I was trying to find something that I knew I would enjoy when I realised that I have not read anything by George MacDonald ever since I finished The Lost Princess in 2018! That’s a pretty long time so I thought that it was high time I remedied the situation. I managed to find a copy of The Princess and the Goblin and happily settled down to read it.
While I didn’t love The Princess and the Goblin as much as I did The Lost Princess, I found this to be a fun read and I liked it immensely. The Princess and the Goblin stars two good children: Princess Irene and Curdie, the miner’s boy. Princess Irene discovers a magical staircase to her great grandmother, while deep in the mines, Curdie finds out about an evil plot by the goblins. When the two children meet one day after being chased by some frightening creatures, their lives are intertwined.
My one and only quibble with The Princess and the Goblin is that both Irene and Curdie are too good. Sure, they had one quarrel, but overall the both of them are nice kids who strive to do what is right. They grow in the story, but not by much. In comparison, The Lost Princess had two bratty kids and their character arc was so much stronger because there was room for improvement.
The world building, on the other hand, was great! I thought this was an enchanting world, with the right amount of danger in it. There are the goblins, who, having been forced to live underground for so long, grown grotesque, and there is the mysterious great grandmother, who appears only to those who can see her. There’s a nice passage about belief after Irene brings Curdie to see her Grandmother (and sparking their one and only quarrel):
“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.”
The goblins were also interesting. Curdie has the opportunity to listen in on their conversations and I found myself very intrigued by goblin society. They so obviously despise the humans above but they also mimic some fashions – such as the queen insisting that only she can wear shoes. Although the book spends a lot of time telling us about how the goblins have changed after so long underground, they aren’t that different from humans after all.
Overall, this was a charming adventure story. I don’t love it as much as The Lost Princess (which I want to reread) but I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely read more of George MacDonald in the future.
Be sure to read the sequel to this as well (The Princess and Curdie)! I think that the greatest value to these books is the symbolism (especially Grandmother = ministry of the Holy Spirit) and pithy little bits of wisdom like the one you quoted. MacDonald’s “Phantastes” is a more “grown up” book that is also very interesting with exploration of themes like beauty and longing, but it is very dreamlike and all over the place in terms of plot.
I didn’t catch that about Grandmother! I’ll definitely read the sequel and check out Phantastes – that’s one that influenced C.S. Lewis, right?
Yes, there’s a particular phrase in Phantastes that really caught Lewis’s attention. It’s an odd, disjointed book, but I liked it (my wife, not so much so its definitely a matter of taste).
For me, Grandmother as Holy Spirit’s ministry really opens up the book, much like Aslan being Jesus does for Narnia. The connection isn’t quite as close or direct as Aslan = Jesus, but there are a lot of deliberate parallels (for me, her constant connection to pigeons/doves was the first clue, and once you see it a lot more follows)
That’s interesting – I’ll have to try Phantastes myself and see if I like it.
Thanks for the explanation! That makes a lot of sense – I still have the book so maybe I’ll give it a reread!
Thanks for this! I do love the way the story explores how people can respect each other even when they can’t bring themselves to believe one another, and that is a very hard thing. It’s been ages since I read this but your review is a reminder that it’s time to read it with my kids.
Curdie’s mum was very wise when she counselled him to believe the princess! I would love to have spent more time with her in the book. Have you read the sequel with your kids?
No, I haven’t even read the first one with my kids yet. I can’t remember whether I’ve read the sequel myself but I think I have.
It seems pretty hard to find – I was lucky the library had a copy. Hope you can read it with your kids (or by yourself)