"The Princess and the Goblin" is a fantasy classic written by Scottish author George MacDonald in 1872. Although MacDonald wrote "The Princess and the Goblin" primarily for children, his fantasy continues to delight readers of all ages.
MacDonald's book contains the elements of good story telling—an exciting, well-paced plot and believable characters, who have human weaknesses as well as strengths.
The twentieth-century English poet, W. H. Auden, called MacDonald's technique "dream realism" and honoured "The Princess and the Goblin" as "the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books." Unquestionably MacDonald employed fantasy as a way of presenting the Christian spiritual concepts of faith and love. But MacDonald's marvellous story, with its fusion of fantasy and realism, is so original that it appeals to the imagination rather than to analytical faculties.
The nurse Lootie raises the princess Irene in a house on a mountain, it is here that she meets her mysterious great-great-grandmother, and her friend the minor boy Curdie. Things are peaceful for Irene until the hideous race of goblins that live beneath the mountain start planning something big…
In summary, "The Princess and the Goblin" is the story of two young people who grow in maturity and spiritual development as they thwart the evil plans of goblins.
