Note: This work has an odd history. In 1979 Gilman wrote _The Tightrope Walker_, in which a young woman investigates what turns out to be the murder of an elderly author who wrote a book that has much inspired the young woman. This fictional fantasy work is entitled _The Maze in the Heart of the Castle_, and extensive quotes from it are given. This work has a roughly similar plot, and the same character names as the fictional novel, but is significantly different in both plot and detail.