The King of the Copper Mountains
#3364.09 adjusted 4.04 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1964 Reading commitment Low Paul Biegel Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Overview
Paul Biegel's Het sleutelkruid (1964), translated into English as The King of the Copper Mountains, is a Dutch children's fantasy classic in which the animals of the land gather at the ancient Copper Castle under the mountains to keep the thousand-year-old King Mansolain alive by telling him a story each night. It was Biegel's third book and sealed his breakthrough as a writer; English translations followed from J. M. Dent and, later, Strident and Pushkin Children's Books.
Mythic fantasy, Cozy fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The King of the Copper Mountains Paul Biegel
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The King of the Copper Mountains; Original Dutch title Het sleutelkruid (1964), published before ISBNs were in use in the Netherlands; the ISBN recorded is the 2022 Pushkin Children's Books English edition. Rating is the work-level figure listed under the original title. | 1964 | 1 | core | 4.09 (1,307 ratings) |
Paul Biegel's standalone, translated from Dutch.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The King of the Copper Mountains? The King of the Copper Mountains's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The King of the Copper Mountains finished? Complete (1964).
- How much reading does The King of the Copper Mountains take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The King of the Copper Mountains ranked? #336 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,307 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #336?
Ranked #336 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.09 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,307 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #335, Saint Death's Daughter (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 1k ratings · Ranks #336 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.09 across 1,307 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: The King of the Copper Mountains (Paul Biegel); Michael Bishop bio accepted 2026-10-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Dutch Foundation for Literature: King of the Copper Mountains (Het sleutelkruid, 1964) Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Paul Biegel (Het sleutelkruid, 1964; translated as The King of the Copper Mountains, 1967, J. M. Dent) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Rule: Core Canon = Het sleutelkruid / The King of the Copper Mountains (1964), a standalone novel.