The Harper Hall trilogy is a series of three

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novels by the American-Irish author

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

. They are part of the ''

Dragonriders of Pern ''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. ...

'' series as it is known today, 26 books by Anne or her son

Todd McCaffrey Todd J. McCaffrey (born 27 April 1956 as Todd Johnson) is an Irish American author of science fiction best known for continuing the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series in collaboration with his mother Anne McCaffrey. Life Todd Johnson was born 27 Apr ...

or daughter Gigi McCaffrey as of 2018. The books are distinct: they exclude omnibus editions and the separate publication as books of the longest works later collected or incorporated. They were published by

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athen ...

in 1976, 1977, and 1979, alongside the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series. Omnibus editions of the two trilogies were published by the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club in 1978 and 1984, titled ''The Dragonriders of Pern'' and ''The Harper Hall of Pern'' respectively. Harper Hall's target was

young adults A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

in contrast to the general audience for fantasy and science fiction. Indeed, editor

Jean E. Karl Jean Edna Karl (July 29, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois – March 30, 2000 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) was an American book editor who specialized in children's and science fiction titles. She founded and led the children's division and young ...

, who had established the children's and science fiction imprints at

, hoped to attract more female readers to science fiction and solicited "a story for young women in a different part of Pern". McCaffrey delivered ''Dragonsong'' and they contracted for a sequel before it was out.

Books

* ''

Dragonsong ''Dragonsong'' is a science fantasy novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Released by Atheneum Books in March 1976, it was the third to appear set on the world Pern of the ''Dragonriders of Pern''. In its time, however, ''Dragonsong ...

'' (1976) * ''

Dragonsinger ''Dragonsinger'' is a young adult science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Published by Atheneum Books in 1977, it was the fourth to appear in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series written by Anne McCaffrey and her son Tod ...

'' (1977) * ''

Dragondrums ''Dragondrums'' is a young adult science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Published by Atheneum Books in 1979, it was the sixth to appear in the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' series by Anne or her son Todd McCaffrey.. Retrie ...

'' (1979) The three books were subtitled "Volume One of The Harper Hall Trilogy", "Volume Two ...", and "Volume Three ..." on the front covers of the first

Bantam Spectra Bantam Spectra is the science fiction division of American publishing company Bantam Books, which is owned by Random House. According to their website, Spectra publishes "science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recogniza ...

edition, early 1986.

Synopses

''Dragonsong'' and ''Dragonsinger'' feature 15-year-old Menolly, a girl with great musical talent raised in an isolated sea-hold (akin to a fishing village) where composition is no part of a girl's future. ''Dragonsong'' ends with her invitation to the main craft-hall of the harpers. ''Dragonsinger'' covers her brief apprenticeship there, ending with her promotion to journeyman. ''Dragondrums'' focuses on Piemur, a secondary character in ''Dragonsinger'' as a boy soprano, and one apprentice who made Menolly feel welcome. His voice changes and he needs a new occupation, perhaps at the communication drums.

Awards

The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1999 cited the two early Pern trilogies (''Dragonriders'' and ''Harper Hall''), along with ''

The Ship Who Sang ''The Ship Who Sang'' (1969) is a science fiction novel by American writer Anne McCaffrey, a fix-up of five stories published 1961 to 1969. By an alternate reckoning, "The Ship Who Sang" is the earliest of the stories, a novelette, which became ...

'', when McCaffrey received the annual

Margaret A. Edwards Award The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named afte ...

for her "lifetime contribution in writing for teens".

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper Hall Trilogy Fantasy novel trilogies Dragonriders of Pern books Novels by Anne McCaffrey Young adult novel series Doubleday (publisher) books