Lady Friday
| File:Ladyfridayamerican.jpg | |
| Author | Garth Nix |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Keys to the Kingdom |
| Genre | Fantasy, Young adult novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins (UK) |
Publication date | February, 2007 |
| Publication place | Australian |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 304 pp (needs citation) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-717509-4 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Sir Thursday |
| Followed by | Superior Saturday |
On the fifth day there was fear.
Lady Friday is the 5th novel by Garth Nix in his 'The Keys to the Kingdom' series. The fifth Trustee, Lady Friday, is mentioned at the end of the fourth book in the series, Sir Thursday, as a 'Doctor Friday'. Lady Friday is also mentioned in Grim Tuesday by Grim Tuesday as "that fool, Friday".
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler At the end of Sir Thursday a nurse is seen telling Leaf that everybody has become infatuated with Doctor Friday because she is so beautiful; as a result, everyone on the wards calls her Lady Friday. Lady Friday is in command of the Middle House, not the Incomparable Gardens which is ruled by Lord Sunday.
This story continues the story of Arthur Penhaligon, the True and Rightful Heir of the House of the Architect. Little is known about the plot except that the Piper still controls much of the Great Maze and has also taken control of some the Piper's Children (including Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold), Superior Saturday is wreaking havoc and putting up obstacles for Arthur throughout the House, and Lady Friday is kidnapping the patients from the East Area Hospital in order to "experience" them. She apparently also extends a tempting offer to Arthur that may be a trap. The American and Australian covers [1] prominently feature a lake, and the key is apparently portrayed on the latter cover as a small circular object, probably a mirror. This mirror was confirmed to be linked to the Fifth Key by a chapter excerpt that appeared on the official Australian site.
Lady Friday has kidnapped thousands of people, and taken them to the world that is mentioned in Sir Thursday as the world where the Skinless Boy's mind-controlling mold originated. Lady Friday kidnaps old people and steals their experiences; ergo, drains from them their emotions and memories.
Arthur, the Piper, and Superior Saturday all receive messages from Lady Friday, saying she has given up ruling the Middle House and that the first of the three who can reach her Scriptorium in the Middle House can have the Fifth Key and her domain for its own. She sent with each message a tranfer plate that would transfer whoever touched it straight to the Middle House. Arthur accidentally takes the plate and is sent to the Middle House while he still holds the Fourth Key.
While the Piper is contemplating on what to do with his plate, Suzy, Fred, and their body guard Ugham grab it and go to the Middle House. Saturday sends her Dusk. Once there Arthur fights some Fetchers and eventually meets Fred and Suzy. At first, he does not trust them, but they convince him they can be trusted. Around their necks are bindings that bend them to the Piper's will; these are removed by Arthur at Suzy's behest.
While on the way to the Scriptorium, they meet some of the Middle House's Winged Servants of the Night. Arthur singlehandedly defeats four of Saturdays elite troops. While flying up the mountain on which is the Scriptorium, Arthur finds the Fifth Part of the Will in the lair of the Winged Servants. This part of the Will is much more likable than the other parts; it explains that without its balance, Dame Primus might do something unpleasant.
When Athur reaches the Scriptorium he finds the Piper has killed Saturday's Dusk. The Piper orders Ugham to pick up what is supposed to be the Fifth Key, but when he does it opens a hole into the Void of Nothing; this is apparently a trap set by Lady Friday. As the hole gets bigger, Arthur decides to use the Fourth Key , even if it turns him into a Denizen, to fix the hole; one Key is not enough, so the Will tells him to imagine that he is holding all the Keys. He does and he is suddenly holding them all. He fixes the hole and uses the Improbable Stair, the Architect's own personal transport, to transport himself, Suzy, and Fred to Monday's Dayroom. Once there, Scamandros and Sneezer use the Seven Dials to transport them all to Friday's hideout.
They find that Friday has lost her sanity and is about to "experience" thousands of people at one time. Arthur uses all the keys to stop her, but is unable to stop her transferring their lives to the Fifth Key. Once he has the Key, he gives all the lives back. He finds that his friend Leaf was among the people, but his Mother is not. She is confirmed to be outside the Secondary Realms, and is therefore deduced to be in the Upper House. Arthur gives all the keys to the Will, except for the Fifth, then goes to Earth to settle matters before going after Saturday. Suzy gives Arthur a note that Ugaham gave her before he died. It is what looks like a piece of a letter sent from Sunday to Saturday. It says "Rule the house how you will it will not matter soon enough signed S." The sender of this message, 'S', is presumed to be either Saturday or Sunday; it would be unwise to make brash and reckless decisions, saying 'S stands for Sunday, not Saturday' and such before the correct time for such things.
The release date of this book was February 5, 2007 in the USA. However, a release date has been confirmed for Australia to be on the 08/03/2007 by the KeystotheKingdom.com.au newsletter[2]. The book's first chapter is also available on the same website, while GarthNix.co.uk[3] has the Prologue.