The Princess and the Goblin

Összefoglaló

The Princess and the Goblin is an enthralling fantasy tale written by George MacDonald. Her 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.
Through his writing George MacDonald has influenced such writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. (Summary by Lizzie Driver)
There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys. His palace was built upon one of the mountains, and was very grand and beautiful. The princess, whose name was Irene, was born there, but she was sent soon after her birth, because her mother was not very strong, to be brought up by country people in a large house, half castle, half farmhouse, on the side of another mountain, about half-way between its base and its peak.
The Princess and the Goblin is the story of Princess Irene and her friend Curdie, a miner’s son, and their quest to put a stop to a wicked plan set in motion by the goblins who live underground in the mountains surrounding Irene’s palace – these goblins are strange little creatures with toeless feet and an aversion to rhymes, and as Curdie and Irene soon find out, they are Up To No Good.

The Princess and the Goblin is one of the forefathers of modern fantasy, and historical interest was one of the main reasons why I decided pick it up. I think I’d find the reading experience satisfying from a historical standpoint even if I hadn’t enjoyed it all that much, but fortunately for me, I very much did. This is such an odd book—and I mean odd in the best possible way. Some of the details are imaginative and strange enough (Toeless feet? An aversion to verse?) that they give what at first seems to be a fairly standard children’s fantasy a very unique flavour.