Dragonsong was published by Atheneum in 1976 as the first volume of the Harper Hall trilogy, which ran parallel to the main Dragonriders series. The novel was written for a young adult audience, though its appeal extends well beyond that category, and it introduced Pern to an enormous new readership — particularly young women who saw themselves in Menolly.
Menolly is the daughter of Yanus, the Sea Holder of Half-Circle Sea Hold, and she is the most musically gifted person on Pern. But her Hold’s culture is rigidly patriarchal: girls do not become Harpers (the musicians, teachers, and historians of Pern), and when the old Harper dies, Yanus forbids Menolly from playing. When she cuts her hand and Yanus is secretly relieved (because the injury might prevent her from playing), Menolly runs away during Threadfall, takes shelter in a cave, and discovers a clutch of fire-lizard eggs. Nine of them hatch and bond with her — an unprecedented number — and Menolly’s extraordinary connection with the fire-lizards eventually brings her to the attention of the Masterharper of Pern.
The novel works on multiple levels: as a survival story (Menolly alone in the wild, feeding and training nine fire-lizards while dodging Thread), as a social drama (the injustice of a system that wastes talent because of gender), and as a music novel (McCaffrey renders Menolly’s relationship to music — her need for it, her despair at being denied it, her joy at its return — with genuine understanding of what art means to someone who must create). The novel has been credited with inspiring thousands of young women to pursue music and the arts.
Collecting Dragonsong
First edition (Atheneum, New York, 1976): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $75–$200
- Very good: $30–$75