Cadmus Michaels
Cadmus Michaels is from Thebes. Not the Greek city, but the estate his family has stewarded for centuries. A classicist by training, a former administrator in the Colonial Service in Afghanistan, he returned to Thebes to raise his nephew Farran after his brother and sister-in-law died unexpectedly.
He is fond of strong black tea (with lemon, if it's available), conversations with Lena Cooper (the housekeeper), and the comforts of his own study, where he translates Herodotus (at least at the moment.) He is fluent in English, Greek, Latin, German, and the magical community's dialect of British Sign Language. (When your sign language gets used by mermaids, you need some additional vocabulary...)
Cadmus is what we'd identify as autistic, though in the context of his world, he's the sort of garden-variety slightly eccentric landholder who has a particular strong interest. His love for classical translation is entirely socially acceptable in the circumstances.
Cadmus is a member of a mystery tradition focused on The Smith.
Seven Sisters
It becomes clear during the course of Seven Sisters that money is exceptionally tight for the household. Cadmus has taken in lodgers - mostly people associated with the magical community of nearby Oxford - since the beginning of the Great War, but the house needs ongoing work that won't be an option until Farran reaches his legal majority and gains greater control of the family money.
When Vivian Porter arrives to investigate a series of mysterious events at the house, Cadmus has to decide whether to trust her. His experiences in Afghanistan with a magical being who terrified him, do not make it easy.
(Click on the title above to learn more about Cadmus's role in that book.)
Education
Schola, Owl HouseFamily
details
Partner of Vivian Porter beginning 1922
Uncle of Farran Michaels
Profession
Translator and classicistRuns Thebes as a boarding house
Children
