The Hero and the Crown

Written by Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown is a 1984 fantasy novel that acts as a prequel to McKinley’s 1982 novel, The Blue Sword. The Hero and the Crown focuses on the life and exploits of Aerin Dragon-Killer, the legendary wielder of the titular blue sword Gonturan, which first appeared in the previous novel. The Hero and the Crown focuses on Aerin’s personal development into a hero and a queen, emphasizing the physical and psychological difficulties that she faces as well as her struggle to find belonging within her own family.

McKinley is well-known in the fantasy genre for writing novels that focus on strong female protagonists and themes of independence and self-actualization. McKinley was named the 39th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master in 2023 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Association; this lifetime achievement recognizes the most notable living authors. The Hero and the Crown also won a Newbery Medal and remains one of McKinley’s most highly acclaimed works.

This guide refers to the Puffin Books paperback edition, published in 2000.

Content Warning: The source text uses misogynistic and ableist language, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

Plot Summary

Aerin, the “first sol” (female heir) of the kingdom of Damar, is disliked by most people in court except her father and her best friend, Tor, who holds the title of “first sola,” or male heir. People distrust Aerin because her late mother was reportedly a witch who seduced the king, Arlbeth, into marriage. Her most direct enemies include the “second sol,” Galanna, and Galanna’s eventual husband, the “second sola,” Perlith. The novel begins as Arlbeth and Tor prepare to ride out to confront a rebellion in the West; Arlbeth refuses to let Aerin ride with them. Humiliated, Aerin sulks and goes to visit her horse, Talat, who was once her father’s warhorse before he sustained a leg injury that disabled him.

The narrative shifts back in time to explain that Aerin and Talat first bonded after Aerin became grievously ill upon eating leaves from the surka, a plant that is poisonous to all except royalty. She only did so because Galanna spitefully dared her to do so. Blinded, hallucinating, and unable to walk, Aerin endured an excruciating recovery process. When she improved enough to walk, she took books to Talat’s pasture and slowly bonded with him, eventually gaining his trust and attempting to ride him—something that no one has been able to do since his injury. She remade his tack to better suit her needs, and during her reading, she discovered a recipe for a mysterious substance called kenet, which is rumored to be able to protect the wearer from dragonfire.

The novel relates further aspects of Aerin’s history. During her recovery from the surka, Galanna gives up on her hopes of marrying Tor and marries Perlith; Tor stares earnestly at Aerin during the wedding, inciting court rumors about his feelings for her and angering Galanna. Aerin, who is now busy trying to make kenet, does not notice Tor’s romantic interest in her over several years, even when Tor kisses her on a rooftop.

Aerin finally makes kenet just before she turns 19. To test her recipe, she goes into the wilderness and douses herself and Talat in the substance, then walks into a bonfire and remains unscathed. She later ventures out secretly from the castle to hunt a dragon on behalf of a small village. The dragons known to Damar are small but dangerous pests, unlike the gigantic dragons of old. After nearly dying in the battle, she kills the dragon and is escorted home by Arlbeth’s knights, who were originally sent to slay it and only arrive after Aerin’s victory. Upon Aerin’s return, Arlbeth gives her a sword and official permission to hunt dragons, but he reprimands her for going off without permission. Aerin kills more dragons and grows more skilled, but her standing at the court worsens even if she grows popular with the common people.

The narrative returns to the present day, just after she has seen her father and Tor ride off to war against the rebellion. Just as they leave, a man arrives begging for help because the ancient black dragon, Maur, has awakened and is wreaking havoc on the countryside. The king leaves, and Aerin goes to fight Maur herself. She nearly dies in the battle and is grievously burned, but she survives and slays Maur by striking him with a knife to the eye. She stays in the wilderness for weeks, subsisting on her meager supplies, until she is strong enough to ride Talat and reach her father, who has belatedly come to slay Maur himself.

Aerin takes a red stone from Maur’s corpse, and the Damarians bring the dragon’s bleached skull to the castle as a trophy. Aerin struggles to recover; her burned hair grows back darker and straight, and she loses strength. She has visions of a blond man asking her to come to him and hears voices emanating from Maur’s skull. As her condition worsens, she leaves the castle with Talat and wanders until she finds the blond man living on a mountain.

The man, Luthe, heals her by letting her drink from a silver lake that gives her visions of a red-cloaked man. Due to this mystical experience, she is no longer quite mortal, just like Luthe himself. Aerin grows stronger and learns about magic—kelar—from Luthe. Unlike the other members of her household, who all have minor magical gifts of one kind or another, Aerin has never been able to master her own kelar and has suffered years of derision for it. Luthe explains that he knew Aerin’s mother and learned magic alongside her uncle, Agsded, an evil sorcerer whom she is now fated to fight to ensure the safety of her people. As Luthe continues to train Aerin, the two begin to fall in love, but both resist their feelings because they know that they must leave each other.

Aerin sets out to fight Agsded, taking the blue sword, Gonturan, as her weapon. Giant cats and dogs befriend her along the journey and join her cause. When she reaches Agsded’s tower, she climbs alone for an unknown span of time until she reaches him. On his head is the Crown, the lost power of Damar. They fight, and he taunts her, but she regains strength when he insults Luthe. She kills him by throwing a surka wreath imbued with the red dragonstone over his head. The tower collapses; she falls for a long time and wakes up in an overgrown jungle.

After a disorienting dream, Aerin wakes up once again on the barren plain and finds that she is lying in the ruins of the tower. Talat and the animals find her, and the leader of the dogs brings her the Crown. She returns and travels with Luthe for a time; they begin their relationship, even though Aerin intends to return and marry Tor. She gives him the red dragonstone and promises to return to him someday.

Aerin returns to Damar and joins a brutal battle against the demonic Northerners. Arlbeth and Perlith die in the battle, but with Aerin’s power and the Crown on Tor’s head, they drive the Northerners out. The landscape of Damar is forever changed by the battle, becoming a wide, vast desert. In the aftermath, Aerin realizes that the head of Maur is cursing the city and people, so she rolls it out of the treasure hall. She marries Tor and becomes Queen, and although she rules her people happily, she still dreams of Luthe.