I saw Star Wars for the first time when I was four years old. Sure, I thought Princess Leia was awesome. But the character I identified with most was Luke Skywalker. I left the theater certain the Force was strong with me, that I could train to be a Jedi and wield a lightsaber just like Luke. Later, I wanted to be Apollo from Battlestar Galactica—so I could fly a Colonial Viper. In the ensuing years, I wanted by turns to be the Kwisatz Haderach, one of the Three Investigators, Alec Ramsay of The Black Stallion series, and a blue dragon rider (because: Blue. Dragon.).
But I never wanted to be a boy.
I grew up in a cloistered, conservative culture that adhered to strict gender roles. So it’s easy to understand why the “girl dressed as a boy” trope resonated so much. In a world that didn’t want to give people like me adventures or significance, books with cross-dressing girls were treasures. Those fierce, fictional females had the respect and freedom I yearned for. Some of them knew deep down that they were girls, no matter what they wore. Others questioned and explored their gender identity.
Years later, the trope still resonates, and here are five of my favorite books that feature cross-dressing heroines. Some do an outstanding job of tackling complex gender issues. Others are just plain fun. All are worth reading.
A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin
I’ll go ahead and get this one out of the way. For all two of you who haven’t read it already (or watched the HBO series), book 2 of Martin’s megaselling epic opens with Arya Stark fleeing King’s Landing disguised as a boy. I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said, except that Arya is my favorite, and if she doesn’t survive the series, I will be Very Upset.
Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce
Alanna longs to be a knight, even though women aren’t allowed to be warriors in the world of Tortall. No problem—she’s got some trousers, and she’s not afraid to use them. This is a classic of young adult literature, the kind of book that is read and reread by children until the pages are ripped and the spine is in tatters.
Eon, by Alison Goodman
Eon has trained for years to be a Dragoneye—an apprentice to one of the twelve great dragons of good fortune. But he has a secret: He’s really Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl, and if she is discovered, it will mean certain and immediate death. This young adult novel is violent, complex, and dark, and it could just as easily be marketed to adult audiences.
Mission Child, by Maureen F. McHugh
When her home is invaded, Janna sets off across the planet. Disguised as a boy for protection, she ekes out a meager survival. This is a smart, sociological sci-fi read, in the vein of Margaret Atwood or Ursula K. Le Guin. I was riveted from beginning to end.
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld
It’s “Clankers” versus “Darwinists” in this steampunk/alternate history adventure. Deryn believes she was born to fly. As World War I looms, she masquerades as a boy so she can join the British Air Service. If you think living airships and giant robots are awesome, then 1) Be my friend, and 2) Read this book.
Rae Carson is the New York Times–bestselling author of the Girl of Fire and Thorns fantasy trilogy. Her next book, Walk on Earth a Stranger, features a girl with a magical secret, who disguises herself as a boy and flees west during the California Gold Rush.
Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede.
Under a Painted Sky and Vengeance Road are both great, too! PS – Loved Walk on Earth a Stranger. :)
Two sad words in reply: valar morghulis.
Monstrous Regiment by sir Terry Pratchett. :)
@@.-@ I’ve been on Facebook too much lately. I was looking for the like button
The new Robin Hobb/Fitz book (second book in series) has two different characters that fit the theme – but I won’t specify because we try to avoid spoilage….
The “girl dressed as a boy has adventures” motif has deep historic roots in Western literature, especially in the classical myths and medieval romances that inspire so much of modern fantasy. I put together a brief tour through some historic examples, although much more narrowly in the context of cross-dressing women resulting in same-sex romance. If anyone is interested, they can find it here: http://hrj.livejournal.com/523052.html
Let us not forget Eowyn, disguised as Dernhelm, from LOTR.
Coby, from Anne Lyle’s Alchemist of Souls. Not showy, just competent.
I suppose the female officers of the Aerial Corps, in Naomi Novik’s “Temeraire” series, might qualify. Although their gender is no secret to their peers, the fact that the Corps includes women is not talked about in public. So when the women are in non-military company, they’re either in uniform and more or less passing as men, or in skirts and passing as civilians.
To move from historical-SF crossover to the outright historical novel, one of my favorites is Gillian Bradshaw’s The Beacon at Alexandria. Charis is a young woman of 4th-century Ephesus who wants to study medicine. That’s forbidden to women, so she disguises herself as a boy– or, more specifically, as a eunuch, which neatly lets her avoid any awkward questions about a voice that doesn’t change or a beard that doesn’t grow or an awkwardness about being naked in front of men– and runs away to the famous school of medicine at Alexandria. As a student, a practicing physician and even an army doctor , she struggles to keep her career, her integrity, and sometimes her life, through political upheavals and barbarian invasions, in a world which doesn’t seem to have room for someone like her. The university at Alexandria may be the titular beacon of scholarship and classical civilization, but Charis shines pretty brightly herself.
My copies of the Lioness books certainly have been dearly loved. Somehow in the past five years I’ve managed to read a bunch of books about women disguised as men, I counted 11 on my kindle, many I didn’t even know before hand that they were about that, which is fine because I love this trope. Anyway, here are a few I recommend:
Raven’s Heart by Jesse Blackadder
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (this one also has a highly recommended BBC adaptation)
The Complete Lythande by Marion Zimmer Bradley
She Rises by Kate Worsley
Did the Chinese legend of Mulan set the template for this trope, or are there other candidates? I know Shakespeare contains examples, I’m not sure about Greek or Roman literature.
Oh, the Alanna series! That brings back so many good memories. I wanted to be her when I first read those books. Should be required reading for all young women.
I can’t think of any Greek and Roman examples of this trope… I can think of some examples of the opposite (Odysseus dressing up as a woman in the hopes of avoiding getting drawn into the Trojan War, Hercules disguising himself as a woman for reasons I forget, etc). The closest would be Athena, who always dresses kind of mannishly, but isn’t actually disguised as a man… The Greeks and Romans weren’t exactly big fans of women, so I’d be surprised if someone can remember an example. Mostly the women in Greek/Roman literature are either tragic victims or evil witches. Good times, being a female classicist.
Edit: I used to joke that the moral of most of ancient Greek and Roman literature is “Women are evil whores who will ruin your life,” so it’s possible that I’m biased on sexism in that literature.
In THE ANUBIS GATES by Tim Powers, Jacqueline Tichy disguising herself as “Jacky Snapp,” the better to pursue the murderer of her fiance in the magical underworld of 1810 London (she also appears in the recently published prequel novella, “Nobody’s Home.”)
For the people asking about earlier literary examples of the trope, you might check out the link I posted previously in the comments (at #7). Really. There’s oodles of them. That link has only a very small sampling with a specific intersection.
Twelfth Night.
In the first of L.A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack books, young Jackie Faber, a London orphan, dresses up as a boy and joins the Napoleonic-era British navy. The Masquerade (as she calls it) doesn’t last into subsequent books, though.
Lynn Flewelling’s Tamir Triad has an interesting take on the trope as well.
Winter in The Shadow Campaign series by Django Wexler. She is a young woman who disguises herself as a man an enlists in the army to flee her orphanage.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
A real-life Greek example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiothea_of_Phlius
Lev Rosen’s All Men of Genius is another, about an inventor who wants to go to a Royal Academy that only accepts men, and she gets in disguised as her brother (who lives quietly on their estate). It’s good until the end where it gets a bit silly.
I know its more YA, but the Mairelon the Magician books by Patricia C. Wrede are fun little page turners.
Kim has to dress up often to pass as a boy.
As post #10 mentions – “The Beacon at Alexandria” by Gillian Bradshaw is a terrific book with the unforgettable character of Charis, who disguises herself as a eunuch to survive at the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire. A wonderful read!
Tad Williams’ Dragonbone Chair came to mind for me.
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross as book and film would also be an example. It was very popular in Germany and made it to the bestsellers.
The Lark and The Wren by Mercedes Lackey has a bit of a relaxed version of this theme. The main character dresses practically and shrugs at all the gender terms people throw at her. And I can’t recommend the Tamir Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling enough.
hoopmanjh I am so glad you mentioned the Tamìr Triad! I was going to if I didn’t see anyone talking about it…
This was always my favourite:
@25: To be fair, that’s after she starts travelling with Master Wren. When she shows up to the Bardic Trials, she’s deliberately dressed as a boy and passing herself off as a boy because girls aren’t admited to the Bardic College. And because they’re really serious about that, they break her arm and both her musical instruments when she reveals herself.