The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald

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Title: The Princess and the Goblin Author: George MacDonald Genre: Classics Rating: 7/10 # pages: 167 Date read: March, 2008

Summary: The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a minor's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. Filled with images of dungeons and goblins, mysterious fires, burning roses, and a thread so fine as to be invisible and yet--like prayer--strong enough to lead the Princess back home to her grandmother's arms, this is a story of Curdie's slow realization that sometimes, as the princess tells him, "you must believe without seeing."

Review: As a sweet fairytale it's a book I'd have loved to have read aloud as a child, so I'm going to try to remember that for when I have kids of my own. While there were also aspects for an adult to enjoy, I think the book still needs the nostalgic charm of childhood to fully bloom. The sequel seems to be more of the same, so while I'll probably read it eventually, I'm in no great hurry to do so right now.

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