What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wise Woman: A Parable
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1875
77 people are currently reading
1510 people want to read
About the author
George MacDonald
1,538 books2,434 followersGeorge 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
March 18, 2022
This is a beautiful modern edition of the great Scottish writer George MacDonald's classical fairy tale The Wise Woman, originally published in 1875. This new edition, based off of one published in 1895, also has the strange and fascinating story The Gray Wolf, as well as MacDonald's powerful essay called The Fantastic Imagination. This poignant story has beautiful illustrations by A.G. Walker, a moving foreword by my friend, C. S. Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham, a tributary preface by George MacDonald's great great grandson, Christopher MacDonald, and a great editorial note by my Scottish friend David Jack. I highly recommend it.
February 14, 2009
This is one of my favorite books. I find it very convicting on the heart level. Through a 'fairy tale' MacDonald gently (and sometimes not so gently) points out sins of selfishness, pride, laziness, etc. Those kinds of sins which are subtle and easily glossed over or hidden. But he does it in such a palatable way that the book is a joy to read even while it is convicting you.
I've read it several times as has my daughter (now 12, but read it on her own for the first time when she was 8 or 9).
I've read it several times as has my daughter (now 12, but read it on her own for the first time when she was 8 or 9).
June 8, 2018
Recently, my Church did a spring clean and decided to let go of two tables full of books. As I was browsing through, I found this book and the title entranced me enough that I decided to bring it home. I am so glad I did because this book is just too lovely!
The Lost Princess is a fairytale about two spoiled little girls who were both raised to think that they were Somebody rather than themselves. And as a result, they had terrible tempers and were ungovernable. But there is also a Wise Woman, who loves the girls and takes them away that they might learn to be better.
I loved, loved, loved this book! It is so enchanting and even though it's very much about our world, George Macdonald has succeeded in making this feel like a fairytale. The language very much reminds me of G.K. Chesterton, which means that it may not be for everyone but it's definitely for me. And while the idea of not indulging every emotion and passion that arises may not be popular nowadays, The Lost Princess shows just how clearly giving in to our baser natures will twist us into an ugly human being.
The edition I read was illustrated really beautifully as well - look for the illustrations by Bernhard Oberdieck if you're curious!
I would definitely encourage everyone who loves fairytales to read this. It's a fantastic book and I want to end my review by sharing two of my favourite quotes from it:
and
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
The Lost Princess is a fairytale about two spoiled little girls who were both raised to think that they were Somebody rather than themselves. And as a result, they had terrible tempers and were ungovernable. But there is also a Wise Woman, who loves the girls and takes them away that they might learn to be better.
I loved, loved, loved this book! It is so enchanting and even though it's very much about our world, George Macdonald has succeeded in making this feel like a fairytale. The language very much reminds me of G.K. Chesterton, which means that it may not be for everyone but it's definitely for me. And while the idea of not indulging every emotion and passion that arises may not be popular nowadays, The Lost Princess shows just how clearly giving in to our baser natures will twist us into an ugly human being.
The edition I read was illustrated really beautifully as well - look for the illustrations by Bernhard Oberdieck if you're curious!
I would definitely encourage everyone who loves fairytales to read this. It's a fantastic book and I want to end my review by sharing two of my favourite quotes from it:
"Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing not to be afraid depends on what the fearlessness is founded upon. Some know no fear because they have no knowledge of danger; there is nothing fine in that. Some are too stupid to be afraid; there is nothing fine in that. Some who are not easily frightened would yet turn their backs and run the moment they were frightened; such never had more courage than fear. eBut the person who will do his or her work in spite of his or her fear is a person of true courage."
and
"Nobody can be a princess, do not imagine you have yet been anything more than a mock one - until she is a princess over herself, that is, until, when she finds herself unwilling to do the thing that is right, she makes herself do it. So long as any mood she is in makes her do the thing she will be sorry for when the mood is over, she is a slave and not a princess."
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
August 6, 2017
I tend to share Tolkien's feeling for allegory, "a cordial dislike": and while The Lost Princess isn't quite an allegory, it skirts very close to the edge. Too close, really, for it to be the sort of story that I can ever fall thoroughly in love with. But in G-Mac's day allegories were all the rage, and his fiction, or at least the "fairy-tale" department of it, tends to lean in that direction even when it isn’t strictly allegory. By “almost” allegory, I mean that while not every little aspect of the story is a symbol, with a one-to-one correlation with some theological principal, most of the story is that way. All the wise woman’s actions toward the two children in the story, for example, are plainly meant to represent God’s actions toward us as sinners. Tolkien said that the difference between the “applicability” of his sort of writing and allegory, is that “the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other [allegory] in the purposed domination of the author.” MacDonald is comfortable being a benevolent dictator; in The Lost Princess there is one specific symbolic meaning in a passage – one meaning to rule them all – and he fully intends to make sure the reader will understand that meaning and no other.
But setting aside that like Tolkien I feel allegory inferior to “history, true or feigned”, if you are going to write an allegory-ish work, you would be hard pressed to do a better job than this. MacDonald is a close observer of human nature, both what it is naturally and what it ought to be, must be, and can be with outside help, and his depictions of personality gone bad are chillingly truthful, as are those of the treatment. And the narrative feels real and remains coherent all the way through, as opposed some of his other “fairy tales” like “ Phantastes or Lillith , where you may feel like you are in an unsettling fever-dream, without much grasp of what’s going on, and pretty much anything at all could happen in the next moment because if there are any rules governing this world, they haven’t been disclosed to you. Whereas the world in The Lost Princess seems rather like our own, or perhaps a late medieval version of our own, and the normal rules of reality apply – with the exception that the Wise Woman seems to be more or less omnipotent, and can and will do whatever necessary, “magical or otherwise” for the good of those she has given her special attention to. Though never, tellingly, infringing upon their free will – she will put you in a difficult or unpleasant spot, force you to make the hard choice, but she will never compel you to take any action you do not choose to. By the end of the story, it is very clear that while you are free to resist her and stay the same – or try to, as your faults will only grow worse until they are cured – doing so only causes misery to yourself and others, and that everything you truly want, and want to be, can only come from accepting the trials and duties she lovingly gives.
Aside from allegoryishness, there are certain other literary conventions of the time that may be distasteful to modern readers – notably, the narrator “breaking the fourth wall” and interrupting the story briefly to address the reader directly in little asides and commentary before returning to the narrative. MacDonald is a bad one for this, but it was common at the time, and it’s not nearly as much in evidence in this book as in, say, The Princess and the Goblin . I suspect this is a leftover from story-telling as a mainly oral tradition, with printing presses and literacy being too young for fiction to have gotten out from under the overbearing presence of the narrator. And as much as I sometimes have a tendency to fall into run-on sentences, with way too many clauses separated by endless commas, I’ve never gone so overboard as George does on the first page; one of the first sentences in the book ends up stretching for a page or two, a rambling ode to a beautiful rain shower on flowers. It’s not the way I’d have started the book, and it feels a little like a device to get his writer’s mind warmed up and the words flowing, and which he maybe should have gone back and cut when he finished the first draft. In any event, he doesn’t do it again after the first chapter, but it’s a slightly awkward way to begin.
But the insightfulness and clarity of the parable outweigh those faults, even to a 21st-century crank like me, and The Lost Princess I would recommend to anyone as profitable reading. Not exhilarating, or entertaining reading, so much as profitable. Even more than most of his works, with The Lost Princess MacDonald intends to convict his reader with their own sin, and the urgent need to do something about it. In his day, I think, the “goodness” of a work was, in many circles, still primarily determined by the amount and quality of moral truth it conveyed, the effectiveness by which it exhorted readers to more virtuous living. To the extent that any of us today prioritize “guidance to virtuous living” over entertainment in our choice of reading, to that degree we will appreciate The Lost Princess. And the reader who finishes it without a bit of unease, and a little inward reflection on his or her own vices and efforts to overcome them, didn’t really receive the story.
But setting aside that like Tolkien I feel allegory inferior to “history, true or feigned”, if you are going to write an allegory-ish work, you would be hard pressed to do a better job than this. MacDonald is a close observer of human nature, both what it is naturally and what it ought to be, must be, and can be with outside help, and his depictions of personality gone bad are chillingly truthful, as are those of the treatment. And the narrative feels real and remains coherent all the way through, as opposed some of his other “fairy tales” like “ Phantastes or Lillith , where you may feel like you are in an unsettling fever-dream, without much grasp of what’s going on, and pretty much anything at all could happen in the next moment because if there are any rules governing this world, they haven’t been disclosed to you. Whereas the world in The Lost Princess seems rather like our own, or perhaps a late medieval version of our own, and the normal rules of reality apply – with the exception that the Wise Woman seems to be more or less omnipotent, and can and will do whatever necessary, “magical or otherwise” for the good of those she has given her special attention to. Though never, tellingly, infringing upon their free will – she will put you in a difficult or unpleasant spot, force you to make the hard choice, but she will never compel you to take any action you do not choose to. By the end of the story, it is very clear that while you are free to resist her and stay the same – or try to, as your faults will only grow worse until they are cured – doing so only causes misery to yourself and others, and that everything you truly want, and want to be, can only come from accepting the trials and duties she lovingly gives.
Aside from allegoryishness, there are certain other literary conventions of the time that may be distasteful to modern readers – notably, the narrator “breaking the fourth wall” and interrupting the story briefly to address the reader directly in little asides and commentary before returning to the narrative. MacDonald is a bad one for this, but it was common at the time, and it’s not nearly as much in evidence in this book as in, say, The Princess and the Goblin . I suspect this is a leftover from story-telling as a mainly oral tradition, with printing presses and literacy being too young for fiction to have gotten out from under the overbearing presence of the narrator. And as much as I sometimes have a tendency to fall into run-on sentences, with way too many clauses separated by endless commas, I’ve never gone so overboard as George does on the first page; one of the first sentences in the book ends up stretching for a page or two, a rambling ode to a beautiful rain shower on flowers. It’s not the way I’d have started the book, and it feels a little like a device to get his writer’s mind warmed up and the words flowing, and which he maybe should have gone back and cut when he finished the first draft. In any event, he doesn’t do it again after the first chapter, but it’s a slightly awkward way to begin.
But the insightfulness and clarity of the parable outweigh those faults, even to a 21st-century crank like me, and The Lost Princess I would recommend to anyone as profitable reading. Not exhilarating, or entertaining reading, so much as profitable. Even more than most of his works, with The Lost Princess MacDonald intends to convict his reader with their own sin, and the urgent need to do something about it. In his day, I think, the “goodness” of a work was, in many circles, still primarily determined by the amount and quality of moral truth it conveyed, the effectiveness by which it exhorted readers to more virtuous living. To the extent that any of us today prioritize “guidance to virtuous living” over entertainment in our choice of reading, to that degree we will appreciate The Lost Princess. And the reader who finishes it without a bit of unease, and a little inward reflection on his or her own vices and efforts to overcome them, didn’t really receive the story.
December 26, 2020
wow...
This little "fairy tale" packs a big punch to the heart. George MacDonald is moving his way up my favorite-authors list.
I will be reading again with my children.
Listened to the audio on Christian Audio
2020 - A book by an author who is now deceased.
This little "fairy tale" packs a big punch to the heart. George MacDonald is moving his way up my favorite-authors list.
I will be reading again with my children.
Listened to the audio on Christian Audio
2020 - A book by an author who is now deceased.
March 12, 2023
This was fun. I caught hints of characters from his other books in this story, and I learned some tips for how to become a wise woman: think of others, learn to work, come to the end of yourself.
June 8, 2012
This book is amazing!!! A must read for every child and parent. A WONDERFUL read-aloud!! One of the best books on "parenting" and "child-raising" I have ever read. And it is all a fictional story that draws you and the child in. Very funny and very wise, this book will change the life of anyone who reads it/hears it!!! It takes you through the life of a Princess and how she is shown her true wretched (dare I say sinful) self and learns what it means to be a true princess. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!!
July 17, 2013
Life changing read. (Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?)
Macdonald says,"And that is all my double story. How double it is, if you care to know, you must find out."
If you have little people in your life read them this parable and if the have they the ears to hear, you help will set them on the road to freedom from self. There is no mystery surrounding George Macdonald's motivation for writing what he does. Jesus is the theme of his life and writings. Introducing Jesus to his readers is his goal.
Macdonald says,"And that is all my double story. How double it is, if you care to know, you must find out."
If you have little people in your life read them this parable and if the have they the ears to hear, you help will set them on the road to freedom from self. There is no mystery surrounding George Macdonald's motivation for writing what he does. Jesus is the theme of his life and writings. Introducing Jesus to his readers is his goal.
March 17, 2013
I enjoyed this one until the end. I don't believe MacDonald gave the poor girl equal opportunity to repent and change as he did the princess. The unequal treatment of rich and poor suggests poor people are not as valuable as are the rich.
May 18, 2023
‘The princess was, at this time of her life, such a low-minded creature, that severity had greater influence over her than kindness.’
Not one of MacDonald’s best. First published in 1875. The accompanying notes suggest potential cross-fertilization with Mark Twain, who released his The Prince and the Pauper six years later. Twain’s story was much better. As is common for many MacDonald tales, preaching and explaining sometimes supersede storytelling.
‘People are so ready to think themselves changed when it is only their mood that is changed.’
The wise woman is a proto-Mary Poppins. She does and gets away with outrageous things. And they work. Moderns would call the Department of Social Services or police for child abuse.
‘Those who are most given to abuse can least endure it.’
Not one of MacDonald’s best. First published in 1875. The accompanying notes suggest potential cross-fertilization with Mark Twain, who released his The Prince and the Pauper six years later. Twain’s story was much better. As is common for many MacDonald tales, preaching and explaining sometimes supersede storytelling.
‘People are so ready to think themselves changed when it is only their mood that is changed.’
The wise woman is a proto-Mary Poppins. She does and gets away with outrageous things. And they work. Moderns would call the Department of Social Services or police for child abuse.
‘Those who are most given to abuse can least endure it.’
September 5, 2017
George MacDonald has written a lot of good stuff. I'm generally a fan. But this book didn't work for me at all. I feel like the story only works as a religious allegory, and only for a very particular view on the nature of God. I mean, this book features a "wise woman" who kidnaps two girls and does horrible things to them -- including prolonged sensory deprivation and solitary confinement, which the UN would define as torture. And then they're expected to act as slaves in the wise woman's home. When the girls ran away, I cheered, even though the book makes it clear that escaping their kidnapper/torturer/enslaver is the "bad" choice.
I hate to say I stopped reading this one, and I don't think I'll ever go back.
I hate to say I stopped reading this one, and I don't think I'll ever go back.
April 13, 2015
A mysterious, black-cloaked wise woman snatches two very naughty little girls from their homes and puts them through experiences uniquely contrived for each girl's particular variety of wickedness, progressively purging the depravity from their souls. In one case, the treatment results in humble submission and gratitude. The other case proves more difficult, with indeterminate results. This little book is excellent for parenting, grandparenting, and self-reflection. No wonder that C.S. Lewis held George MacDonald in such high esteem.
August 11, 2011
I love this book! At one point when reading this for the first time, I felt so convicted that I had to stop and confess sin to the Lord. My favorite of MacDonald's.
December 17, 2020
At 128 pages I figured I could dash this one off to cleanse my palate between some heavy stuff. Who was I kidding? This is George MacDonald and he is gonna set you to thinking and make you chew on so many ideas and concepts. There are concepts of God, there are parenting reminders, there are moments to bring the reader back to a place of humble belief. It was a truly wonderful fairy tale.
Quotes I loved:
"For they, one and all, so constantly taught the little woman that she was Somebody, that she she also forgot that there were a great many more Somebodies besides herself in the world."
"Now the princess did not in the least understand kindness. She always took it for a sign of either partiality or fear. The princess was, at this time of her life, such a low-minded creature that severity had greater influence over her than kindness. She understood terror far better than tenderness."
"People are so ready to think themselves truly changed when it is only their mood that is changed."
"Self-conceit will go far to generate every other vice under the sun. Vanity, which is a form of self-conceit, has repeatedly show itself last the deepest feeling in the heart of a horrible murderess."
"There is but on true way, however, of getting out of any position we may be in, and that is to do the work of it so well that we grow fit for a better."
"Nobody can be a real princess until she is a princess over herself: that is , until, when she finds herself unwilling to do the thing that is right, she makes herself do it. So long as any mood she is in makes her do the thing she will be sorry for when the mood is over, she is a slave, and no princess."
Quotes I loved:
"For they, one and all, so constantly taught the little woman that she was Somebody, that she she also forgot that there were a great many more Somebodies besides herself in the world."
"Now the princess did not in the least understand kindness. She always took it for a sign of either partiality or fear. The princess was, at this time of her life, such a low-minded creature that severity had greater influence over her than kindness. She understood terror far better than tenderness."
"People are so ready to think themselves truly changed when it is only their mood that is changed."
"Self-conceit will go far to generate every other vice under the sun. Vanity, which is a form of self-conceit, has repeatedly show itself last the deepest feeling in the heart of a horrible murderess."
"There is but on true way, however, of getting out of any position we may be in, and that is to do the work of it so well that we grow fit for a better."
"Nobody can be a real princess until she is a princess over herself: that is , until, when she finds herself unwilling to do the thing that is right, she makes herself do it. So long as any mood she is in makes her do the thing she will be sorry for when the mood is over, she is a slave, and no princess."
December 31, 2023
The Wise Woman
***The effect of confrontation and truth on two girls whose characters were altered by the way they were raised***
Rosamond, a selfish princess who was given everything and treated it all poorly, grew up selfish and intolerable.
Agnes was told by her poor, hardworking parents how everything she did was perfection, and that she herself was perfection, so she grew up conceited and prideful.
A wise woman entered both of their lives in very different ways, whose intent was to help them be what they were meant to be rather than the wretched children they were.
There were trials, but love. Discipline, but kindness. In her cloak they were content, but on their own they made poor choices which lead to consequences of their own making.
The author wrote this about 1870, so the language is a bit rough for a children's story read today. And some of it may seem harsh.
But as I look back on my relationship with The Lord, I realize when I'm under His wings and in His will, I am content and there is joy. When I slip in my failings, my spirit knows something is very wrong, and the consequences for disobedience can be seen as discipline.
But as with me, these two girls had choices. They could continue in their ways and learn nothing, or look inside and choose what is right and pure, resulting in a changed heart. For me, there is a character change when I go through discipline or trials. I also gain a contentment in Him and His Word.
I can’t say what happened to Rosamond or Agnes, that's for the reader to find out.
***The effect of confrontation and truth on two girls whose characters were altered by the way they were raised***
Rosamond, a selfish princess who was given everything and treated it all poorly, grew up selfish and intolerable.
Agnes was told by her poor, hardworking parents how everything she did was perfection, and that she herself was perfection, so she grew up conceited and prideful.
A wise woman entered both of their lives in very different ways, whose intent was to help them be what they were meant to be rather than the wretched children they were.
There were trials, but love. Discipline, but kindness. In her cloak they were content, but on their own they made poor choices which lead to consequences of their own making.
The author wrote this about 1870, so the language is a bit rough for a children's story read today. And some of it may seem harsh.
But as I look back on my relationship with The Lord, I realize when I'm under His wings and in His will, I am content and there is joy. When I slip in my failings, my spirit knows something is very wrong, and the consequences for disobedience can be seen as discipline.
But as with me, these two girls had choices. They could continue in their ways and learn nothing, or look inside and choose what is right and pure, resulting in a changed heart. For me, there is a character change when I go through discipline or trials. I also gain a contentment in Him and His Word.
I can’t say what happened to Rosamond or Agnes, that's for the reader to find out.
February 26, 2024
George MacDonald has once again pierced my soul with his insight into the human condition yet profound understanding of grace. The Lost Princess is written for children and is considerably shorter than his novels, so I would recommend giving this a shot if you’re interested in GM. It’s definitely a book I hope to read to my kids.
“By this time her old disposition had begun to rouse again. She had been doing her duty, and had in consequence begun again to think herself Somebody. However strange it may well seem, to do one's duty will make anyone conceited who only does it sometimes. Those who do it always would as soon think of being conceited of eating their dinner as of doing their duty. What honest boy would pride himself on not picking pockets? A thief who was trying to reform would. To be conceited of doing one's duty is then a sign of how little one does it, and how little one sees what a contemptible thing it is not to do it. Could any but a low creature be conceited of not being contemptible? Until our duty becomes to us common as breathing, we are poor creatures.”
“By this time her old disposition had begun to rouse again. She had been doing her duty, and had in consequence begun again to think herself Somebody. However strange it may well seem, to do one's duty will make anyone conceited who only does it sometimes. Those who do it always would as soon think of being conceited of eating their dinner as of doing their duty. What honest boy would pride himself on not picking pockets? A thief who was trying to reform would. To be conceited of doing one's duty is then a sign of how little one does it, and how little one sees what a contemptible thing it is not to do it. Could any but a low creature be conceited of not being contemptible? Until our duty becomes to us common as breathing, we are poor creatures.”
February 13, 2021
I have an aversion to overly moralistic tales, but this one was well written and contained a depth that most modern moral tales lack. If you accept the tale for what it is, a sort of study on our inherent sinful nature, you’ll find a steady dose of conviction and shame when you see yourself in the characters. I was surprised at how much my children loved this book, and I selfishly hoped they would glean and put in to practice the very obvious lessons it was trying to teach. Which probably only means that I need those lessons far more than they do.
This is a book that sticks with you even when you didn’t think you cared about it very much.
This is a book that sticks with you even when you didn’t think you cared about it very much.
July 13, 2020
4.3 Stars. Rated G.
This story was lovely and had all the charm of MacDonald's other "children's stories" (I put this in quotes because it may be a story for children theoretically, but I think anyone can learn or grow from it, not just children.).
Folded within these few pages are life lessons, characters who grow immensely, and interesting concepts/visuals. This story is great for children, or anyone, who struggle with the concepts of humility and changing who you are permanently instead of in the moment.
It really is a wonderful little read and I think you'll enjoy it if you try it. :)
Happy reading, my friends.
This story was lovely and had all the charm of MacDonald's other "children's stories" (I put this in quotes because it may be a story for children theoretically, but I think anyone can learn or grow from it, not just children.).
Folded within these few pages are life lessons, characters who grow immensely, and interesting concepts/visuals. This story is great for children, or anyone, who struggle with the concepts of humility and changing who you are permanently instead of in the moment.
It really is a wonderful little read and I think you'll enjoy it if you try it. :)
Happy reading, my friends.
August 4, 2023
George Macdonald has enchanting & thought provoking fairytales. I loved revisiting this story.
Read
July 18, 2025This novella has its moments, to be sure, but overall it is a mess.
April 6, 2023
An absolutely beautiful story. My 6 and 8 year old were thoroughly intrigued by it and enjoyed it very much. Highly recommend!
April 16, 2024
So beautiful. Good parenting book especially for daughters. The classic dichotomy of sons and seeds prodigal, stay at home and otherwise. Loved the part about picking flowers.
February 12, 2019
Probably my favorite MacDonald fictional book to date. Redemption is one of his favorite themes, but it was particularly well done in this book.
January 1, 2016
This was my second time to read The Wise Woman, a parable that ought to be read and re-read on a regular basis, I have decided. Many of the truths made plain in this story are not new truths, but they penetrate more deeply and carry more meaning in the form of a parable. This is the story of Rosamond and Agnes, one a princess and one a shepherd's daughter, but both depraved and wretched in their own ways. Rosamond is a slave to her selfish temper and moods; Agnes is hardened by arrogant vanity. The Wise Woman comes to rescue each girl from herself, and in doing so gives every parent a model, both practical and principled. Am I applying the lessons to my own relationship with my children?
The parable packs power on many levels. The Wise Woman's archetypal character pictures God dealing firmly and lovingly with His children, and parents can relate to this, and be instructed and inspired. And yet, even as parents can imagine their children as Rosamonds and Agneses, every reader will want to reflect on their own condition. Who am I most like in temperament? Rosamond or Agnes? Is my response to God's intervention in the midst of my wretchedness more like Rosamond's or Agnes's? Are there people or circumstances that God has put into my life to be my "Prince," the Dog-Counsellor sent to protect, chastise, and draw boundaries around Rosamond? If so, how am I responding? Am I thankful and submissive, or angry and rebellious?
I highly recommend this book. It was described to me as one of the best books on parenting, and I whole-heartedly agree. However, it is also gives a very insightful view of human nature and our desperate need for salvation, and with that in mind, I would love for my children to read it as well.
The parable packs power on many levels. The Wise Woman's archetypal character pictures God dealing firmly and lovingly with His children, and parents can relate to this, and be instructed and inspired. And yet, even as parents can imagine their children as Rosamonds and Agneses, every reader will want to reflect on their own condition. Who am I most like in temperament? Rosamond or Agnes? Is my response to God's intervention in the midst of my wretchedness more like Rosamond's or Agnes's? Are there people or circumstances that God has put into my life to be my "Prince," the Dog-Counsellor sent to protect, chastise, and draw boundaries around Rosamond? If so, how am I responding? Am I thankful and submissive, or angry and rebellious?
I highly recommend this book. It was described to me as one of the best books on parenting, and I whole-heartedly agree. However, it is also gives a very insightful view of human nature and our desperate need for salvation, and with that in mind, I would love for my children to read it as well.
September 21, 2007
Here's a summary that I found (since I haven't read it in several years...)
There are two girls born: Rosamond, the daughter of a King and a Queen, takes it for granted that she is something special. As Rosamond grows up, she becomes worse, for she never tries to grow better. She becomes more and more peevish and fretful every day. The other girl born is called Agnes. Her parents are poor shepherds but still consider Agnes extraordinary.
Those people are not a bit wiser than the King and the Queen; they teach her that she is somebody. Agnes' parents admire her all the time and that is why she becomes conceited and thinks she is great.
The King asks a wise woman to help them with their naughty daughter. Rosamond's parents do not notice that the wise woman disappears with their daughter and carries Rosamond to her cottage. When the wise woman leaves her alone, she finds a door behind a clock, goes through it and stands on the marble floor of a large and stately room. In this hall is a picture of a girl who is standing with bare feet in a brook. The princess wishes she were that little girl, because if she was, no one would ever call her naughty. She goes close to the picture, lifts her foot and steps over the frame. There she is in the home of Agnes.
Meanwhile the wise woman takes Agnes with her and carries her to the cottage, too. Agnes stands in front of a picture with the palace and runs up to the frame and steps over it. Now she is near the palace.
Agnes and Rosamond have changed their identities by stepping into the pictures. Will they ever become nice girls?
There are two girls born: Rosamond, the daughter of a King and a Queen, takes it for granted that she is something special. As Rosamond grows up, she becomes worse, for she never tries to grow better. She becomes more and more peevish and fretful every day. The other girl born is called Agnes. Her parents are poor shepherds but still consider Agnes extraordinary.
Those people are not a bit wiser than the King and the Queen; they teach her that she is somebody. Agnes' parents admire her all the time and that is why she becomes conceited and thinks she is great.
The King asks a wise woman to help them with their naughty daughter. Rosamond's parents do not notice that the wise woman disappears with their daughter and carries Rosamond to her cottage. When the wise woman leaves her alone, she finds a door behind a clock, goes through it and stands on the marble floor of a large and stately room. In this hall is a picture of a girl who is standing with bare feet in a brook. The princess wishes she were that little girl, because if she was, no one would ever call her naughty. She goes close to the picture, lifts her foot and steps over the frame. There she is in the home of Agnes.
Meanwhile the wise woman takes Agnes with her and carries her to the cottage, too. Agnes stands in front of a picture with the palace and runs up to the frame and steps over it. Now she is near the palace.
Agnes and Rosamond have changed their identities by stepping into the pictures. Will they ever become nice girls?
June 1, 2018
I came across this title in an attempt to acquaint myself with 19th century children's literature that I'd previously overlooked. Also included on this discovery was Charles Kingsley's "The Water Babies", a classic that has endured even if with diminished popularity over the decades. I did not like "The Water Babies" at all. Its efforts at teaching a moral lesson to Victorian children comes off as propaganda. There was also a very bigotry tone as the author reflected a dislike of Americans, Irish, blacks and all other non-standard Englishmen. With "The Lost Princess" being a contemporary novel, my hopes weren't very high. And it is likewise a Victorian moral fable. However, it is a far superior book. It all starts with the writing. From pace to plot to prose, this is a high quality novel for any age. MacDonald shows humor and wit as only the British can that Kingsley neglected to do. The plot is complicated and well-balanced involving two young girls. The lessons learned and the means of learning are enchanting and inspiring. I came away from this thinking that, if I had a child, this would be on my brief required reading list for them. So many great lessons, and without the expense of good writing. This is a true, underrated classic!
February 24, 2016
"For when people will be naughty, they have to be frightened, and they are not expected to like it."
Wise and wonderful fairy tale from the Victorian master, where two naughty girls from the top and bottom of society are abducted by a mysterious wise woman with a magical cloak, then taught various lessons designed to change their behaviour.
Rosamond is a selfish princess, Agnes a conceited shepherd's daughter. Both have been spoilt by their parents and become unbearable in their different ways, both 'never thought of there being more than one Somebody - and that was herself.'
The pampered girls suddenly experience hunger, loneliness and fear; are tormented by dreams, wolves and night spirits; are made to work, travel great distances and, most importantly, self-reflect about the person they are, both on the outside and the inside.
Whether you simply want to read a superb fairy tale or want to know how to avoid raising a brat, A Double Story is essential reading.
Wise and wonderful fairy tale from the Victorian master, where two naughty girls from the top and bottom of society are abducted by a mysterious wise woman with a magical cloak, then taught various lessons designed to change their behaviour.
Rosamond is a selfish princess, Agnes a conceited shepherd's daughter. Both have been spoilt by their parents and become unbearable in their different ways, both 'never thought of there being more than one Somebody - and that was herself.'
The pampered girls suddenly experience hunger, loneliness and fear; are tormented by dreams, wolves and night spirits; are made to work, travel great distances and, most importantly, self-reflect about the person they are, both on the outside and the inside.
Whether you simply want to read a superb fairy tale or want to know how to avoid raising a brat, A Double Story is essential reading.
January 21, 2021
This is possibly my favorite story from George MacDonald (and that's saying a lot!). I listened to it a couple years ago with my family, and we all enjoyed it, so I decided recently to listen to it again.
I love everything about this story. I love the way it's told. I love its twists. I love its ending. It's quite simply far above most stories ever written.
And, of course, I love its truth. It reminds me of several biblical parables mashed together, the most obvious being the parables of the prodigal son, and the lost sheep.
Like MacDonald always manages to do, this story captured my imagination from the first sentence and inspired me to be in awe of God's goodness, while challenging my often complacent lifestyle. God truly is wise, and He brings us to Himself in His time.
I love everything about this story. I love the way it's told. I love its twists. I love its ending. It's quite simply far above most stories ever written.
And, of course, I love its truth. It reminds me of several biblical parables mashed together, the most obvious being the parables of the prodigal son, and the lost sheep.
Like MacDonald always manages to do, this story captured my imagination from the first sentence and inspired me to be in awe of God's goodness, while challenging my often complacent lifestyle. God truly is wise, and He brings us to Himself in His time.
July 27, 2013
Of all of George MacDonald's very fine stories, this is, in my opinion, the finest. Deep enough for adults but accessible for children, and this edition is beautifully illustrated. I have read it to myself, to my siblings, to children I babysat, and to kids at church, and I intend to keep reading it to nieces and nephews and maybe grandchildren someday.
I would have to write a very long review to truly do it justice, but I will let my words be few.
Most highly recommended.
I would have to write a very long review to truly do it justice, but I will let my words be few.
Most highly recommended.
April 9, 2015
As far as I remember, this is my first George MacDonald book. I read it because I thought I "should", but I really liked it. The allegory was convicting to me, especially the parts about controlling the will. I may add this to the read-aloud list to share with the girls.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews