Title: The Golden Key
Title Record # 63138
Author: George MacDonald
Date: 1867-00-00
Type: SHORTFICTION
Length: novelette
Language: English
Current Tags: christian fantasy (1), child protagonist (1) Add Tags
Author: George MacDonald
Date: 1867-00-00
Type: SHORTFICTION
Length: novelette
Language: English
Note: Word count: 10,782 in the Project Gutenberg edition of The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories.
Although this story has children as its main characters, George MacDonald wrote it for "the childlike" ("unless you become like little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven"). Occasionally marketed to children but mostly appears in adult contexts.
Synopsis: "When young Mossy hears the legend that anyone who manages to find the end of a rainbow will be rewarded with a golden key, he becomes determined to do exactly that. But finding the golden key is the easy part—discovering what it unlocks is a much harder task. Together with a runaway girl named Tangle, he sets out to find the key's purpose—and they discover their own along the way." —blurb of Eerdmans edition
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Current Tags: christian fantasy (1), child protagonist (1) Add Tags
Other Titles
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Publications
Displaying all variants and translations • Do not display translations • Do not display variants or translations
| Title | Date | Author/Editor | Publisher/Pub. Series | ISBN/Catalog ID | Price | Pages | Format | Type | Cover Artist | Verif |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dealings with the Fairies | 1867-00-00 | George MacDonald | Alexander Strahan | 2/6?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced
in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings
equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling.
Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g.
3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that
is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but
sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters
of a shilling). |
308 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | |||
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories | 1890-00-00 | George MacDonald | Blackie & Son | 2/-?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced
in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings
equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling.
Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g.
3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that
is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but
sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters
of a shilling). |
192 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | |||
| The Golden Key | 1890-11-00 | George MacDonald | D. Lothrop | $?$: US dollar |
72 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
chap | |||
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales | 1893-11-00 | George MacDonald | G. P. Putnam's Sons | $1.75?$: US dollar |
xiv+ 305 |
hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | |||
| The Fairy Tales of George Macdonald | 1904-00-00 | George MacDonald | A. C. Fifield | 4/6?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced
in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings
equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling.
Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g.
3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that
is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but
sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters
of a shilling). |
435 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | |||
| The Golden Key | 1906-00-00 | George MacDonald | Thomas Y. Crowell | $?$: US dollar |
66 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
chap | |||
| The Fairy Tales of George Macdonald | 1920-00-00 | George MacDonald | George Allen & Unwin | 435 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | ||||
| The Fairy Tales of George Macdonald | 1924-05-00 | George MacDonald | George Allen & Unwin | 6/-?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced
in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings
equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling.
Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g.
3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that
is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but
sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters
of a shilling). |
435 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | |||
| The Golden Key | 1967-09-00 | George MacDonald | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (An Ariel Book) | $3.95?$: US dollar |
85 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
chap | Maurice Sendak | ||
| Evenor | 1972-00-00 | George MacDonald | Pan / Ballantine (Ballantine Adult Fantasy #53) | 0-345-09762-9 | £0.40?£: UK pound |
xiv+ 210 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | Gervasio Gallardo |  |
| Evenor | 1972-11-00 | George MacDonald | Ballantine Books (Ballantine Adult Fantasy #53) | 0-345-02874-0 | $1.25?$: US dollar |
xiv+ 210 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | Gervasio Gallardo | |
| The Gifts of the Child Christ: Fairytales and Stories for the Childlike | 1973-00-00 | George MacDonald | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. | 0-8028-1518-9 | $?$: US dollar |
550 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | ||
| Beyond the Looking Glass: Extraordinary Works of Fairy Tale and Fantasy | 1973-00-00 | ed. Jonathan Cott | Stonehill Publishing | 0-88373-002-2 |
xlviii+ 519+ [8] |
hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth | |||
| Beyond the Looking Glass: Extraordinary Works of Fairy Tale and Fantasy: Novel and Stories from the Victorian Era | 1974-00-00 | ed. Jonathan Cott | Hart-Davis, MacGibbon | 0-246-10810-X | £4.95?£: UK pound |
l+ 519 |
hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth | ||
| Phantasmagoria: Tales of Fantasy and the Supernatural | 1977-00-00 | ed. Jane Mobley | Anchor Books | 0-385-12329-9 | $3.50?$: US dollar |
439 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | Edmund Dulac | |
| Beyond the Looking Glass: Extraordinary Works of Fairy Tale and Fantasy | 1978-03-00 | ed. Jonathan Cott | Wallaby / Pocket Books | 0-671-79017-X | $6.95?$: US dollar |
xlix+ 519 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | ||
| The Fantastic Imagination II | 1978-12-00 | ed. Robert H. Boyer, Kenneth J. Zahorski | Avon | 0-380-41533-X | $2.50?$: US dollar |
xi+ 307 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
anth | Elizabeth Malczynski | |
| The Golden Key and Other Stories | 1979-04-00 | George MacDonald | Chariot Books | 0-85421-655-3 | $1.95?$: US dollar |
192 | pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | E. M. Pilborough | |
| The Golden Key and Other Stories | 1980-10-00 | George MacDonald | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. | 0-8028-1859-5 | $2.95?$: US dollar |
x+ 165 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | Craig Yoe | |
| The Golden Key and Other Stories | 1982-05-00 | George MacDonald | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. | 0-8028-1859-5 |
x+ 165 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | Craig Yoe | |
|
| The Gold Key and The Green Life: Some Fantasies and Celtic Tales | 1986-09-00 | George MacDonald, Fiona MacLeod | Constable & Co. Ltd. | 0-09-467110-9 | £9.95?£: UK pound |
222 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
coll | ||
| The Light Princess and Other Tales | 1987-10-00 | George MacDonald | Canongate Kelpies | 0-86241-164-5 | £1.95?£: UK pound |
288 | pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
coll | ||
| Beyond the Looking Glass: Extraordinary Works of Fairy Tale and Fantasy | 1988-05-00 | ed. Jonathan Cott | Tusk Books / The Overlook Press | 0-87951-238-5 | $9.95?$: US dollar |
xlix+ 519 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | ||
| Die Sirene und andere phantastische Erzählungen | 1990-03-00 | ed. Franz Rottensteiner | Suhrkamp (Phantastische Bibliothek #264) | 3-518-38188-1 | DM 14.00?DM: German (Deutsche) mark |
309+ [1] |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
anth | Ralf Gammersbach | |
| Beyond the Looking Glass: Extraordinary Works of Fairy Tale and Fantasy | 1991-03-00 | ed. Jonathan Cott | The Overlook Press | 0-87951-238-5 | £7.95?£: UK pound |
xlix+ 519 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | ||
| A chave de ouro | 1994-00-00 | George MacDonald | Galaxia (Arbore #72) | 84-7154-918-2 | 64 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
chap | |||
| The Gifts of the Child Christ & Other Stories and Fairy Tales | 1996-09-00 | George MacDonald | Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. | 0-8028-4165-1 | $29.00?$: US dollar |
xxvi+ 558 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | Arthur Hughes | |
| The Complete Fairy Tales | 1999-00-00 | George MacDonald | Penguin Books (US) (Penguin Classics) | 0-14-043737-1 | $13.95?$: US dollar |
xxvi+ 354 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | Arthur Rackham | |
| The Complete Fairy Tales | 1999-00-00 | George MacDonald | Penguin Books (US) (Penguin Classics) | 0-14-043737-1 | $15.00?$: US dollar |
xxvi+ 354 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | Frank C. Papé | |
| The Treasury of the Fantastic: Romanticism to Early Twentieth Century Literature | 2001-02-00 | ed. David Sandner, Jacob Weisman | North Atlantic Books/Tachyon Publications/Frog, Ltd. | 1-58394-030-8 | $27.50?$: US dollar |
747 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth | Michael Dashow | |
| The Mammoth Book of Fantasy | 2001-09-00 | ed. Mike Ashley | Robinson | 1-84119-374-7 | £6.99?£: UK pound |
xii+ 500 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | John Howe | |
| The Mammoth Book of Fantasy | 2001-11-00 | ed. Mike Ashley | Carroll & Graf | 0-7867-0917-0 | $11.95?$: US dollar |
xii+ 500 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | John Howe | |
| The Victorian Fairy Tale Book | 2003-01-00 | ed. Michael Patrick Hearn | Pantheon Books | 0-375-71455-3 | $18.00?$: US dollar |
xxvii+ 384 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | ||
| Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy | 2003-09-00 | ed. Douglas A. Anderson | Del Rey / Ballantine | 0-345-45855-9 | $14.95?$: US dollar |
436 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | John Howe | |
| Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy | 2005-11-29 | ed. Douglas A. Anderson | Del Rey / Ballantine | 0-345-45856-7 | $7.50?$: US dollar |
x+ 517 |
pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
anth | John Howe | |
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales | 2006-07-10 | George MacDonald | Dover Publications (Dover Children's Classics) | 0-486-44756-1 | $8.95?$: US dollar |
xi+ 252 |
tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | Pat Lewis | |
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories | 2006-07-12 | George MacDonald | Project Gutenberg | 18811 | $0.00?$: US dollar |
ebook?Used for all electronic formats, including but not limited to EPUB, eReader, HTML, iBook, Mobipocket, and PDF. |
coll | |
||
| The Golden Key | 2007-04-25 | George MacDonald | Nuvision Publications | 978-1-59547-905-1 | $12.99?$: US dollar |
48 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
chap | ||
| The Fantastic Imagination of George MacDonald, Volume III | 2008-00-00 | George MacDonald | Coachwhip Publications | 978-1-930585-63-8 | $24.95?$: US dollar |
521 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | ||
| The Golden Key | 2009-02-20 | George MacDonald | Dodo Press | 978-1-4099-5713-3 | $12.99?$: US dollar |
48 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
chap | ||
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories | 2009-04-09 | George MacDonald | Wilder Publications | 978-1-60459-453-9 | $7.75?$: US dollar |
92 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
coll | ||
| The Complete Fairy Tales | 2009-12-14 | George MacDonald | Digireads.com | 978-1-4209-3652-0 | $4.99?$: US dollar |
ebook?Used for all electronic formats, including but not limited to EPUB, eReader, HTML, iBook, Mobipocket, and PDF. |
coll | |||
| Dreams and Wonders: Stories from the Dawn of Modern Fantasy | 2010-08-19 | ed. Mike Ashley | Dover Publications | 978-0-486-47775-6 | $12.95?$: US dollar |
288 | pb?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper. |
anth | Pierre Amédée Marcel-Beronneau | |
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories | 2012-12-27 | George MacDonald | Library of Alexandria | 978-1-4655-5099-6 | $2.99?$: US dollar |
ebook?Used for all electronic formats, including but not limited to EPUB, eReader, HTML, iBook, Mobipocket, and PDF. |
coll | |||
| Fantasy Novels | 2013-01-23 | George MacDonald | Benediction Classics | 978-1-78139-370-3 | $39.99?$: US dollar |
560 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
omni | ||
| The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales | 2013-02-27 | George MacDonald | Dover Publications | 978-0-486-14721-5 | $9.95?$: US dollar |
ebook?Used for all electronic formats, including but not limited to EPUB, eReader, HTML, iBook, Mobipocket, and PDF. |
coll | Pat Lewis | ||
| The Treasury of the Fantastic: Romanticism to Early Twentieth Century Literature | 2013-08-15 | ed. David Sandner, Jacob Weisman | Tachyon Publications | 978-1-61696-096-4 | $19.95?$: US dollar |
706 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | Thomas Canty | |
| The Golden Key | 2015-00-00 | George MacDonald | Pegana Press | $400.00?$: US dollar |
hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
chap | ||||
| Victorian Fairy Tales | 2015-03-12 | ed. Michael Newton (UK) | Oxford University Press | 978-0-19-960195-0 | £16.99?£: UK pound |
xlii+ 444 |
hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth | ||
| Victorian Fairy Tales | 2016-05-26 | ed. Michael Newton (UK) | Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics) | 978-0-19-873759-9 | £8.99?£: UK pound |
496 | tp?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep. |
anth | ||
| The Golden Key | 2016-09-00 | George MacDonald | Eerdmans Books for Young Readers | 978-0-8028-5456-8 | $16.00?$: US dollar |
135 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
chap | Ruth Sanderson | |
| The Classic Fantasy Collection | 2018-03-01 | ed. uncredited | Sirius / Arcturus Publishing | 978-1-78828-340-3 | $19.99?$: US dollar |
927 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth | Peter Ridley | |
| Strange Lands: Short Stories | 2020-10-21 | ed. uncredited | Flame Tree Press (Gothic Fantasy) | 978-1-83964-237-1 | £20.00?£: UK pound |
480 | hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size. |
anth |
Reviews
- Review by Everett F. Bleiler (1983) in The Guide to Supernatural Fiction