group of witches have used magic to rewrite his-
tory and that many of the adventures we read
about in fiction actually happened but were magi-
cally erased. The sequel, Knees Up Mother Earth
(2004) invokes Lovecraftian monsters, but only in
order to lampoon them. Rankin’s other novels are
technically science fiction, but they make use of
the same zany viewpoints and far-fetched events
as does his fantasy.
“Rappaccini’s Daughter” Nathaniel
Hawthorne(1844)
Nathaniel Hawthorne is generally remembered for
his classic novels such as The Scarlet Letter(1850)
and The House of the Seven Gables(1851), which,
though not supernatural, have very grim under-
tones and explore the darker side of human nature
in some detail. Hawthorne exhibited the same ten-
dency in his short fiction, much of which has fan-
tastic content, and the best of which is this one,
set some time in the days before Italy became a co-
hesive nation-state. Giovanni is a young student
recently moved to Padua whose room overlooks a
verdant but unusual garden tended by his neigh-
bor, Dr. Rappaccini. Rappaccini treats the plants as
though they were dangerous creatures, but his
lovely daughter Beatrice seems perfectly at ease
with them.
A discreet inquiry turns up disturbing infor-
mation. Rappaccini is acknowledged as a skilled
physician and scientist but disliked because of his
attitude that the experiment is more important
than the subject and because he concentrates on
the theory that all cures can be derived from one
poison or another. Giovanni is also bothered by
Beatrice’s apparent immunity to the poisonous
plants and eventually by the discovery that her
body has somehow become sympathetic to them,
acting as a fatal poison to insects and small animals
simply by being near them. Despite these signs, he
becomes infatuated with her and eventually man-
ages to find a hidden entrance to her garden.
Another scientist, a friend of the family, grows
worried when it becomes obvious that Giovanni is
in danger. He comes to the young man with a vial
containing an antidote that, he thinks, might pro-
vide a cure for Beatrice so that she can live nor-
mally among humans once again. Before he can try
to help her, he discovers that he, too, has become
transformed and that his presence is already poi-
sonous to insects. Outraged, he explodes at Beat-
rice, berating her cruelly. Calming, he reveals the
existence of the antidote, but Beatrice has been so
altered that by consuming it, she brings about her
own death. In a very real sense, the interference by
the outsider was at least as destructive as Rappac-
cini’s own immoral experimentation.Rawn, Melanie(1954– )
Melanie Rawn is the pseudonym of Ellen Ran-
dolph, who has written some nonfantastic fiction
under her own name. The Rawn byline first ap-
peared with Dragon Prince (1988), a standard
though lengthy and detailed mainstream fantasy in
which a newly crowned king and his witch wife at-
tempt to unite the various factions of his people
behind him. A treacherous noble tries to usurp the
throne but is dealt with in the usual fashion. The
crown does not rest easy, however, as a conspiracy
of sorcerers attempt to displace the king in the se-
quel, The Star Scroll(1988). All of the various con-
flicts are brought to a head in Sunrunner’s Fire
(1990), the catalyst for victory being the enlist-
ment of a number of dragons on the side of good.
Rawn immediately followed up with a second
trilogy set in the same magical universe. The
Dragon Star series opens with Stronghold(1990),
pitting the crown against external enemies this
time, an invading army that would be formidable
even if it were not helped along by powerful evil
sorcery. The situation continues to deteriorate in
The Dragon Token(1992), with the earlier enemies
among the aristocracy allying themselves with the
invaders in order to settle old scores. Factions con-
tinue to realign themselves in Skybowl(1993), ulti-
mately configuring themselves in such a way that
the intruders can be repelled and order restored,
although only after devastating losses.
Rawn began her third trilogy, the Exiles, with
The Ruins of Ambrai(1994). All of the humans
who were capable of performing magic emigrated
from Earth to another world. A war breaks out
soon thereafter, and their culture is splintered into
a variety of factions. The story continues in The286 “Rappaccini’s Daughter”