The Princess and the Goblin

Written by George MacDonald

Narrated by Ian Whitcomb

Young Princess Irene is sent to the country to be raised in a half-farmhouse, half-castle located in the side of a mountain. While exploring the top of the castle, Irene becomes lost and inexplicably finds her way to a mystifying and beautiful woman spinning a thread. Princess Irene discovers that this woman to which she is drawn is her great-great-grandmother. But after she returns, her nurse, Lootie, refuses to believe in the old woman's existence, and the young princess cannot find the way back to her great-great-grandmother.

Days later, while on an outing with Lootie, Princess Irene believes that she detects a goblin. They meet a young miner, Curdie, who confirms her sighting. Soon Curdie discovers that goblins lurking under the castle have constructed an evil plot against the king and his palace. Princess Irene's belief in her great-great-grandmother's powers becomes essential as she and Curdie work to foil the sinister goblin plan. As the Princess tells Curdie, "Sometimes you must believe without seeing."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Apr 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9781400179404

George MacDonald

George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) was a Scottish-born novelist and poet. He grew up in a religious home influenced by various sects of Christianity. He attended University of Aberdeen, where he graduated with a degree in chemistry and physics. After experiencing a crisis of faith, he began theological training and became minister of Trinity Congregational Church. Later, he gained success as a writer penning fantasy tales such as Lilith, The Light Princess and At the Back of the North Wind. MacDonald became a well-known lecturer and mentor to various creatives including Lewis Carroll who famously wrote, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland fame.

Reviews for The Princess and the Goblin

[davegregg_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin" starts a little oddly (though the discussion of the mountains is beautiful), but it develops into a wonderful and rich tale."The Princess and Curdie" picks up about a year after the events of "The Princess and the Goblin." It starts a new adventure, while remaining firmly a part of the story of the first book. I read the second book immediately after finishing the first, so I can't quite imagine appreciating it as much without the history I feel with the characters, the places, the mythology, and the themes that "The Princess and the Goblin" gave me.Remember that MacDonald wrote allegorically. These, as well as many of his other fictional works, were intended to be appreciated not only for the sake of the story itself, but also for the moral, philosophical, and even theological lessons the story promotes. Remembering that will explain, for example, why "The Princess and Curdie" ends the way it does. Part of the ending I loved and anticipated eagerly (I won't spoil it) and part disappointed me. But no doubt MacDonald intended the reader to be disappointed. It's instructional and will be clear when you finish.I don't give out many five-star ratings. That is how much I enjoyed this book!

[altheaann · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Princess and the Goblin was one of my favorite childhood books, My copy was read and re-read for the dreamlike sense of magic and wonder of the rooms at the top of the tower; the gritty terror of the goblins under the mountain.
I suppose one can read religious allegory into the story if one tries (and the same goes for the poignancy of The Light Princess), but in those cases the message never got in the way of the story.
Such is not the case with The Princess and Curdie. From page one to the end, the characters (there is nothing in particular to identify them with the characters of The Princess & the Goblin save for the names) walk through their roles woodenly in order to illustrate MacDonald's religious and social beliefs. It's unbelievably preachy - and most modern readers will find MacDonald's ideas rather peculiar. His worldview is naively idealistic, verging on offensively classist. (Servants have a duty to serve honestly, a good child should have nothing to keep from his parents, drinking is bad (except if you're a king; then it is wholesome), sophistication is bad, rustic naiivete is good, poverty is a privilege (!!!!).... the list goes on.

If you're looking for a fantasy with the beauty of the Princess and The Goblin, with that fairytale quality to it, try something by Patricia McKillip instead of this "sequel."

[mickyfine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, Curdie has continued to work in the king's mines after the departure of Princess Irene to the palace. But when a threat emerges to kingdom, Irene's great-great-grandmother calls Curdie to her, and after bestowing him with a gift, sends him to the king's palace where he works to correct the evils that have befallen the kingdom.MacDonald's novel is an allegory first and foremost. While the plot is intriguing and Curdie's development as an individual is interesting, it is MacDonald's exploration of morality that makes the book a worthwhile reading experience. Of course, the narrative itself has the distinct feel of a fairy tale and would appeal to children, but it does have language that shows the book's age. The descriptions however, are delightfully rich. A read that is fun as an intellectual exercise but also a delightful children's novel. However, be warned that the last page and a half gives the book a distinctly unhappy ending, after the expected happy ending for the characters.

[goldengrove_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second of MacDonald's books about Curdie the Miner and Irene the Princess. Curdie is sent out by the Princess' grandmother on an errand - he does not know what it is, but only that he must go to the King and do what is needed when he gets there. Like all MacDonald's books it is steeped in Christian imagery and meaning, the main theme here being faith. When I read it as a child I remember being very struck by the gift that Curdie is granted of being able to fell the true shape of a person's soul by taking their hand in his. Thus: his mother's work worn hand seems like that of a lady; the scheming courtiers are revealed as a snake and a bird of prey; and the dishonest servants as various creatures associated with stupidity or theft. It strikes me still as an arresting idea. The explanation for his gift is this:"Since it is always what they do, whether in their minds of their bodies, that makes men go down to be less than men, that is, beasts, the change always come first in their hands...they do not know it of course; for a beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast the less he knows it....To such a person there is in general no insult like the truth. He cannot endure it, not because he is growing a beast, but because he is ceasing to be a man. It is the dying man in him that makes him uncomfortable, and he trots, or creeps, or swims or flutters out of its way - calls it a foolish feeling, a whim, an old wives' fable, a bit of priests' humbug, an effete superstition, and so on....Many a lady, so delicate and nice that she can bear nothing coarser than the finest linen to touch her body, if she had a mirror that could show her the animal she is growing to, as it lies waiting within the fair skin and the fine linen and the silk and the jewels, would receive a shock that might possibly wake her up."MacDonald is too preachy for most modern tastes, but he tells hard spiritual truths, and mixes them in with a good yarn and some beautiful language.

[librarycin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 starsThis is a sequel to MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin, which I read 15ish years ago and remember liking. In this one, the princess seeks Curdie's help and sends him on a quest. Pretty sparse description, I know, but I had trouble focusing, so I just missed way too much to do a proper summary. I was listening to the audio and it just couldn't hold my interest for very long at a time. I'm guessing that it might, in part, have to do with personal stuff going on right now. There did seem to be a lot of description and it seemed to take a long time to get to the plot of the book (and it's not a long book), though (and I'm not big on description).

[kangaroorat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the better old-fashioned children's books, MacDonald has a way with words.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

OK fantasy novel. Can see its influence on Tolkien.

[crtsjffrsn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The plot itself was something I really enjoyed - a really cute story. What totally dragged this book down for me, though, was the narration. The way it was told was somewhat disjointed and got on my nerves when he would reference something and then say "but I'll get to that later" or "that really doesn't matter." It was like when a friend says they know something juicy and then they refuse to tell. So that unfortunately leaves me with some sour feelings about the book. If you can get past that, though, it is actually fairly decent.

[ladycato · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Here's a classic that has not aged well. I read this and at least one other in the series at my hometown library when in my early teens, and then bought a discard copy of this book from that same library a few years later. I liked it, back in the day. This time around, I still enjoyed the very fairy tale-like voice. The illustrations in this 1951 edition are lovely, too. But the story itself? The characters? Oof.Princess Irene is supposed to be 8 years old, but reads more like she is 4 or 5. She does absolutely nothing for herself in this book, not even dress herself. All of her actions are essentially dictated by her ethereal ancestress who lives in a hidden part of the castle. The goblins are nasty beings who live in the mountain beneath the castle. They lack all nuance, and nothing about them makes any sense. Then there is Curdie, the young miner who is smarter than everyone in the book except for the ethereal grandmother. He's the one who discovers that the goblins are up to mischief, and he is the closest thing the book has to an active hero.I feel somewhat sad that the book ended up being such a disappointing re-read, but I also feel fine getting rid of the book now. Goodness knows, I can use the shelf room.

[bexaplex · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read The Princess and the Goblin as an adult; it's a foundational book in the development of children's fantasy, with an active female protagonist as well. And... I didn't love it. Supposedly less moralistic than prior MacDonald works, it still reads like an instructional manual on how to be a good person, which doesn't make a great story. I had questions at the end, like why does the Goblins' Queen have toes? And Curdie is heaped with praise for choosing to stay with his family while King-Papa spends the whole time gallivanting around the country WHILE HIS DAUGHTER IS BEING ATTACKED BY GOBLINS. Every children's book goes into logical conniptions to get the parents out of the picture so that adventurous things can happen, but then one doesn't go on and on about the importance of staying with one's family: it makes one of your characters look like a royal jerk.Important work, and I'm definitely never going to read it again.

[dominiquemarie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"It was foolish indeed—thus to run farther and farther from all who could help her, as if she had been seeking a fit spot for the goblin creature to eat her in his leisure; but that is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we are afraid of." 


The Princess and the Goblin is a classic children's fairy-tale. I really enjoyed this one. Princess Irene makes friends with a Miner boy named Curdie, when he protects her and her nurse from being attacked by goblins. Curdie discovers the Goblin's plot to kidnap Princess Irene and force her to marry the Goblin Prince. Soon afterwards, he is in need of rescuing, and he and Irene's friendship is put to the test. I could have done without the narrator's interruptions, and the poetry sections were sub-par, especially when we are to believe that poetry is a weapon against the Goblins. Other than those few qualms, I think it's a wonderful tale, full of magic, with a classic good vs evil plot. On a deeper level, it's about facing your fears and standing up for the truth even when no one else believes you.


CAWPILE Rating:

C- 7

A- 8

W- 5

P- 6

I- 8

L- 6

E- 8

Avg= 6.8= ⭐⭐⭐

#backtotheclassics (19th Century Classic)

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The goblins almost come across as an oppressed minority - or rather the king and his people are clearly oppressors of goblins. Somehow this charming tale doesn't work quite as meant when it has the goblins being taxed underground and redeemed by becoming brownies. All the verbiage of how one must behave when one is a princess (or prince?) is a bit much too. But the brisk story and the steadfastness of Curdie and Irene remain.

[venqat65 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic fairytale where a princess rescues a miner boy from goblins with the help of a magical thread woven by her great, great grandmother. A nice escape into a fantastic world...I am looking forward to reading more by MacDonald. I definitely see the relationship between his writing style and that of CS Lewis.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well narrated and well written story.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anything in me that is brave, honest, kind, and honourable is due in great part to the many times I read this book when I was young. I loved the characters and the adventures, and the settings of both mountain and palace (especially the mysterious dove tower).

I had forgotten other appealing aspects: the humor, and the excitingly challenging vocabulary words. And, perhaps most appealing, is a part of the story seldom mentioned in the descriptions here - Princess Irene's amazing courage. At age eight, *she* rescued Curdie from the cave where the goblins lived and plotted against the sun-people.

A couple of quotes: We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard [frustrating] not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.... To understand other people."

and, "If a true princess has done wrong, she is always uneasy until she has had an opportunity of throwing the wrongness away from her by saying, 'I did it, and I wish I had not, and I am sorry for having done it.'"

MacDonald made me feel as if I could be a true princess, as he holds much less stock in titles & lineage than in strength of character. And while he's clearly not subtle about sharing his thoughts, he's not annoyingly didactic, either.

"

[quibee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A reread of a book from my childhood.
A princess, who is raised by servants and whose father rarely visits, runs into a young miner who is very interested in some unusual goblin activity in the mountains.
A sweet story, very much from the Victorian era.

[scribblingsprite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I do love a good goblin story. This was a really lovely Classic Children's novel. A bit unbelievable, but fun!

[atreic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book because Five Kids Is a Lot Of Kids (a blog that I like) had a list of '5 books I hope my children will read', and four of them were great classics that I knew well (Ender's Game, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Madeline L'engle, and A Little Princess) and then there was this, which I'd never even heard of before.But it was a list of books that she wanted her children to read. Maybe if I'd found this when I was 7 I'd have loved it, and I can see the beauty of trust and faith. However, I'm 32. The good people are beautiful, the bad people are ugly, the plot is simple. There's a weird brief mention of the politics - that the goblins ran away underground because they thought the taxes being demanded of them were too harsh - but they are played for laughs, and for the xenophobic fear that Out There lurk bad things who want to break in and steal our women. And OK, one of the big themes of the book is that Irene's trust in what others can't see is a beautiful thing that saves Curdie and others, but it is a bit of a deus ex machina to have a beautiful god-like grandmother say 'follow this string and it will take you to the right place for the next bit of the story'. Sweet and easy to read, but I was too old and it's of its time.

[maowangvater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While exploring her great house eight-year old Princess Irene gets lost; in attempting to retrace her steps she comes across a beautiful old woman who is spinning. The woman tells her that she’s Irene’s great-great-grandmother, and that her name is also Irene. She shows the princess the way to return safely to her room. But when she returns to it she gets a scolding from her irate nurse who accuses her of hiding and then making up a story about some old woman living in the attic. The reverend MacDonald’s 1872 allegorical fairy tale of faith in a nurturing being that is not visible to everyone is very well read by Heldman whose sweet narration brings across the reassuring elements of the story. The voices that she uses for Princess Irene and the young miner Cudie are especially effective.

[swampygirl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A rollicking children's fantasy novel written in 1872, The Princess & The Goblin by George MacDonald is fantastic! I do remember that my parents read me this book when I was a child, but since I could not remember anything else about the story – and was recently amazed by Phantastes – I decided to make this my favorite author read for August. Since it is also extremely short, I finished listening to it over the course of one long walk. The version I listened to I downloaded off of Overdrive, and was excellent, but both free versions on librivox sound very well done as well. If you couldn't tell already, I really loved this book. Which was an interesting contrast to my recent experience listening to Around The World in 80 days, that while three-star, left a lot to be desired from an adult reader's perspective. Beyond pure personal preference, I think this difference in satisfaction comes down to two key differences. The first one is simple, the glorification of colonialism, which is hard for most adults these days to swallow. The second, somewhat more complicated reason, is that one is a book from the perspective of an adult made appropriate for all ages, and the other is a story for children from the perspective of a child. So while the goblin king and queen's plans weren't quite as complicated as Game of Thrones, who doesn't like to be reminded of how much more exciting and creative the life of a child is?I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the feel of Spiderwick, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, or The House of Arden.

[debnance_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An old, yet completely new-to-me story of a lonely princess, her mysterious grandmother, her (largely) absent father, a young miner boy, and lots and lots and lots of scary goblins. (Turns out---and this isn’t giving anything away---goblins, though quite dangerous and scary, hate rhyme and have very sensitive feet).I went into this expecting something of a fairy tale, but the story went on and on for an additional hundred pages. Lots of nice surprises, but I wish it had been a bit shorter read.

[the_hibernator · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This classic fairy-tale-style story is set in a land where the Goblins and Humans have had a "cold war" for many, many years. Long ago, the Goblins threatened that some day they will steal a princess...and their day finally comes when Princess Irene's nurse accidentally keeps the Princess out after sunset. Luckily, they are rescued by a miner's boy, Curdie - but now the Goblins know where the Princess lives and what she looks like. When the Goblins hatch a devious plot, Curdie and Irene become fast-friends as they act in turn as heroes. First and foremost, this is a fairy-tale. But it is also an allegory about faith. Princess Irene has a great-great-grandmother - a mysterious and heavenly woman that only she can see. Irene's very-great grandmother gives the Princess a magical string and tells her to follow the string whenever she's afraid - never doubting it or deviating from it, regardless of where it may take her. Irene must learn to have faith even when she thinks that the string has led her astray. And Curdie must learn to have faith in a very-great grandmother that he has never seen. This is a sweet story, nice for reading aloud to young children.

[homeschoolbookreview · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eight-year-old Princess Irene resides in a remote castle with her nurse Lootie and several other servants while her papa-king travels all over his kingdom. The reason that the Princess lives in seclusion is that the goblins who dwell under the mountain have sworn revenge on the king’s family. In addition, she has a mysterious and magical great-great-grandmother who is watching over her but who is seen by nobody else besides her. Also, she becomes friends with a twelve-year-old boy named Curdie who is the son of a local miner. When Irene and Lootie get lost after dark while on a walk in the mountains and are chased by goblins, they first meet Curdie who protects them from the goblins and helps to get them home safely. He pledges himself to guard the Princess. The goblins have hatched a double plot in which they plan to steal Irene to become the wife of their Prince Harelip and to use the mines to flood the castle. While working in the mines, Curdie overhears part of their plans but is captured and imprisoned by the goblins. However, Irene’s grandmother gives her a special thread by which she is led to rescue Curdie and get both of them back home again. Curdie sneaks onto the castle grounds one night to see if he can learn more about the goblins’ plans but is mistaken for a prowler by the king’s guards and shot with an arrow. He not only is imprisoned but also becomes quite sick with a fever. It is during this very time that the goblins mount their attack. Will they be successful? Will the Princess be saved or will she become the bride of Harelip? And what will happen to Curdie? Scottish-born author George MacDonald (1824-1905), though theologically considered a heretic, was a masterful storyteller who is often credited with inventing the genre of children’s fantasy literature and influenced such later youth fantasy writers as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Madeline L’Engle. MacDonald began his literary career by telling fairy stories to his eleven children and then putting onplays for the poor in his neighborhood with his large family as the cast. His first such novel was At the Back of the North Wind published in 1871. The Princess and the Goblin was serialized in a journal called Good Words for the Young between 1870 and 1871 and then published in book form the following year. To be honest, this is one of the most fascinating and enjoyable books that I have ever read. The story of the Princess Irene and her friend Curdie continues in a sequel, The Princess and Curdie. I guess that I’ll just have to read it too.

[caroline_mlis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I haven't read this book since I was a child but I do remember loving this charming story. The description of the goblins is so vivid! This children's book was first written in the 1870s, but I think it will still charm children of all ages. It is a classic like Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan; it is just not as famous!

[mberg_52 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin while quite obviously not a fairy tale (as the story is over 200 pages) nonetheless has that fairy tale feel to it. This charming story was first published in book form in 1871. It is considered to be "the first truly successful combination of entertainment with moral instruction in children's literature" (Peter Glassman) but the moral instruction is so well hidden you could miss it completely. It also strongly influenced many authors including Rubyard Kipling and J.R.R. Tolkien.Princess Irene lives in a little castle set against a mountain range with only a small set of servants. The story begins with Princes Irene losing her way within her little castle and discovering her mysterious great grandmother who lives in the attic. Next the reader is introduced to Curdie, a boy who works in the mines where the goblins live. As the story continues Curdie tries to discover what the goblins are up to and what it has to do with Princess Irene. From this story come many surprises including a magical fire, a thread that guides a person to safety but that seems to be near invisible, and the biggest surprise of all the Queen Goblin who has six toes! This is a story about the battle between good and evil but also a story about faith, as Irene tells Curdie when he can't see her huge great grandmother "you must believe without seeing". The writing at times is a little awkward but that is only because of when it was written. Overall this is a marvelous book that I would recommend to anyone young or old.

[fyrefly98 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Summary: Princess Irene lives a happy life in her father's castle, but she is never allowed outside after dark. She doesn't know it, but the mountain on which she lives is not only mined by humans, but also by a colony of goblins. One afternoon, Irene finds a secret staircase leading up from her nursery to the magical-seeming rooms of her great-great-etc-grandmother, and that is just the beginning of her adventures. Because a young miner boy named Curdie has stumbled across a plot of the Goblins - a plot that might involve the Princess!Review: This was a charming little story, with a very classic fairy-tale feel yet with an original plot. If I'd come across it when I was seven or eight, I probably would have absolutely loved it. As an adult, I still enjoyed it quite a bit, although there were a few parts that didn't entirely work for me. For one, the title suggests that there's going to be a Goblin as a main character, but no goblins show up in-person (in-goblin?) until well into the book, and Irene never actually meets one. (The title "The Princess and the Goblins" might have been more accurate.) This discrepancy, plus the fact that Irene spends most of the time interacting with her great-grandmother, occasionally made me confused as to the direction and point of the story. The narration is also a bit inconsistent, occasionally speaking directly to the reader, but ignoring or forgetting this device for long swaths at a time. I also thought some of the vocabulary and sentence constructions might be unfamiliar and a little challenging for a modern child, although not prohibitively so. So, overall, while this book had some issues, and those issues may be at the root of why it's not as well-known and widely-read as some of its contemporaries, it was a charming story, and I'll most likely read the sequel... especially since it promises more Curdie. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I'd recommend this to people who like classic children's lit, as well as to kids and adults that like fairy tales with princesses and fairy godmothers and such, although I don't know that I'd put it at the very top of the list.

[ncgraham_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is probably inaccurate to refer to George MacDonald as an “acquired taste.” On reflection, I don’t think you can acquire a taste for his books—it’s more like something you have to be born with. There is something weird and fantastical to his writing that some will thrill to, finding a responding call in their own hearts, while to others its mysteries will remain impenetrable. The Princess and the Goblin (which really should have been The Princess and the Goblins) is one of his more straightforward books, and probably would be a good one to start with, especially if you are reading aloud to children.The story is set in, under, and around a mountain in a far-away kingdom. There is a great manor-house halfway up (“half castle, half farmhouse”) where the king leaves his little daughter, the Princess Irene, while he rides about the land. One rainy day Irene sets out to explore the manor, and comes across a mysterious old lady in a tower room who turns out to be her great-great-grandmother. While Irene tries to convince herself and her nurse of this lady’s existence, whom apparently only she is allowed to see, the miner boy Curdie is hard at work within the mountain, spying on the hideous goblins who live under it and seem to be up to some great mischief.An friend once commented that there was something “disconnected” at the heart of this story. In a way, this is true, and I can very much understand how it could be off-putting at times. But I think it also hints at what makes MacDonald unique as an early fantasy author. In all of his books, there are things beneath the surface—a wildness, a remoteness, a sadness, a danger—that we may only catch glimpses of. In this simple children’s book, there is more of the sadness and less of the danger.I can see this merely in the setting. The wild, bare mountainside where the princess lives in her manor-house, the fact that the king must be away from her, all the abandoned passageways between the princess’ nursery and her great-great-grandmother’s tower room—there’s a profound sense of loneliness here, even if none of the characters ever evinces that emotion. And then there is the scene between Irene and her “king-papa,” where his grief at losing his wife is touched on briefly but touchingly. The king is my favorite character in the book; he seems to represent the cares and concerns of an adult world.MacDonald is often referred to as a precursor to C. S. Lewis, but perhaps it would be better to think of him as a successor to Hans Christian Anderson, who wrote fairytales that were also sadder than one might expect them to be. For The Princess and the Goblin is really more like a fairytale than a contemporary fantasy novel.I will say this: MacDonald is no prose master. There’s a certain awkwardness that I noticed when I was reading aloud. Words seemed often to be misplaced, though I’m convinced that in a few cases these were merely typos. Also, MacDonald’s characters don’t always act like real people, and the children certainly don’t act their age.Another friend, upon learning I was reading this, referred to it as an “allegory.” I confess, I never thought of it that way as a child, but now I’m older I can definitely see it. The thing is, sometimes MacDonald is so obscure that I can’t see what he’s getting at. At other times he is didactic to the point that the story begins to lose its mystique. When Irene’s great-great-grandmother tells her that the ability to see her lamp is a gift that she hopes everybody will have someday, I suddenly knew that MacDonald was talking about the “doctrine” of universal salvation. This was a major turn-off for me, and I had to set the book aside for several days as a result.I do think I have the inborn taste for MacDonald. There’s certainly a reason I’ve come back to this book, and I’m sure I will do so again. But this time around was frustrating for me, as I found the book both like and unlike my childhood memories of it. Recommended, but only to the select few.

[rrhowell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A MacDonald book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading to my children. Not deep, but filled with a delight in goodness.

[atimco-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

George MacDonald is one of those authors I've long felt guilty for not reading more of. The only book of his that I had read before was The Wise Woman, given to me by a friend as a joke on my username. It was so-so, a bit too heavy on the moralizing for my taste, and ultimately very predictable (but aren't all morality stories that way?). So I never really understood why so many fellow readers praise MacDonald's fantasy stories so highly. After reading The Princess and the Goblin, I think I understand a bit better, though I will probably never have the same love for MacDonald as those who recommend him to me. He caught me too old; if I were younger I could have swallowed the coldness of the story probably without noticing it. Despite MacDonald's grandfatherly asides to his young readers, there is something disconnected at the core of the story, and it makes itself felt to me. Little things bother me... in the title, which goblin is being mentioned? Is it Harelip? Or is it the Goblin Queen? Or King? It just feels like MacDonald went with the coolest-sounding title without worrying overmuch about it making sense. But having made these complaints, I do have some good things to say for MacDonald. First off, thank goodness he wrote at all, because he influenced C. S. Lewis' creation of Narnia! I noticed some distinct resemblances. There is a scene where the Princess rescues Curdie from the Goblin dungeon without even meaning to find him; she was following the thread between the ring her grandmother had given her and her grandmother's rooms. Her grandmother even warned her that the thread might take her on what would seem a roundabout path, but she would never be led astray by it. But Curdie cannot see or feel the thread that the Princess is following so surely — just like when Lucy compels the others to follow her as she follows the Aslan they cannot see in Prince Caspian.Another very similar scene occurs where the Princess takes Curdie to see her grandmother in the upper part of the castle, and Curdie can't see anything but a bare floor and walls — while the Princess is reveling in the rich furnishings and wonderful presence of the old woman. This, and the conversation that Curdie has with his parents about it, reminds me so much of the part in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when Lucy tries to take the others to see Narnia and they are confronted with the smooth blank panel of the back of the wardrobe. Later the Professor challenges their assumption that if things are real, they are there all the time. Big ideas for little heads! But the best children's authors always trust their audience. I don't know the extent of Lewis' debt to MacDonald, and of course I haven't read MacDonald's other books. I do know that Lewis actually uses MacDonald as a character in The Great Divorce, and his main purpose there is to talk about his belief that everyone will eventually be saved. Lewis comes to the incredibly unsatisfying conclusion that universalism is correct, but it doesn't do to speak of it much. Okay — ? Perhaps it is this theological disconnect that leaves me cold to MacDonald in general.I remember reading some of MacDonald's historical romances as a young reader; they were lying around the house and when you can't get a ride to the library, you must make do with what you can find. I didn't care for them much at the time, thinking them sentimental and boring. Just yesterday I was helping catalog my church's library and was entering two of those when a friend swooped down and said she'd been bothered by them when she read them years ago. Apparently there was a bit more than sentimental nonsense going on in these books; MacDonald is using them to make a theological statement, attacking positions he didn't agree with. Unfortunately some of the doctrines he attacks are part of biblical Christianity, and as a biblical Christian, I can't go along with that. But I read The Princess and Curdie the night before hearing all this, and had already noted how disconnected I felt from MacDonald. I ended up taking those titles home with me; the church library didn't want them and perhaps some day I'll be moved to read and critique them. Maybe. There are some lovely descriptions here. I will remember the fire shaped like roses, heavy and nodding, and the Goblin Queen's granite shoes. Curdie's nonsense poetry was fun (I wonder if Tolkien read anything by MacDonald, and if it influenced his hobbit poetry). I thought the character of Lootie, the nurse, was quite interesting. She truly does care for the Princess, but there is something lacking in her, and she will never be able to see the grandmother, or follow a silky thread into the darkest caverns. I'm glad I read this book in one sitting. It probably would not have tempted me strongly to pick it up again if I hadn't. I'm thankful, for Narnia's sake, that MacDonald wrote fantasy for children; it's just a pity that his work is so flawed.

[1morechapter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful story about eight year old Princess Irene, her great-great-great-great grandmother, and a miner boy named Curdie. Together they fight to foil the goblins' sinister schemes. Little Irene is a true princess and acts like a little lady, while Curdy is a very brave and heroic boy.Highly recommended for all ages. I will try to read the sequel, The Princess and Curdie, sometime this year as well. I am also set to read Phantastes by MacDonald for the Fantasy Challenge. I can't wait to get to this more "adult" fantasy tale. I really enjoyed MacDonald's writing, and I am not at all surprised that he was an inspiration to both Lewis and Tolkien.