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New Edition of The Golden Key in 2024

George MacDonald (1824-1925) was a Scottish author and clergyman. He wrote many stories for children, and his work has inspired authors such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L’Engle. In addition to writing The Golden Key, his stories for children include At The Back of the North WindThe Princess and the Goblin, and The Princess and Curdie.

The Golden Key has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, and in 2012 I decided to illustrate it in scratchboard, and break it into chapters for an older-than-picture book audience. I worked on it for years, creating forty-five illustrations for it, and it was finally accepted and published in 2016 by Eerdmans Publishing. It went out of print recently, and I decided to put it back in print on Amazon in their print-on demand service, KDP.

Here is the link to Amazon US.

Here is the Link to Amazon UK

If you are in another country, email ruthsanderson@me.com and I can send you a link to your country’s Amazon.

Here are some reviews of the original edition:

 “Now with the wonderful illustrations of Ruth Sanderson, I think we can see a real balance between Art and Literature….Ruth’s extraordinarily detailed creations are as multi-layered as the story itself.”

— Christopher MacDonald (George MacDonald’s great-grandson)

“Sanderson’s illustrations are deeply textured and dramatic, enhancing the vivid imagery of the narrative with many full pages and spreads.”

—School Library Journal

“Sanderson’s dramatic black and white scratchboard illustrations bring grace and depth to this story.”

—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books