Alanna

PIERCE, Tamora. Alanna: The First Adventure. NY: Atheneum, 1983. 8vo, [viii] 211pp. Marigold paper wrappers printed in black. Slightest soiling else a fine copy. Inscribed by the author, Tamora Pierce, to Books of Wonder founders Peter Glassman and James Carrey with the note “Aren’t galleys a delightful invention?”.

Unrevised proofs with hand-numbered pages. The author’s first book and the first book in the award-winning Song of the Lioness Quartet. Though girls in the kingdom of Tortall are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be a knight, while her brother, Thom longs to be a sorcerer. So they switch places. Disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training at the palace. But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. Alanna must not only master weapons, combat, and magic, but also her temper, her etiquette, and even her own heart.