The Princess and the Goblin in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 08, 2015 Suvi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: children, 1800s, _great-britain, fantasy

The mentor of Lewis Carroll, and revered by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien among others, the severe-looking Scottish author clearly had a knack for creating magical things. Very few authors have said that they don't write for children, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five". The Princess and the Goblin is a fully-fledged children's fantasy novel, however, but also much more than a story of rescuing the princess and the kingdom.

Eight-year-old princess Irene The mentor of Lewis Carroll, and revered by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien among others, the severe-looking Scottish author clearly had a knack for creating magical things. Very few authors have said that they don't write for children, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five". The Princess and the Goblin is a fully-fledged children's fantasy novel, however, but also much more than a story of rescuing the princess and the kingdom.

Eight-year-old princess Irene lives a very sheltered life in a castle with her nursemaid Lootie and other servants. She has an abundance of toys, but there are so many that they don't satisfy her anymore. Instead she grows frustrated and runs around exploring the castle, eventually finding a mysterious room with an old lady who claims to be her grandmother. Irene also finds out that she has never been told about the goblins who live underground, and who are now plotting against the kingdom.

In a way this feels like a simple fairy tale, but a very bloated one. The straightforward plot is dragged out way too much, leading to a flat and anticlimactic ending. The sense of magic and the possibility to read between lines kept me going even when the text level itself was a letdown. Goblins are always interesting creatures, and here they have an interesting background story. The grandmother represents a more divine power. She is there to guide Irene and is connected to the concept of belief. What to do when you believe in something but others have a hard time doing the same? Some would say this hints at MacDonald's efforts to weave a Christian allegory to the story, but belief isn't exclusive to religion.

MacDonald also deals with transcending your outward place in the world by learning how to become a person who deserves respect. Early on, we learn that a real princess doesn't tell a lie, isn't rude and does what she is told. Being a good girl is a much bigger thing than being a princess, than having a superficial title. When Irene is playing with miner's children despite her status, the reader is reminded that "the truest princess is just the one who loves all her brothers and sisters best, and who is most able to do them good by being humble towards them".

Like in many children's homes even today, the nursemaid Lootie acts as both parents. Irene's mother is dead and her father travels for months on end around his kingdom. Whenever he comes back he is shown as a noble figure, and is almost put on a pedestal by Irene. The king loves his daughter and is moved to tears from the mention of his late wife, but I found it interesting that for most of the time he stays as an absent father, while the story focuses on Irene taking control of her seclusion and saving the kingdom.

Irene indeed shows herself to be a different kind of princess. With the help of a miner boy named Curdie, she is an active agent who, with the encouragement of her grandmother, finds courage and honour in herself. She's the one who follows a thread given to her by the grandmother, and saves Curdie from a cave by clearing away a heap of stones. It's admirable that MacDonald doesn't reduce her to a damsel in distress, but gives her the chance to develop and grow.

"[']We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.'
'What is that, grandmother?'
'To understand other people.'
'Yes, grandmother. I must be fair - for if I'm not fair to other people, I'm not worth being understood myself.[']"

PS. The cover of this Hesperus Press edition is gorgeous! ...more

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Jun 27, 2014 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it liked it

Shelves: children-s-books, kids-1001, quest

An old, yet completely new-to-me story of a lonely princess, her mysterious grandmother, her (largely) absent father, a young miner boy, and lots and lots and lots of scary goblins. (Turns out---and this isn’t giving anything away---goblins, though quite dangerous and scary, hate rhyme and have very sensitive feet).

I went into this expecting something of a fairy tale, but the story went on and on for an additional hundred pages. Lots of nice surprises, but I wish it had been a bit shorter read.

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Aug 07, 2012 Kimberly rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012-bookshelf, read-to-offspring, children-s_books, fantasy

When I was a wee little thing I happened to come across the 1994 animated film adaptation of this believed children's classic and fell in love with it. It wasn't until recently (this year) that I realized that it was based on a classic piece of children's literature so when I found out I did some investigating and downloaded the kobo e-book version onto my BlackBerry and before I knew it I was reading it every chance I got.

Right away though I noticed that there were of course some key differen When I was a wee little thing I happened to come across the 1994 animated film adaptation of this believed children's classic and fell in love with it. It wasn't until recently (this year) that I realized that it was based on a classic piece of children's literature so when I found out I did some investigating and downloaded the kobo e-book version onto my BlackBerry and before I knew it I was reading it every chance I got.

Right away though I noticed that there were of course some key differences. Since the movie I watched was a 1994 film there were some changes made to the story line. It was made to be more accessible to the modern audience but for what it was I enjoyed the book version as well.

The story was a fun one and normally I'm not one for the classics but this was a good one. It was enjoyable though I sometimes felt that the story lacked the flow of a more modern novel but that is in part due to the audience it was written for back in 1872.

For me, while my tastes are lean towards the more modern I did enjoy the book. I though Irene was a cute character. Her curiosity while it almost lead to her ruin was adorable to see play out on the pages, though I didn't like the demeaning way she treated Curdie the local boy who saved hers and her nursemaid's skin one night. Then again she was a princess and a very young one at that so I suppose I could excuse her attitude.

Curdie though had to be my favourite character because of how smart, self reliant and courageous manner. He was the main character for me because much of the book centered around his activities in finding the goblins, and figuring out their master plan.

The writing wasgood, it intrigued me but as I stated before the flow put me off a bit. I think that it was a lovely little children's classic and it deserves a spot on every kid's bookshelf because their a princess for the girls to admire and a hero for the boys.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone young and old. This would be a good book for a night time read aloud book for kids or to be read by teachers to their classes. I'm a strong believer that though a book is older it should not lose its place on out bookshelves. I plan on reading the sequel to this book in 2013. ...more

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