The Stagman
short fiction 1984 The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End
Record
| First published | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | short fiction |
| Canon status | |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780441204052 |
Synopsis
This Damar short story follows Queen Ruen, who finds herself manipulated and undermined by an ambitious uncle scheming to control or seize her throne. Isolated by his machinations, Ruen's fortunes change when she encounters a shape-changer known as the Stagman, whose unusual nature and abilities offer her an unexpected path out of her uncle's grip. Written as one of Robin McKinley's shorter tales set in the world of Damar, alongside her novels The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, the story centers on themes of political vulnerability, hidden allies, and transformation, using the Stagman's liminal, half-human nature as the key to Ruen's escape from her predicament.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Robin McKinley
Notes
- Short story set in Damar; collected in A Knot in the Grain (1994).
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 Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End (standalone work): position 4 of 7: previous The Hero and the Crown (1984) · next The Stone Fey (1998)
Sources
← The Chronicles of Damar / Spindle's End dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.