I have just finished reading "Beast Master" by Andre Norton, "Tommy, The Trials and Tribulations of a Girl" by Teddy S. and wonder if the two authors are one and the same?
The protagonists in both stories are Navajo and use some Navajo language words. "Na Ta Hey" is one phrase that is common to both stories. The similarity ends there. One story uses gender change and Andre Norton's does not. Though Andre Norton used more than one pen name. When she first started writing she used a male name to overcome prejudice against female authors.
It is interesting to mull this over.
Gwen
Comments
Andre Norton
I was a big fan of Andre Norton when I was young. She was my real introduction to science fiction and fantasy. She passed in 2005 and left us a legacy of wonder.
Time is the longest distance to your destination.
Speculation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Norton
It is interesting to take on the mind of a conspiracy theorist and imagine what might have happened. Maybe she faked her death in 2005 at 93, and is now still writing at the ripe age of 112. Maybe she gave a much earlier birth date as part of her official biography. Maybe another, much younger, person took on the mantle of "Andre Norton" to continue her writing, in the spirit of either V. C. Andrews or the Dread Pirate Roberts.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Alice
I included her in 'Rainbows in the Rock', along with James Tiptree jr, because my character is called Alys, Andre Norton was really an Alice, and James Tiptree was really Alice Sheldon. I quoted the Beast Master's choice of name for his dapple horse: Rain on Dust.
I read a lot of Norton's work as a girl, and the ones that really grabbed me were the Janus books. You will understand how a tale of magical transformation would speak to a trans child
Andre Norton came before...
It was several decades after I read Andre Norton until I heard of the Transgender idea. Even today I feel that the assumption of the female persona came as a result of being outgunned by life. Later, I discovered that I am neither male nor female but what they call intersex. I'll live as long as the fates allow but never participating in the procreative nightmare.