Overview

The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in the monthly magazine Good Words for the Young, beginning November 1870. Anne Thaxter Eaton writes in A Critical History of Children's Literature that The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel both ""quietly suggest in every incident ideas of courage and honor"".[1] Jeffrey Holdaway, in the New Zealand Art Monthly, said that both books start out as ""normal fairytales, but slowly become stranger"", and that they contain layers of symbolism similar to that of Lewis Carroll's work.[2] SummaryEight-year-old Princess Irene lives a lonely life in a castle in a desolate, mountainous kingdom, with only her nursemaid for company. Her father, the king, is normally absent, and her mother is dead. Unknown to her, the nearby mines are inhabited by a race of goblins, long banished from the kingdom and anxious to take revenge on their human neighbours. One rainy day, the princess explores the castle and discovers a mysterious and very old lady who identifies herself as Irene's great-great-grandmother and namesake. The next day, Princess Irene heads outside but is chased by goblins and rescued by a young miner, Curdie. Irene is on her way to meet with her great-great-grandmother again, but is frightened by a cat and escapes up the mountain. There, she sees the light from her great-great-grandmother's tower window that leads her back. Her great-great-grandmother gives Irene a ring attached to an invisible thread, which connects her constantly to home....

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The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel in the vein of the best classic fairy tales. The simple narrative follows Princess Irene as she discovers a ghostly relative living in a castle tower only she can access. During a walk outside one day, she encounters the threat of the lair of goblins living near the castle-and meets a new friend, a young miner named Curdie. She and Curdie must stop the goblin threat before they can carry out their evil plot.

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