Alexander Key

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Alexander Hill Key (* 21st September 1904 in La Plata , Maryland ; † 25. July 1979 ) was an American science fiction - writers who wrote primarily for a young audience.

biography

He attended the School of the Art Institute in Chicago , Illinois between 1921 and 1923.

He became a nationally known illustrator before becoming a writer. After he began writing novels for young people, he moved his family to the mountains of North Carolina , and most of his books contain descriptions of the wild and rugged landscape of his new home.

writer

His novel Escape to Witches Mountain became popular Disney films in 1975, 1995 and 2009 . The sequel became another popular film in 1978. His novel The Incredible Tide became a popular anime series that aired in 1978 as Future Boy Conan .

He is known for his depictions of aliens but who look human, who have tremendously strong abilities and a close connection with nature, and who can speak telepathically to animals. In his non-fiction book The Strange White Doves, he confessed his belief that animals are conscious, thinking, feeling, perceiving, independent and self-conscious intelligent beings and have subtle channels of communication, perhaps through empathy or telepathy. The protagonists of Key's books are often ostracized, feared, or persecuted for their amazing abilities or extraterrestrial origins, and Key uses this as a clear metaphor for racism and other prejudices.

In some of his novels (especially The Case of the Vanishing Boy ) Key depicts a kind of collective withdrawal from society by a group of like-minded people. Key, who sometimes portrays government sponsored child benefits as inefficient or even counterproductive in his endeavors, as in: The Forgotten Door , there portrays welfare as a clearly undesirable alternative for protagonist Little Jon, and in Escape to Witch Mountain , there Tony and Tia actively flee the system. In both cases, however, there is a very logical reason: the characters are "not from here". All they want to do is return home and luckily some of the locals have the decency to help them out (Keys The Forgotten Door took up this topic over a decade before ET ).

The plot of Keys The Magic Meadow is even more poignant for any reader who has ever been bedridden in the hospital. Its end in particular is phenomenally optimistic. That was another topic from Alexander Key: These good and decent people deserve to flee to a place worthy of them.

Bibliography (selection)

Novels

  • Not published in German . (American English: The Red Eagle: A Tale for Young Aviators . 1930.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Liberty or Death . 1936.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: With Daniel Boone on the Caroliny Trail . 1941.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Wrath and the Wind . 1949.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Island light . 1950.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Sprockets: A Little Robot . 1963.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Rivets and Sprockets . 1964.).
  • The door to another world . Buoy, 1976, ISBN 3-414-11490-9 (American English: The Forgotten Door . 1965. Translated by Irmela Brender).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Bolts: a Robot Dog . 1966.).
  • The children from the other star . Buoy, 1977, ISBN 3-414-11210-8 (American English: Escape to Witch Mountain . 1968. Translated by Ulrike Killer).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Mystery of the Sassafras Chair . 1968.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Golden Enemy . 1969.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Incredible Tide . 1970.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Flight to the Lonesome Place . 1972.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Strange White Doves . 1971.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Preposterous Adventures of Swimmer . 1973.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Magic Meadow . 1975.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Jagger, the Dog from Elsewhere . 1976.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Sword of Aradel . 1977.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: Return from Witch Mountain . 1978.).
  • Not published in German . (American English: The Case of the Vanishing Boy . 1979.).

Illustrations

  • In the Light of Myth: Selections from the World's Myths , 1925
  • Real Legends of New England , 1930
  • The Book of Dragons , 1931
  • Suwannee River: Strange Green Land , 1938

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Alexander Key - FAQ .
  2. ↑ 13 Facts About Alexander Key .
personal data
SURNAME Key, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Key, Alexander Hill (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 21, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH La Plata, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 1979