The Valley of Horses.

AUEL, Jean M.

Item Number: 117826

New York: Crown Publishers, Inc, 1982.

First edition of the sequel to The Clan of the Cave Bears. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Curbert Thambimuttu- All my best Jean M. Auel Oct 19 ’95 Oregon.” Additionally signed by Auel on the rear dust jacket flap above her photograph. Laid in is a typed letter signed by Delores M. Rooney, assistant to Jean M. Auel. From the collection of Cuthbert Christian Thambimuttu of Columbus, Ohio, well-know book collector. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Hiroko. Jacket typography by Paul Bacon.

This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla, now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman. Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. She finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship. One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.