''The Golden Key'' is a 1996

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

co-written by authors

Jennifer Roberson Jennifer Mitchell Roberson (born October 26, 1953) is an American author of fantasy and historical literature. Personal life Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. Though she grew up in Phoenix, the author lived in Flagstaff for 12 years, ...

(who penned the story's first act),

Melanie Rawn Melanie Rawn (born 1954) is an American author of fantasy literature. She received a BA in history from Scripps College and worked as a teacher and editor before becoming a writer. She has been nominated for a Locus award on three occasions: in ...

(author of the book's second section), and Kate Elliott (who finished the work). Set in what might loosely be described as an alternative Spain, the novel traces a family of painters who, by nature of their Gifts, can influence events around them. In the Grijalva family, the Gifted males are usually sterile and short-lived; the women, who may have a talent for painting, but do not have the Gift for the particular type of painting that alters what it portrays, are generally kept within the family to produce children. However, one woman per generation is official mistress to the ruling Duke's Heir, so that the family maintains its influence at Court. The story develops when a particularly Gifted and unscrupulous Grijalva painter finds a way to continue living through successive generations. As the political and social climate changes, including revolutions in neighboring countries and democratic challenges to the ruling Dukes, this increasingly conservative painter seeks to hold on to the past, and especially his first love, whom he has imprisoned in a painting. Throughout the book, special emphasis is placed on iconography and a set of possibly Arabic/Moorish spells that bend events to the will of the painter. The connection between the ruling Dukes and the Grijalva family is shown to be more far-reaching and subtle than at first appears. The development in painting styles is used as a metaphor for political changes that mirror western European history, especially in France and Italy from 1500 to (say) 1820. The succession of paintings in the ducal gallery (which turns into the national gallery) is the lens through which we see the historical and personal events that make up this fantasy history.

Further plans

The original plan for ''The Golden Key'' was that it would lead to three more novels, one by each of the authors. Melanie Rawn would write '' The Diviner'' (or ''The Diviner's Key''), Kate Elliott would write ''The Warrior'', and Jennifer Roberson would write ''The Seeker''. '' The Diviner'' has been published in August 2011, but plans for the other two books are respectively described as "cancelled" and "on indefinite hold."

References

External links

Review of the novel
via sfsite.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Key American fantasy novels Collaborative novels Novels by Melanie Rawn 1996 American novels Novels about artists DAW Books books Books with cover art by Michael Whelan