The Hero and the Crown
core novel 1984 The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End
Record
| First published | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.21 (55,592 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 240 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780141309811 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Hero and the Crown follows Aerin, daughter of King Arlbeth of Damar, who is treated as an outcast at her father's court because of her unusually pale skin and red hair, and because of persistent rumors that her late mother was a witch who ensnared the king. Excluded from her father's confidence and mocked by the other nobility, Aerin turns to an old, half-forgotten book to teach herself how to make kenet, a fire-resistant ointment, and begins secretly hunting the small dragons that plague the countryside to prove her worth. Her efforts take on greater urgency when Maur, a great dragon believed dormant for generations, reawakens and threatens the kingdom, even as a separate, demonic danger from the north raises the prospect of war and puts Aerin's untested abilities to a far larger test.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End
- Series: The Chronicles of Damar core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Robin McKinley
Awards (verified)
- Newbery Medal (Medal (winner)), 1985: won
Notes
- From the series record (The Chronicles of Damar): Internal chronology is settled, not disputed, despite running counter to publication order: The Hero and the Crown (pub. 1984) is an internal-chronology prequel to The Blue Sword (pub. 1982) -- Aerin, its protagonist, is already a centuries-old legendary figure within The Blue Sword's own story. internal chronology values reflect story order (1=earliest), not publication order. Registered as a duology (2 books, no further Damar novels published or announced in over 40 years) per the duology enum value's intended use.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Chronicles of Damar: position 2 of 2: previous The Blue Sword (1982)
- Internal chronology, within The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End: position 1 of 2: next The Blue Sword (1982)
Sources
- Wikipedia -- Robin McKinley
- Wikipedia -- The Blue Sword
- Wikipedia -- The Hero and the Crown
- ALA -- Newbery Medal & Honor Books 1922-present
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