There is one book series that most women in my generation – the older end of the millennial generation – have read. It’s the secret book language that we can all speak, and know inside out. And they’re books that we keep pushing the younger millennials to read, too. These are the books by Tamora Pierce. All of them a extremely empowering, particularly to women. However, my love has always come back to her Tortall stories.
“At the end of the road – we’ll see. We’re bound for the capital of Tortall-“
The girl’s face lit up. “Where a lady knight is the king’s champion, right? And they let girls in the army? That Tortall?”
“You heard the stories too,” the K’mir murmured. “Well, they don’t let girls in the regular army, mind – just the Queen’s Riders. Why – have you a fancy to be a solder?”
Daine shook her head. “Not me. But if they take girls for that, maybe they’ll let a girl be a hostler, or work around the camp, or some such.” Her eyes were filled with painful hope.
“As it happens, they do let girls work as hostlers – or at least, they let me. I’m in charge of the horses for the Riders.” (pg. 8)
This conversation from Wild Magic from The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce puts into words what most women from my generation idealize about the magical world of Tortall. While most of us could not heal with magic like Alanna, nor speak with animals like Daine, we did want to be somewhere where even though we were women, we were accepted by everyone around us.
And honestly, Daine’s need to fit in – to work in a world ruled mostly by men and earn a living for herself – is the bottom of her “shit list”. She is a bastard daughter living in a world where being a bastard is severely frowned upon. Her magic with animals has driven her mad in the past, thus provoking her old village to go on a witch hunt after her. And her previous loss of friends makes her wary of telling her newly made friends in Tortall of any of her issues.
That last issue is one that far too many of us can relate to. Worse, we could relate at the young age of eleven. But that relatedness just makes Tamora Pierce’s work more powerful.
In 1999, Tamora wrote her most relate-able character yet: Keladry of Mindelan. A girl who spoke up for those who were being put down and accepted everyone for who they were. She was one of the strongest proponents for teaching women to protect themselves from sexual attackers, but she also had one other thing going for her.
She had no magic.
Keladry’s power lay in the fact that she had useful skills that would be questioned, but that she could do well anyway. She was a natural commander who could keep her cool. We see her skill time and time again. And at the same time we see her flaws. Keladry has an absolutely mind-numbing fear of heights. Even so, her instructors see her skill and push her to be better – even the very conservative Lord Wyldon who she eventually wins over.
Raoul picked up a quill and toyed with it. “You’ve shown flashes of being a commander. I’ve seen it. So has Qasim, your friend Neal, even Wyldon, though it would be like pulling teeth to get him to admit it. My job is to see if you will do more than flash, with the right training. The realm needs commanders. Tortall is big. We have too many still-untamed pockets, too cursed many hidey-holes for rogues, and plenty of hungry enemies to nibble at our borders and our seafaring trade. If you have what it takes, the Crown will use you. We’re too desperate for good commanders to let one slip away, even a female one.” (Squire, The Protector of the Small series, pg. 87)
Many of us in today’s world find ourselves being turned out of fields that are taken as “male fields”. We’re pushing the boundaries. And often that makes us enemies. We unfortunately take our freedoms for granted in this day and age and forget that we are still fighting for those places.
There is so much more to say about Tamora Pierce’s work and why it’s so good for girls to read it. Not just girls, but everyone. It’s not spoken of much in the mainstream, but one thing has always held true for these books: it exists out there almost like a secret language. We all know the stories, and a reference to them is almost universally understood. But the real message: Tortall is still working to become an accepting place – for everyone. No matter their background. No matter their past.
“You’re ours, now. I’m not saying there won’t be people to carp and pinch at you. That’s human nature, alas.” Daine nodded. She knew. “But here life’s what you make it. Who you used to be doesn’t matter. Look at Sarge – he was a slave, once. Onua was beaten by her husband and left to die. Her Majesty and Commander Buri had to flee Saraine. Do you catch my drift?” (Wild Magic, The Immortals series, pg. 92)
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Tamora Pierce will always have at least one book that ends up in my top ten list at any given moment. To see a good example of a top ten list of books that I treasure, see the following posts: Books That Stay With Me from 20 December 2013 and Books That Have Influenced Me from 27 August 2014.