The Goldsmith's Daughter

Landman’s latest novel is much more than a mere account of the bloody encounter between the Aztecs and the invading Spanish Conquistadors.

Itacate, her heroine, gives us a revealing perspective on adolescent female experience, as relevant to girls today as it is to a study of Aztec culture.

Iticate has a twin brother whose future is totally unlike that permitted a mere girl, but carries with it the risk of becoming a human sacrifice for the gods.

As a girl, she cannot even reveal her great skill at goldsmithing, and when she falls in love with one of the Spanish invaders, she too faces possible death. Landman’s novel respects the ancient culture and reveals the complexity of a frequently misrepresented society.