Dorothy Gilman

Dorothy Gilman is best known for mysteries, especially the Mrs. Pollifax series, but she also wrote fiction for younger readers under her married name, Dorothy Gilman Butters. The Maze in the Heart of the Castle follows sixteen-year-old Colin after plague takes both of his parents. A monk directs the grieving boy toward Rheembeck Castle, where a wizard offers him passage through a stone maze into a dangerous realm. Bandits, cave dwellers, and deceptive appearances turn the journey into more than a search for escape. Colin must face the anger and fear accompanying his loss before he can understand the maze's inward meaning. Doubleday originally published the juvenile fantasy in 1983, and Fawcett Juniper issued a later edition in 1991. Gilman uses the framework of quest fiction to connect an outward adventure with the slower work of grief, self-knowledge, and renewed purpose.