The Golden Key (Revised) by George MacDonald, Maurice Sendak

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A classic, allegorical fairy tale from one of the forefathers of modern fantasy literature, The Golden Key--first published as part of George MacDonald's story collection Dealings with the Fairies--is presented in this special edition featuring the author's complete text and lavish illustrations by Maurice Sendak, the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of Where the Wild Things Are.


The young boy Mossy embarks on a quest through the woods, seeking the keyhole which fits the magical golden key he discovered at the end of the rainbow. Along the way, he meets the girl Tangle, and each must undertake a journey through shadowy valleys and mountains, guided by the Old Men of the Sea, Earth, and Fire, before reaching their final destination.


With an Afterword by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, W. H. Auden


The magical, the fairy story...may be made a vehicle of Mystery. This at least is what George MacDonald attempted, achieving stories of power and beauty when he succeeded, as in The Golden Key.--J. R. R. Tolkien


"[This] edition illustrated with remarkable sensitivity makes available once more one of the most beautiful of allegorical fairy tales...The story is itself a key that will open to many children a door on their own imaginative experiences and the pleasure and mystery of allegorical speculation." --The Horn Book


"A new edition illustrated with remarkable sensitivity makes available once more one of the most beautiful of allegorical fairy tales...The story tells of the girl and boy, Tangle and Mossy, who meet and travel together to a mysterious land. For a while their paths separate as Tangle encounters, one after another, the three Old Men--of the Sea, of the Earth, and of the Fire--and she grows wiser and more beautiful with each stage of her journey. Tangle is reunited at last with Mossy, who carries the golden key, and they reach the rainbow, climbing along it toward the 'country whence the shadows fall.' The story, full of dreamlike events and exquisite images, is itself a key that will open to many children a door on their own imaginative experiences and the pleasure and mystery of allegorical speculation." -- Horn Book



George Macdonald (1824-1905) is the author best know for the classic fantasy books The Golden Key, The Light Princess, The Princess and the Goblin, and At the Back of the North Wind.

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) was the author and illustrator of such classic children's books as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. Widely considered one of the most innovative creators of children's literature, he received honors including the Caldecott Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the National Medal of Arts. Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928 and died in Connecticut in 2012.

Target Age: 8-12

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Pub Date: December 01, 1984

0.3" H x 7.1" L x 4.7" W

96 pages

paperback