The Princess and the Goblin

About the book

Princess Irene lives in a mountain house where an unexpected discovery leads her to a mysterious older woman whose protection is not always visible to others. Curdie, a young miner, knows another part of the same landscape: the underground passages inhabited by goblins with plans of their own. Their paths intersect as practical danger and questions of trust become increasingly difficult to separate. MacDonald gives courage both physical and inward forms, asking what it means to follow a guide whose presence another person cannot confirm. The goblins supply comic grotesquerie as well as threat, while the children's contrasting experience prevents either from understanding everything alone. The tale makes friendship a matter of learning how to respond when another person's account of the world exceeds one's own evidence.

• Trust
• Courage
• Friendship and understanding

Why read it

For a children's fantasy that makes practical bravery and trust in an unfamiliar experience equally important to its adventure.

Fantasy novel · English text