Tooth and Claw
core novel 2003 Tooth and Claw
Record
| First published | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.88 (7,226 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 304 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765302649 |
Synopsis
Set in a Victorian-inflected society populated entirely by dragons, the novel opens with the death of the elderly patriarch Bon Agornin, whose passing triggers a dispute among his adult children over his estate and, most contentiously, over the traditional consumption of his remains, a practice that determines how much status and physical growth each heir receives. As the surviving Agornin siblings scatter to pursue careers, courtships, and social advancement in a world where a dragon's size and coloration directly reflect wealth and rank, the novel follows their intertwined fortunes through inheritance disputes, an ecclesiastical career, a contested marriage, and a legal battle against a more powerful and predatory relative. Blending the conventions of the nineteenth-century novel of manners with a fully realized dragon culture, the story treats courtship and property law with the same weight it gives to claws and flame.
Where it sits
- Universe: Tooth and Claw
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Jo Walton
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2004: won
Notes
- A comedy-of-manners fantasy of manners in the mode of Anthony Trollope, entirely recast with a cast of dragons who ritually consume their dead. Won the 2004 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (confirmed via worldfantasy.org's own winners list).
Sources
← Tooth and Claw dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.