The Princess and the Goblin, George MacDonald
The Princess and the Goblin, George MacDonald
66 Rating(s)
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The Princess and the Goblin

Author: George MacDonald

Narrator: Peter Joyce

Unabridged: 5 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/09/2007


Synopsis

Revolutionary for the time in encouraging children to think like children, the adventure of Princess Irene and Curdie, the boy miner, was to influence generations of writers, including Chesterton and Tolkien. Overflowing with fantastic ideas and images to delight the young and allegory to inspire their morality The Princess and the Goblin has remained one of the most exciting tales for over 100 years.Irene lives in a castle on a mountain under which there is a labyrinth of tunnels inhabited by Goblins. Also, within the hillsides, is a group of miners digging for precious metals. When the Goblins try to kidnap the Princess and flood the mines it is up to Curdie, the boy miner, and Irene’s great-great-great grandmother to use their wit and resource to defeat the wicked plan."I for one can really testify to a book that has made a difference to my whole existence, which helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; … of all the stories I have read, it remains the most real, the most realistic, in the exact sense of the phrase the most like life. It is called The Princess and the Goblin, and is by George MacDonald…" G.K. Chesterton.

About George MacDonald

George MacDonald was a prolific author of both children's and adult books, including such classics as At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and Phantastes. His works were the inspiration for later writers, including G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

A consummate Scotsman, MacDonald was born on December 10, 1824, in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He was ordained as a congregationalist minister in 1845 and became a pastor at Arundel. This appointment did not last long, as he soon came into conflict with his parishioners and church because of his belief in purgatory and that all people eventually came into heaven, even animals.

In 1852, MacDonald married Louisa Powell, with whom he had six sons and five daughters. He was forced to resign from his church position in 1853, and after a brief sojourn in Algiers for the sake of his health, he became a freelance preacher, lecturer, and writer. His literary breakthrough came in 1855 with the publication of the narrative poem Within and Without. In the two decades that followed, he gained increasing fame and success with his children's books but was never able to earn enough money to support his family. Luckily, in 1877 he was granted a pension at the request of Queen Victoria.

MacDonald died on September 21, 1905, in Scotland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Markus on March 29, 2016

Published in 1872, The Princess and the Goblin is one of the first books in the modern fantasy genre. This book had tremendous and very visible influence on all the (now much more famous) authors that came after it. It is of course very dated. It does not match the standards that fantasy have created......more

Goodreads review by Lea on December 20, 2021

Charming story fantasy for children written in 1872 by George MacDonald, the pioneer of the fantasy genre that influenced the new generation of most iconic writers such as Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle and C.S. Lewis. The writing style is old-fashioned, characters naive, tradition......more

Goodreads review by Hailey on October 11, 2016

*Read for class*......more

Goodreads review by Sanjay on January 01, 2016

No wonder why Tolkien and CS Lewis admired this tale. A very fine and enchanting story.......more

Goodreads review by Barnabas on October 25, 2024

One of the best children's stories ever, and of course by that I mean one of the best stories for anyone.......more