Tooth and Claw is a fantasy novel by Welsh-Canadian writer Jo Walton, published by Tor Books on November 1, 2003.

[1] The book's plot is similar to that of a Victorian romance (specifically, Anthony Trollope's novel Framley Parsonage[2]), with the obvious difference that the protagonists are not human beings but dragons.

Several main conflicts are introduced early on that span most of the book, starting with a dying confession Bon makes to Penn, who, as a priest, absolves him of his wrongdoing despite the issues it would raise for his church.

The main portion of the story afterward is split between Avan as he files a court case to sue Daverak for theft of the Agornin family inheritance; Daverak as he prepares a counter case against Avan; Selendra as she pursues a potentially romantic relationship with Sher Benandi; Haner as she tries to keep herself safe and well-respected while navigating the Victorian-style social class system and secretly helping in an abolitionist movement; and Penn as he comes to terms with both Bon's confession and with his own shaken religious beliefs.

In interviews, Jo Walton said that her primary inspiration for writing Tooth and Claw was Anthony Trollope, and in general the Victorian era's treatment and beliefs about women.