At the Back of the North Wind; The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie

Princess Irene and Curdie #1-2 & additional novel

by George MacDonald

1979 1st Octopus Ed.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Childrens, Scotland

621 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2004

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

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories of George MacDonald influenced both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. It was interesting to read these novels, but I found Diamond to be a strange child who was in many ways too good to be true. The Princess and Curdie was for me a rather unsatisfactory sequel to The Princess and the Goblin.

[Steve Nation · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply wonderful! A pure joy to read

[Pollyanna Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child and still love it thirty years later. Despite the sometimes archaic language, my children also loved it. Vibrant, imaginative and full of strong messages about character and courage, these tales are as magical now as when they were written.

[Manfred Manfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back of the North Wind is also a good one - bit long winded in parts though.

[Katelyn Barilski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I feel as if I have lived a thousand lives. Classic fairy tales like these are the kind that can't help but make an impression on you. They leave a lingering feeling that I can't even describe.

At the Back of the North Wind
The main character in this story was a boy named Diamond, a curious boy that everyone thought to be foolish, but truly, Diamond had the potential to become something great. Because to him, everything was possible and impossible nothing was. To Diamond, everything made sense because nothing made no sense, and even nonsense made some sense.
A beautiful blend of peculiarity and creative intelligence, MacDonald knew how to write.

At times, At the Back of the North Wind seemed to stretch on a little bit, but it was only occasionally. I'd recommend this story for any age, especially anyone lacking in imagination, because it starts the creativity rapidly flowing in your mind. One thing I loved about At the Back of the North Wind was Nanny's dream about the man in the moon, and how he dusted the cratered windows for the lady who lived in the hollow moon. It was so wonderful! I wish that scene was expanded on even more.

I'd say my favourite story, though, was The Princess and the Goblin, although the sequel was pretty good too.

I love when the writer speaks with even a touch of second person POV. Some fairy tales, like this one, just have a way of taking your hand and gently pulling you into the story so that you become an invisible onlooker that watches the scene unfold before your very eyes. You see every character, but they don't see you. And in one scene, right when an old lady tells the princess to come into a room, this is what George MacDonald says:

That the princess was a real princess, you might see now quite plainly; for she didn't hang on to the handle of the door, and stare without moving, as I have known some do who ought to have been princesses but were only rather vulgar little girls. She did as she was told, stepped inside the door at once, and shut it gently behind her.

This is brilliant! George MacDonald paints the picture that all real princesses, which many little girls want to be, must be obedient. What literature tells that message nowadays? It's incredible writing. Another way he brings moral into his story is when he says that real princesses must be honest and are never rude.

Not to be believed does not at all agree with princesses; for a real princess cannot tell a lie. So all the afternoon she did not speak a word. Only when the nurse spoke to her, she answered her, for a real princess is never rude -- even when she does well to be offended.

The Princess and Curdie
This story was a sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, and while it was a little more grim, MacDonald continues his enthralling descriptive detail and glimpse into his unique imagination. Some passages left me entranced, as if I had walked into a strange dream and had not yet come out. The creativity in his words, and the surrealism, left me in a daze of delight. Even writing this, I feel as if I am walking on air, still adrift in a world of fantasy and endless possibilities. I have always feared that with becoming an adult, I'd eventually lose my imagination ever so slowly that I'd hardly even notice it--but if I continue to read books like this, and continuously exercise it like these characters do, I don't think I ever shall.

Overall, the surreal aspects to these stories are just wonderful. And in each of these three fairy tales, I feel like there are messages hidden inside the stories that I have only subtly grasped. Books like this one will never get old--and yet its age is what makes it a classic, isn't it?

[Moira Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much and it made me cry.

[Layna Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, not the best, but still liked it. It was interesting how it was a story inside a story. At the end I got confused how they were talking about the rest of the story.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is a book I read when I was a very young child and recently re-read

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations by Arthur Hughes after Dalziel

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy George MacDonald, but I know he is old fashioned.