The Princess and the Goblin

     If you like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, then you will like The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. C.S. Lewis even said himself, "I regard George MacDonald as my master."

     The Princess and the Goblin is the story of Princess Irene and young miner Curdie. The Princess lives in a house next to the mountain, and the mountain is full of mountain goblins. The goblins come out at night to pick on any stray travelers who come across their paths. The only way to scare the goblins off is to sing rhymes and not be afraid. Soon after Curdie saves Irene and her nurse from goblins he discovers a terrible plot being planned by the Goblins to attack Irene's mountainside home. The question is, will it be too late for him to save her?

     Just like Narnia, The Princess and the Goblin is full of magic and mythical creatures. Narnia is written in a similar fashion to George MacDonald's fairytale. With the basic foundations of believing without seeing, trusting when the path seems long and winding and does not go how you expect, and even the unexpected boy or girl can be a hero, or prince, or princess.

     One of my favorite quotes from this book is "People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less."

     This book was masterfully crafted and written, a beautiful read and great addition to anyone's (young or old) collection.



     One of the goals for this blog is to provide information for parents and readers alike to find 'clean' reads suitable for their children or themselves. In all my reviews I will mention general themes from the book, language, sexual/romantic interaction, and violence.

     Themes:
  Christian, fairytales, magic

       Language:
  None

       Sexual/Romantic Interaction
  Purdie and Irene kiss at the end

       Violence
  Goblins attack the house. Goblins and their 'pets' are killed and injured. Purdie is hurt, but Irene's grandmother heals him.

      I would give The Princess and the Goblin a rating of G

      On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = horrible, 2 = OK, 3 = I liked it, 4 = I really liked it, 5 = I loved it), I would give The Princess and the Goblin a 5