| The Song of the Lioness | |
| Books: | In the Hand of the Goddess The Woman Who Rides Like a Man Lioness Rampant |
| Genre: | Fantasy, young adult fiction |
| Publisher: | Atheneum Books |
| Author: | Tamora Pierce |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Pub Date: | 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: (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]
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 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]
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]