Summary
Robin McKinley's mesmerizing history of Damar is the stuff that legends are made of. The Hero and the Crown is a dazzling "prequel" to The Blue Sword. Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North, who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her. But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.
Robin McKinley was born in Warren, Ohio on November 16, 1952. She graduated from Bowdoin College in 1975 and her first novel, Beauty, was published in 1978. She has received numerous awards for her work including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown; a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword; the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature for Sunshine; and the World Fantasy Award for Imaginary Lands. Her other works include Spindle's End; The Outlaws of Sherwood; Rose Daughter; A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories; Chalice; and Shadows.
(Bowker Author Biography)