A tale of love, money, and family conflict–among dragons. A family deals with the death of their father. A son goes to court for his inheritance. Another son agonises over his father’s deathbed confession. One daughter becomes involved in the abolition movement, while another sacrifices herself for her husband. And everyone in the tale is a dragon, red in tooth and claw. Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses….in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which the great and the good avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby. You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw.

I am barely one hundred, barely twenty feet long, and have no fire as yet, nor much prospect of gaining any soon. I am doing well enough in my career for one who began it when I did, but that was hardly ten years ago and I don’t taste dragon meat twice in a year.

It has everything: daughters who need to marry, a lost inheritance, etiquette, romance, a greedy family member, a confession, and charming characters. Only…they’re all dragons. And they also eat each other.
If any of that sounds at all intriguing to you, please pick this up. It’s short, charming, witty and heart-warming.

As can be seen, all three of the younger sibs had fed, if not gorged, upon their father’s body, and were feeling the strength and courage such feeding brings. 

It’s like dragonworld meets cannibalistic Bridgerton. Every dragon attempts to thrive in society either via their profession or the partner they choose to marry. They go to church, they have servants, oh and, they eat the weak and the ill to better their race. Dragon meat helps smaller dragons grow, only to eat, you must already be big and strong…and please don’t forget to wear the proper hat.

The writing is great, filled with a lot of descriptions and quite lyrical.

The sun was setting in a blaze of cloud away west down the valley, turning the curves and meanders of the river to flame, still bright enough for them to need to shield their eyes with their outer lids.

I was chuckling at the office politics and in tears at the marriage proposals

I have by no means made up my mind to marry her,” Sher lied. He did not want to make his mother angry now, he wanted to bring her around slowly. “This conversation has made me feel more inclined rather than less, but marrying her to prove I do not subscribe to an outdated convention of class would be just as foolish as refusing to marry her because I did.” He shook his head. “You asked me if I was growing fond of her, and I think I have answered you. I think I may be.