Items related to The Golden Child
Penelope Fitzgerald's novel, The Golden Child, combines a deft comedy of manners with a classic mystery set in London's most refined institution—the museum. When the glittering treasure of ancient Garamantia, the golden child, is delivered to the museum, a web of intrigue tightens around its personnel, especially the hapless museum officer Waring Smith. While prowling the halls one night, Waring is nearly strangled. Two suspicious deaths ensue, and only the cryptic hieroglyphics of the Garamantes can bring an end to the mayhem. Fitzgerald has an unerring eye for human nature, and this satirical look at the art world delivers a terrifically witty read.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Penelope Fitzgerald's first novel is packed with institutional follies and fiercely territorial old trouts. Set in a London museum whose officers only appear august, The Golden Child literally proves that authorities are clowns and clowns authorities. As the book opens, all England is queuing up to see the golden treasure of the Garamantes--the remains of a young king who was interred complete with a trove of toys and goodies. Only the man who unearthed the kinglet back in 1913 refuses to go anywhere near the exhibit, despite his constant proximity: "Sir William, in extreme but clear-headed old age, and after a lifetime of fieldwork, had come to roost in the Museum itself." Meanwhile, everyone--from nations to corporations--wants a piece of the Golden Child. (The exhibit is even underwritten by a company that hopes its puff, "Silence is Golden," will give its cigarettes more positive associations.) What, then, if the relics are cursed--or fake?
About the Author:
As both possibilities grow increasingly likely, and the Museum risks ridicule, its director deputizes Waring Smith to transport the mummy's doll to an incorruptible expert. Too bad if Professor Semyonov is in Russia: this junior officer will simply have to smuggle the toy in! Suffice it to say that Waring's covert odyssey to Moscow is but one of The Golden Child's many witty--and enigmatic--episodes. Near the Kremlin, he comes upon a line that makes him think he's back at work. The citizens, though, have assembled for another mummy altogether:
The park statues were covered with shrouds of straw to protect them against the cold, but the human beings stood there, wiping the frozen drops from noses and eyelashes, waiting with immemorial patience to see what they had been told was worth seeing. In an hour and a half they would be filing past the embalmed head and hands, and the ghastly evening dress suit, of Lenin.On the surface, Fitzgerald's 1977 novel is a bona fide mystery, complete with a body in the library and a spot of garroting. But adepts of this author will prize it for its pixilated cast of characters and for its gentle, perfect assaults on pretension--whether academic, journalistic, or even gustatory. As ever, Fitzgerald is drawn to explore the power--and sheer inconvenience--of the emotions. No wonder The Golden Child's mysteries go so far beyond those of its genre. --Kerry Fried
PENELOPE FITZGERALD wrote many books small in size but enormous in popular and critical acclaim over the past two decades. Over 300,000 copies of her novels are in print, and profiles of her life appeared in both The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. In 1979, her novel Offshore won Britain's Booker Prize, and in 1998 she won the National Book Critics Circle Prize for The Blue Flower. Though Fitzgerald embarked on her literary career when she was in her 60's, her career was praised as "the best argument ... for a publishing debut made late in life" (New York Times Book Review). She told the New York Times Magazine, "In all that time, I could have written books and I didn’t. I think you can write at any time of your life." Dinitia Smith, in her New York Times Obituary of May 3, 2000, quoted Penelope Fitzgerald from 1998 as saying, "I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?"
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHarper Paperbacks
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 0395956196
- ISBN 13 9780395956199
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages192
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 15.58
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0395956196xvz189zvxnew
Buy New
US$ 15.58
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Golden Child (Paperback or Softback)
Published by
Mariner Books 9/15/1999
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Paperback or Softback
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Golden Child 0.45. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780395956199
Buy New
US$ 15.61
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0395956196-new
Buy New
US$ 17.23
Convert currency
Seller Image
The Golden Child by Fitzgerald, Penelope [Paperback ]
Published by
Mariner Books
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Soft Cover
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9780395956199
Buy New
US$ 17.26
Convert currency
Seller Image
Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Softcover
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 457811-n
Buy New
US$ 14.90
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(2024)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Paperback
Quantity: 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New! This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 0395956196
Buy New
US$ 17.65
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580179335
Buy New
US$ 13.78
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780395956199
Buy New
US$ 18.00
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Harper Paperbacks
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0395956196
Buy New
US$ 21.62
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Golden Child
Published by
Houghton Mifflin
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0395956196
ISBN 13: 9780395956199
New
PAP
Quantity: 15
Seller:
Rating
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # IQ-9780395956199
Buy New
US$ 25.09
Convert currency