important source of inspiration for Greenfield is history, which holds true when she writes both fiction and nonfiction.

The Chantress series written by author Amy Butler Greenfield is comprised of a total of three books released between 2013 and 2015. Every book of this series revolves around the life of a 15-year-old girl named Lucy, who possesses magic in her voice. The other essential characters mention in the series by Greenfield include Norrie, Nat, Lord Scargrave, King Henry, etc. Greenfield has done the setting in a fantasy world resembling the 17th century England. The debut book of this series is entitled ‘Chantress’. It was released by the Margaret McElderry publication in 2013. The book opens by depicting that Lucy possesses the magic of a chantress and she receives a warning that if she sings, the darkness will find her. Lucy has been haunted by this warning since she was 8 years. She was found shipwrecked on a remote island by Norrie, who took her in and became her mentor.

Norrie laid down many rules for Lucy after she discovered her magic and the most important of all is that she must never think of singing. In 1667, Lucy reaches the age of 15. On the occasion of All Hallow’s Eve, she hears a sweet melody and couldn’t help herself from singing. Suddenly, she is taken by darkness and smuggled to England. Lucy wakes up surrounded by powerful men who discuss Chantresses, females who can bring magic by singing. Lucy manages to escape, but finds that she is being trailed by her hunters. After running for some time, Lucy takes shelter in Invisible College, a secret organization working to overthrow Lord Scargrave, the nefarious Lord Protector. Lucy is told that being a Chantress, she is the only person capable of bringing about the downfall of the evil Lord Protector. She begins to harness her skills and master song-spells, but struggles a lot. A scientist and apprentice named Nat distrusts Lucy’s magic and his presence makes her uncomfortable. Developing feelings for him only adds to Lucy’s confusion. With time running out and the Lord Protector moving at a quick pace, Lucy is required to master her skills quickly and save England from destruction.

The second installment of the series is known as ‘Chantress Alchemy’. It was also published by Margaret McElderry in 2014. This book shows taking up another task and save England again. After she helped defeat Lord Scargrave, England changed for worse. People started rebelling, crops failed, and everywhere there was chaos. King Henry’s Inner Council summons her. It is learned that using alchemy to make gold is the only option to save England. But, the alchemical process cannot be started until its stolen element is not found. So, Lucy is given the task of finding the missing element. Lucy realizes that the court has also changed a lot. There are evils all around to bring England down to its knees. However, she is determined to not let that happen and do whatever it takes to defeat the evils again. The book describes a suspenseful story of magic, intrigue, and music that keeps the readers interested till the end.