The Princess and the Goblin; and, The Princess and Curdie

Princess Irene and Curdie #1-2

by George MacDonald, Nora S. Unwin

Two of George MacDonald's most fascinating--and meaningful--novels for children. Princess Irene and the intrepid Curdie overthrow the kingdom of the goblins with help from the princess's mysterious and powerful grandmother. More than just children's stories, these novels hold deeper meanings for adult readers who are interested in the spiritual life and the battle between good and evil. Newly designed and typeset by Waking Lion Press.

Genres: Fantasy, Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, 19th Century, Fairy Tales

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 1970

About the author

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons.

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely fantasy--I really enjoyed the narrative voice and symbolism. What was up with that ending, though? Such an anti-climax, even an anti-fairy tale! I need a MacDonald scholar to explain it to me! This would be a fun read-aloud. It has some violence that goes beyond normal fantasy violence, but there are good checks and balances along the way. I liked Goblin a bit more than Curdie because it had more of Irene in it, and the story showcased more eerie high beauty. However, Curdie had some solid moral moments, in the way only fairy tales can deliver, you know? And that was lovely. The notes were also quite helpful; they opened my eyes to MacDonald's exploration of evolution that I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise. This duo didn't quite reach the heights that his shorter fairy tales did, but I liked the journey.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

'When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.' - C. S. Lewis


It has been a long time since I last read a book with such simple and guiltless pleasure. It is a simple travesty that MacDonald is not read to children more widely.

[Cyr]

Just re-read this, a few years after reading it for the first time, mostly because it was in the same collection as The Princess and the Wise Woman which I finished not long ago. I liked it more this time, maybe because The Princess and the Wise Woman helped prepare me to better appreciate MacDonald's particular genius. What he excels at is taking the spiritual and making it seem not the familiar, dusty, "tame" thing we tend to fall into thinking it is, and makes it come alive as something mysterious, unpredictable and unexpected, strange and beautiful, sometimes frightening and uncomfortable - all by recasting it as fairy-tale and then lifting it back up into Christianity. The thing that turns out to be the power and magic behind Faerie, turns out to be the Power that created the Heavens and the Earth, the idea of which we had shrunk down to a little diorama of bible story characters. He manages to inject wonder and mystery back into the world, while still directing our reverence to the proper directions. It's the antidote to all my Sunday School lessons with little felt cartoon sheep and Davids on a little felt board, which taught my child-self that Christianity was boring, lifeless, a thing for half-senile old women, devoid of adventure or danger, something "nice" in the way that doilies are nice. I had the backwards view that Christianity was like Bilbo's comfortable hole with a stocked pantry and where nothing unexpected ever happened, when George MacDonald knew it was more like the journey through the Wild to the Lonely Mountain, to face a dragon, and possibly come back alive. Sorry, Sunday-school teachers. You didn't read enough fairy-tales, else you might have helped me a lot more.

[Pedro Cardoso · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I usually don’t write reviews, and this is my first one on Goodreads.
I can’t say I loved these stories. I know they are children’s tales from (almost) two centuries ago, written by a very religious man. Still, I found some excerpts a bit preachy, and the message is quite clear throughout the narrative. That being said, the two stories are entertaining — and frankly funny at times — very imaginative and filled with symbolism. I picked up this book to better understand J. R. R. Tolkien, and after reading it, I feel I accomplished just that. So, in a quirky and unexpected way, I’m glad I read them. :)

[Liam]

The Lady of the Silver Moon stories of Macdonald are a couple of my favorite fantasy tales. This is one I self published, so I feel weird officially rating it, but The Princess and the Goblin is a solid 4 star, and the Princess and Curdie is a very solid 5 star book in my mind. This is where Lewis and Tolkien got some of their influence after all, and it shows.

The flavor of old myth is thick in these tales. A couple of the first fantasy tales I ever read, and they’re an absolute joy to read.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! I read it to my oldest daughter. She really enjoyed it as well. The sentence structure was a bit of a stretch for her to understand, so it was an excellent educational experience.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this little series! Macdonald is excellent! It’s interesting to read this looking for influences on Tolkien and Lewis. They are abundant.

I designed the cover of this volume because I couldn’t find any others that looked nice. Wanted a nice dual volume that my kids could read.

[Kristin Whittington · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacDonald makes my world more beautiful, and The Princess and The Goblin is no exception.

[Elizabeth Gajdosik · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a charming little story! I can see now how George McDonald influenced C.S. Lewis.

[Misa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time that I've read The Princess and the Goblin and I liked it better than the first time I've read it. The first version that I read was translated in French but this time I've read it in English, so it is clear that sometimes the translation doesn't work.

Anyway, this was the book selected for the group Children classics on goodreads from 16 April to 1 May. I don't know if we must read the second book too but I decided to read it anyway but with another one and the audiobook too. So far, The Princess and the Goblin is my favorite between the two. Also knowing that George MacDonald had also inspired Tolkien got me more interested in this little book and this author.

[Diane Ricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet story of faith, courage and friendship. Wonderful to read with children, however many deep themes to contemplate for adults.

[Carson Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

George MacDonald binge parts #2 and #3.

I'm pretty sure I watched the cartoon movie of PatG as a kid, but I wish I had just read these instead! So very good. MacDonald is a true master.

[Mindy Burnham Hedvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 9 year old loved this book! It was a bit over my 6 year olds head but the language was good for her to absorb I’m sure. It was a challenging read aloud as the wording is so rich. Loved that we were able to read it together!

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

On The Princess and the Goblins:

Finally finished this set of stories. I'll have to research whether MacDonald wrote any other stories about Irene or Curdie. You can definitely see in these stories how MacDonald came to be inspiration for C S Lewis, Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, and others. I look forward to exploring his works further.

While I found myself often skimming through his wordy commentaries or descriptions, I thought the story itself was pretty cool. It has a fantasy feel that far exceeds the classic children's fairy tales whose main purpose is often to encourage some sort if good behavior or warn against some bad behavior. This is a real fantasy novel and while there are plenty of moral lessons in it, the story is for the sake of itself, an adventure and coming of age tale. Pretty cool once you can get past the archaic unwieldyness of the writing.

[Emily Damron-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

The wonderfully avuncular voice of the narrator makes him every bit as much of a character as the earnest princess, the magic great-great grandmother spinning in the attic, and Curdie the miner's son, who vanquishes the goblins and saves the day. This luscious Books of Wonder reprinting of MacDonald's 1920 edition features Jessie Wilcox Smith's ethereal illustrations. Although the dialogue carries traces of moralism, Mac Donald's plot line runs swift and true, making it a veritable 19th century page-turner.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The language is such that the sentences seem long. In spite of that I still enjoyed the story and the characters. The Goblin Queen is a piece of work, Curdie is a charming young man, Irene is innocent but has good character, the Great, great, great, old, big grandmother, who has hair that changes colors is a mystery and a protector. It is a worthwhile read and I would like to read the sequel, "The Princess and Curdie" and some of the other books by George McDonald.

[Jennifer (bunnyreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised this story didn't feel as old as it is. I liked it, but I can't really say I enjoyed it. Maybe if I was younger, or more likely if I didn't remember so much about the story from watching the movie adaptation years ago. Either way, it was an decent enough read.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Two stories in one volume - both are pretty adorable little fairy tales but without a lot of depth. The second book ended kind of abruptly and I felt a little confused by the conclusion, but overall these were enjoyable and quick reads.

[leva · Rating 3 out of 5]

first part was pretty awesome! loved the writing and the little story but the second part....aaaah it was so boring and the story was just bad I mean I didn't enjoy it and I would never read it to my kids:)

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

the girls love this book, we are currently reading it at bedtime

[Jessica Lowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fantasy series for children with plenty of adventure and lessons.

[Arne Teigland]

O so wonderful!

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild about this book...

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a review but just a note that the edition I have is from 1970 and has a lovely cover of some dwarves in that great generic 70's art style

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of my favorite MacDonald fairy tales, with two helpful interpretive essays from the editors.

[Karen Mcdowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

When CS Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle claim you as inspirations.....

[Cale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really beautiful story that was a perfect read-aloud for my second grader. The lessons from this book spoke to me as an adult and will stick with me.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending of The Princess and Curdie feels quite abrupt and a bit unsettling in the sense that, rather than a happily ever after, there is a cautionary tale of the worst of human greed coming through to the point that it destroys the kingdom. Maybe right now, it's rather prescient: the king insisting on mining more and more below his own city knowing it's unsafe is an uncomfortable reminder of our own persistent use of fossil fuels.

Maybe that Irene and Curdie aren't really the focus or the ultimate heroes in their own story is meant to point us to the idea that there are larger things happening than our own dramas, and that kingdoms come and go (whether it's the goblin kingdom or the king's).

I'm not sure that I totally get all the allegorical parts, and some parts of the story are a bit quirky for me (the goblin queen's shoes and Curdie's hand shaking ability). I appreciated the bits of redemption for the goblins' animals and the way Irene's grandmother's role in the story made me think more about how God might speak to us or interact with us when it comes to difficult times and doubt.

[Ash Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a gift from my Mujer and Papa John and, as with most books, it took me a bit to finish it. So this edition is 2 books in one and the first book (The Princess and the Goblin) was actually a book my dad read to me as a child. It was a classic penguin book and it was purple. Little boy Curdie and the little princess are so cute. Young Curdie kind of reminds me of my little brother George who is very sweet and also hard working. Anyways, I don't have much to say for this review but I really enjoyed reading both stories back to back. It feels like a classic children's bedtime book that I would drift off to. (Actually I have drifted off several times while reading this book, but that's just a me problem.) I liked the time skip and although The Princess and Curdie wasn't as much a romance as I assumed it would be I still enjoyed it. Plot and characters kept me interested. Absolutely love Lina and all the other strange creatures. I actually found myself laughing at them a few times. That's all I have to write!

[Alias T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sabía si darle dos o tres estrellas, quizá la primera historia y la introducción sobre el autor y su obra se llevarían una puntuación más alta y la segunda historia, sin embargo, ese dos ("it was ok").
Bueno, pues un cuento de hadas. Disfruté mucho el prólogo de Carmen Martín Gaite y me gustaría conocer más del autor puesto que es uno de los padres de la fantasía, importante para Tolkien, C.S.Lewis o Lewis Carroll. No obstante, el libro en sí no me ha encantado. No podía simpatizar demasiado con los personajes (lo que, quizá en una fábula sea lo más normal). Algunas descripciones son bastante bonitas, el lenguaje es claro y sencillo, como el de un cuento, pero a ratos la historia se me hacía demasiado larga y repetitiva.