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Title: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, Arthur Hughes ISBN: 0-14-036746-2 Publisher: Puffin Pub. Date: March, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.79 (24 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Classic 19th century children's novel
Comment: George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin is a classic childrens tale of the 19th century, and one of the earliest and most influential. The story concerns a young princess (around 8 years when the story begins), and the devious plots of the goblins to kidnap her. To help her she has her new friend, the boy miner Curdie, and her beautiful and wise old grandmother.
Any lover of children literature should definitely give this a read.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fantasy Classic
Comment: This story is a classic of its kind and was influential in the ongoing development of contemporary fantasy. It combined several pre-existing story elements into a tale with adventure, monsters, morals, and a touch of faery. It is probably no accident that this story is so similiar in tone to Tolkien's fantasies.
While I am considerably older than the targeted age group, I found the story to be exciting with a touch of mysticism and mystery. And, yes, it does have a stong moral ending.
The princess was thoroughly in character. While overly mature for her age, she exemplifies the British ideal of nobility. And Curdie represented the best of the British working class. As the saying goes, they continually kept their heads while everyone else around them were losing theirs. Although such virtues have been downplayed and vilified in recent times, they are still strong survival skills.
MacDonald maintains a sense of suspense and mystery throughout the story, with a good mix of action and reflection. While the authorial comments might seem strange, they do ring true as part of a verbal presentation. Children will ask questions and will insist on clearing up the odd puzzlement.
I came upon this story by accident, but I enjoyed it enough to pass it on.
Rating: 4
Summary: a sense of the Holy
Comment: C.S. Lewis has written of encountering a sense of the holy while reading the works of George MacDonald. I agree with Lewis' assessment when it comes to "The Princess and the Goblin." Anyone who reads this book with profit by having done so.
First, and perhaps most importantly "The Princess and the Goblin" is a delightful story. There is a lot of the "just plain fun reading" stuff going on in this story. There is also a lot more.
MacDonald has buried a lot of treasures within the cave walls of his story. If the reader looks carefully as they follow the fates of Irene and Curdie, they will find these jewels just sitting there shining in the darkness, ready to be mined. There are nuggets of wisdom to be gained here in the dialogue, the narration, and in the overall arch of the story.
More than this, MacDonald's story features the best of what was Romantic literature and blends it with the greatest characteristics of fairy tales--then he turns convention on its head. Some examples:
-Whereas in fairy tales wisdom is associated with the old and knowledgeable, wisdom is here associated with innocence.
-While in traditional tales, it is the hero who saves the princess, here the princess must rescue the hero.
-Fans of modern fantasy may be used to Providential Guidance being related to male literary figures such as Tolkien's Gandalf, Lewis' Aslan. Here the figure is Feminine--the Grandmother.
In the process of playing off of and twisting traditional Romantic literature and fairy tales MacDonald manages to transcend both genres and create a truly original work of wonder.
I recommend the "Princess and the Goblin" most highly. Get it today. Just be careful that you don't pick up an abridgment--they tend to rip out the heart of the tale in an attempt to make the text more modern (neutered).
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Title: At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald ISBN: 0812567129 Publisher: Tor Classics Pub. Date: 15 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
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Title: Phantastes by George MacDonald ISBN: 0802860605 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: August, 1981 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald, Helen Stratton ISBN: 0140367624 Publisher: Puffin Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Light Princess by George MacDonald, Maurice Sendak ISBN: 0374444587 Publisher: Sunburst Pub. Date: 01 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics) by George MacDonald, U. C. Knoepflmacher ISBN: 0140437371 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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