Alanna: The First Adventure In the Hand of the Goddess The Woman Who Rides Like a Man Lioness Rampant | |
Author | Tamora Pierce |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Fantasy, young adult fiction |
Publisher | Atheneum Books |
Published | 1983–1988 |
Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook |
Followed by | The Immortals |
The Song of the Lioness is a young adult series of fantasy novels published in the 1980s by Tamora Pierce. The series consists of four books: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983), In the Hand of the Goddess (1984), The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986) and Lioness Rampant (1988).
Noblewoman Alanna of Trebond, disguised as the boy "Alan", exchanges places with her twin brother Thom, to go to the royal palace in the city of Corus to train for knighthood, while Thom studies magic. [1] Throughout the four novels Alanna deals with her secretive and unusual status as an aspiring female knight; friendships; romances; physical hardship; world-changing quests and duty. She experiences such challenges as puberty, bullying and defying social convention. Alanna befriends characters of a wide background during the quartet including George, the commoner king of the thieves; the scholar Sir Myles of Olau; senior students Gareth (Gary) of Naxen, Raoul of Goldenlake, and Prince Jonathan of Conté; Princess Thayet of Sarain; Liam Ironarm, a martial-arts champion; and Buriram (Buri) Tourakom, Thayet's bodyguard. Her principal rivals are classmate Ralon of Malven and Jonathan's kinsman Duke Roger.
In the second volume, Alanna also acquires the magical cat "Faithful", who accompanies her thereafter. (Faithful is hinted to be an immortal, but his origins remain unknown.) [2] Because of her double identity as a girl masquerading as a boy, small size, magic, and impatience, Alanna often questions her own character. In the third book, she becomes an honorary member of the "Bazhir", a Bedouin-like ethnicity, and gains acceptance as a warrior, mage and a woman. [3] In the final volume, Alanna becomes King's Champion to Jonathan and Baroness of the coastal estate Pirate's Swoop, following her marriage to George Cooper, newly minted Baron of Pirate's Swoop. [4]
This section possibly contains original research .(July 2022) |
The series covers Alanna's life and development as she disguises herself and lives as a male. This causes a lot of gender discussion. At first it is easy for her to disguise herself as a boy because she is still prepubescent, but in her first year of training to be a knight she goes through puberty and gets her first period. This causes quite a bit of self-searching as Alanna struggles with her identity as a female while living as a boy. [5]
She does reveal to a select close few her female side, sometimes intentionally and other times not, but still struggles with it even as they encourage her to explore both the sides she has available to her. This theme is one of the reasons the series received such a high feminist regard as it was very open and honest towards the female body and its limitations versus being able to push oneself beyond that. [6]
In 2019, Pierce posted on Twitter that "Alanna has always defied labels. She took the best bits of being a woman and a man, and created her own unique identity. I think the term is 'gender-fluid', though there wasn't a word for this (to my knowledge) when I was writing her." [7]
The series as a whole pays attention to the struggles Alanna faces due to her small frame, and her magic abilities. She spends the first half of Alanna: The First Adventure being beaten up by a bully, and eventually fights back with the support of her friends. This theme being played up in the series has been a big part towards the use of these novels in classes as it teaches some of the faults towards bullying and what is wrong with it and why this book is worth teaching. [8]
American author Tamora Pierce published Alanna: The First Adventure, the first book in The Song of the Lioness quartet, in 1983. Tamora Pierce is said to have turned to writing at a young age as a means of escape from a troubled family life. Pierce drew much of her inspiration from other fantasy series such as The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Pierce set out to not only create an epic fantasy adventure, but to populate it with a strong female protagonist. Pierce saw the need for a female protagonist in the significant lacking of such heroes in the fantasy novels she enjoyed as a child, often stating that she wrote what she as a young-adult would have enjoyed. Originally, Pierce had written her acclaimed quartet as a single adult novel but, following editorial advice, rewrote it into the now famous young-adult fantasy series. Pierce has said that she based the character of Alanna on her sister. [9] [10] [ unreliable source? ]
Pierce's book has been selected Recommended Fantasy List in June 1991, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults in 2003 and Young Adult Library Services Association by YALSA. Her book has also been nominated South Carolina Children's Book Awards from 1985 to 1986. She has won Bookworm's Prize by ZDF Schüler-Express. [11]
Alanna: The First Adventure, was first published in 1983 by Atheneum Books, and then Random House Inc. The following books were published in 1984, 1986, and 1988, respectively. The series started out as a 732-page novel titled the Song of the Lioness, but her editor, Jean Karl, thought parts were too inappropriate for children and Tamora Pierce edited it into the present series.
In November of 2018, the first line of officially licensed merchandise was created in partnership with Dual Wield Studio, featuring a selection of pins, apparel and accessories developed in collaboration with creators from the Tamora Pierce fanbase. [12] The collection expanded in 2020 to include a rendition of the map of Tortall and continues to grow. [13]
At the end of 2023, Dual Wield Studio announced a new collection celebrating the 40th anniversary of Alanna: The First Adventure. [14]
Tamora Pierce is an American writer of fantasy fiction for teenagers, known best for stories featuring young heroines. She made a name for herself with her first book series, The Song of the Lioness (1983–1988), which followed the main character Alanna through the trials and triumphs of training as a knight.
The Immortals quartet, by Tamora Pierce, is the story of Veralidaine Sarrasri, an orphan with an unusual talent: she can speak with animals.
The Protector of the Small quartet is a series of young adult fantasy books by American writer Tamora Pierce.
Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce is a series of two novels set in the fictional Tortall universe. It is centered on Alianne of Pirate's Swoop, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Tortall's legendary lady knight, Alanna the Lioness, who was the subject of The Song of the Lioness quartet. The novels take place approximately 24 years after the last book in the quartet, Lioness Rampant.
King of Thieves may refer to:
Wild Magic is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the emergence of the powers of Veralidaine Sarrasri as a wild mage and her coming to Tortall.
Alanna: The First Adventure is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce. Originally published in 1983, it is the first in a series of four books for young adults, The Song of the Lioness. Pierce originally drafted a single novel aimed at adults, but revised it to a series for young adults after being unable to find a publisher. Set in a time and place where girls are forbidden from becoming knights, the novel details the beginning of Alanna of Trebond's training as a knight as she hides her gender from teachers and fellow pages.
In the Hand of the Goddess is a 1984 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the second in a series of four books, The Song of the Lioness. It details the squire- and knighthood of Alanna of Trebond, who has hidden her real sex in order to become a knight.
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the third in a series of four books, The Song of the Lioness. It details the knighthood of Alanna of Trebond as she lives in the Bazhir desert after becoming a knight.
Lioness Rampant is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the fourth and last in a series of books, The Song of the Lioness. It details an adventure of the knight Alanna of Trebond, and her final battle with her archenemy, Duke Roger of Conte.
Emperor Mage is a 1994 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the third in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the peace delegation sent by Tortall to Carthak which Daine joins, to save the emperor's birds.
First Test is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the series Protector of the Small. It details the first year of Keladry of Mindelan's training as a page of Tortal.
Squire is the third book in the series Protector of the Small by American fantasy author Tamora Pierce. It details Keladry of Mindelan's (Kel's) continuing quest for knighthood.
The Provost's Dog trilogy is a series of young adult fantasy novels by best-selling author Tamora Pierce. The series is a prequel to Pierce's first quartet, The Song of the Lioness, and is set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall two hundred years earlier. It details the adventures of Beka Cooper, a sixteen-year-old recruit of the Lord Provost, originally from a lower city family and now in service to the Provost's Guard.
Terrier is a young adult fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the Provost's Dog trilogy and the fifteenth book set in the Tortall Universe. It tells the story of Rebakah "Beka" Cooper, the ancestor of George Cooper from Song of the Lioness and Alianne from Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. It is set 200 years prior to the bulk of the Tortall novels.
Lady Knight is the fourth book in the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. This book is Kel's first appearance as a Knight of the Realm.
Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce, is the second novel in a fictional trilogy, Provost's Dog, about a young Provost guard-woman in a fantasy kingdom called Tortall. The first book was called Terrier, and the third is called Mastiff.
Mastiff is the third novel in Tamora Pierce's Provost's Dog trilogy, about a young Provost guard-woman in a fantasy kingdom called Tortall. The novel, as with all the Beka Cooper books, is written in first person diary form. The actual diary is said to be written in a mixture of Dog code and Beka's personal code.
Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales is a collection of short stories by young adult fantasy author Tamora Pierce. The anthology includes stories set in Tortall, a fantasy kingdom appearing in many of Pierce's works, as well as stories set in the real world. In addition, besides gathering together Pierce's seven previously published short stories, Tortall and Other Lands includes three original stories written specifically for this collection.
This is a list of works by American fantasy author Tamora Pierce.
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