The Golden Fool
2002 novel by Robin Hobb
The Golden Fool is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the second in her Tawny Man Trilogy. It was published in 2002.
Plot summary
Fitz though bitter and grieving after the death of his beloved wit-partner Nighteyes, reluctantly takes the post of Skillmaster to teach Prince Dutiful the Skill. He feels he must since he is almost Dutiful's father. Dutiful, the heir to the throne, was conceived by Verity using Fitz's body fifteen years earlier with the use of the Skill, and because of this is both Skilled and Witted. Fitz is not a great teacher and barely has control of his own Skill, but he is the only one left that has been actually taught how to use it. He knows that Dutiful must be protected from the addictive qualities of the Skill, as well as the dangerous temptations of the Wit and the political machinations surrounding both as the Piebalds threaten to throw the Six Duchies into civil war.
Maintaining a pose as the servant Tom Badgerlock to the Fool's own pose as the decadent noble Lord Golden, rumors surrounding the relationship between Fitz and the Fool start to wear on Fitz. The two have a large fight as Fitz demands answers of the Fool that the Fool does not want to give and they go for a time without speaking.
As Fitz acclimatizes to the secret room once owned by Chade, he meets Thick; Thick is a young man with mental limitations who is stronger in the Skill than anyone that Fitz has ever met.
The public source identifies “The Golden Fool” as 2002 novel by Robin Hobb. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Golden, Fool and novel.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Golden Fool”, the useful work is to connect “2002 novel by Robin Hobb” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1832123. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Golden Fool”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Golden Fool primary sources, The Golden Fool archive and Golden research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Golden Fool”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Golden Fool” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.