Professor Charles (Charley) Coote is a regular character in the Johnny Dixon series of books and is an old friend of Professor Roderick Childermass.
Coote first appears in the final scenes of The Curse of the Blue Figurine to "fill in the gaps" to Johnny and Professor Childermass about their recent encounter. An expert of local history, folklore and magic, Coote is often regulated to each adventure's conclusion, popping in to explain motives or answer questions. In later novels, however, Childermass often confides in his advisor friend early on, making phone calls or quick trips up to Durham, New Hampshire to discuss developments or pound out a theory or two. His invitations to join Professor Childermass, Johnny and Fergie usually are declined by his admission of scaring easily and "bad legs," though he finally gives and joins the trio in the field, so to speak, for the climax of The Chessmen of Doom.
In the Bellairs/Strickland collaboration, The Drum, the Doll and the Zombie (1994), Coote becomes the main focus when he innocently accepts a miniature drum wanted by a voodoo cult. Johnny, Fergie and Professor Childermass must turn their attention to saving the life of Coote and stopping the work of the Midnight Blood priest.
Coote is similar to that of Bellairs' friend, Donald Wilcox, as both were instructors of history at the University of New Hampshire. Coote is also described as pedantic and frequently wearing horn-rimmed glasses, much like the other character Wilcox inspired, Snodrog of The Pedant and the Shuffly fame.
As to how Bellairs picked the name, one possible idea is that he liked a word that could be used to describe an irritable old man. If not that, there seems to seems to be a whole slew of earls from the Mountrath and Bellamont areas of Ireland named Charles Coote. Perhaps in his readings Bellairs came across the name and subconsciously picked it for later use. Also, being quite fond of traditional folk ballads, he might have heard of or seen the title a ballad written in honor of one of these noblemen, a tune simply titled Sir Charles Coote.
Also, depending on his depth of Henry James familiarity, Bellairs may have come across a similarly-named character (again, Charley Coote), mentioned only once in James's seldom-known story, The Bench of Desolation (1909).
There also appears to have been a British composer named Charles Coote as well.
