Dealing with Dragons

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Princess Cimorene is tired of embroidery, etiquette, and protocol classes. She wants to take Latin, fencing, magic, and cooking lessons instead. But, that's just “not done.” So to avoid a betrothal to a handsome and charming (but not particularly bright) prince, she runs away to become housekeeper for a dragon. As a dragon's princess, Cimorene gets the freedom to cook and clean and to organize libraries and treasure rooms. She also has to fend off persistent knights who come to rescue her, and investigate the actions of a couple of sneaky wizards.

Patricia C. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons is a refreshing change from some of the more recent fantasy epics aimed at teenage girls. It's light, fun, and often hilarious as it pokes fun at several fairy tales and fantasy clich??s. The plot moves rapidly and the writing is clear and precise. The dialogue is particularly good.

I listened to Dealing With Dragons on audiobook. Listening Library does an excellent job recording this with a full cast of actors; I highly recommend this format.

Read more Patricia Wrede book reviews at Fantasy literature.

This was a really fun read. It did have some issues that I imagine would not have been issues at all at the time it was first published (in 1990) but seem pretty glaring today in 2023. Overall though, if you take it in the context of the time of publishing, this pushed the boundaries for what was considered “done” at the time.

In fact, the concept of “what is done” is pretty prominent in this book. For our protagonist, Princess Cimorene of Linderwall, she has spent literally her whole life rebelling against what is “done” for princesses. She tries to take up classes for magic, juggling, cooking, etc. but her parents the King and Queen veto-ed this, saying it wasn't “done”. Instead, she has to go for dancing, embroidery, and protocol classes to prepare herself for marriage. The last straw comes when Cimorene is almost forced into an arranged marriage with Prince Therandil, who is princely and handsome enough but Cimorene isn't looking for marriage in the first place. She runs away and comes into the service of Kazul, a dragon.

The first few chapters took a bit of adjustment because there was something “not like other girls” to Cimorene, which didn't go down well with me. She holds herself apart from her sisters and other princesses, who are depicted as empty-headed, bimbotic, and blindly compliant to the expectations of society and the lives their parents plan out for them, i.e. marrying a prince for the sake of the kingdom. This was probably a refreshing take back in 1990, but today it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. Cimorene is crotchety and pretty much annoyed with just about everyone except the dragons - I don't really know why she finds herself so loyal so fast to the dragons.

The concept of dragons having princesses to serve them is also somewhat problematic in this time and age. Cimorene stumbles into the dragons' den and volunteers herself to be a princess for one of them to avoid getting eaten. The whole system is founded upon the fact that dragons kidnap princesses (except Cimorene, who only volunteers under duress anyway) who then have to serve them pretty much like a slave. Though Cimorene serves willingly and happily enough, it's clear that princesses aren't allowed a choice in the matter nor are they allowed to run away without consequences. The only way a princess can leave a dragon's service is either by escaping themselves, or waiting for a prince to come and save them. Perhaps this is trying to turn the trope of “dragons holding princesses hostage” on its head where we have a princess who is enjoying her time with the dragons, but it doesn't quite endear the reader to the dragons in 2023. Even Kazul, undoubtedly the dragon we get closest to in this book, does sometimes bristle at the thought of Cimorene “running away”, and also never once asks Cimorene whether she wants to stay with her or leave. Dragons keep princesses as a sort of status symbol, as described in the book, which just smacks a lot like a system of slavery even if it's heavily sugarcoated with our protagonist sidign with and eventually saving the dragons at the end of the day from the intrigues of the real antagonists, the wizards.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the writing of this book. The characters were vibrant and lively and there were some truly comedic moments in here. The setting and plot was a little absurd, almost in the vein of Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones, so fans of these authors may still enjoy this book like I did. The story does subvert a lot of classic fantasy tropes at the time, and does a good job at it. It was a short, easy read, meant for middle-grade audiences, and was also light-hearted enough that it helped me through a reading slump.

Dealing with Dragons was fun but predictable for an adult. I think I would have given it 5 stars when I was a kid, as Cimorene was the heroine I wanted and needed in the early 90s. I was that “tomboy” who wanted to see a princess who acted like me!

I listened to the audiobook but would recommend reading it instead. I'll give that a try when I pick up the second book in the series.