The Hero and the Crown - by Robin McKinley (Paperback)

About the Book

The daughter of Damar's king, Aerin, has never been accepted as royalty because of people who say her mother was a witch who bewitched the king, then died in despair when she did not bear a son. But with the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the Blue Sword, Aerin wins the birthright due her as the daughter of the Damarian king. A 1985 Newbery Medal Winner.

Book Synopsis

A Newbery Medal Winner

Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...

"[The Hero and the Crown] confirms McKinley as an important writer of modern heroic fantasy, a genre whose giants include C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin."--The Washington Post

"An utterly engrossing fantasy."--The New York Times

About the Author

Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.