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The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics)
 
 
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The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics) (Paperback)

~ George Macdonald (Author), Arthur Hughes (Illustrator) "There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys..." (more)
Key Phrases: little miner, Royal Highness, Sir Walter
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)

Price: $3.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics) + The Princess and Curdie (Puffin Classics) + Lilith
Price For All Three: $16.93

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  • This item: The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics) by George Macdonald

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  • The Princess and Curdie (Puffin Classics) by George Macdonald

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  • Lilith by George MacDonald

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As always with George MacDonald, everything here is more than meets the eye: this in fact is MacDonald's grace-filled vision of the world. Said to be one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, 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." Simple enough for reading aloud to a child (as I've done myself more than once with my daughter), it's rich enough to repay endless delighted readings for the adult. --Doug Thorpe


Product Description

A little princess is protected by her friend Curdie from the goblin miners who live beneath the castle.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Puffin; Later printing edition (March 1, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140367462
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140367461
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #1 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > Macdonald, George
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    #1 in  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( M ) > MacDonald, George

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little miner
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Royal Highness, Sir Walter
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Customer Reviews

46 Reviews
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 (35)
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 (8)
3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (46 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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79 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a sense of the Holy, February 6, 2002
C.S. Lewis has written of encountering a sense of the holy while reading the works of George MacDonald. I agree with Lewis' assessment when it comes to "The Princess and the Goblin." Anyone who reads this book with profit by having done so.

First, and perhaps most importantly "The Princess and the Goblin" is a delightful story. There is a lot of the "just plain fun reading" stuff going on in this story. There is also a lot more.

MacDonald has buried a lot of treasures within the cave walls of his story. If the reader looks carefully as they follow the fates of Irene and Curdie, they will find these jewels just sitting there shining in the darkness, ready to be mined. There are nuggets of wisdom to be gained here in the dialogue, the narration, and in the overall arch of the story.

More than this, MacDonald's story features the best of what was Romantic literature and blends it with the greatest characteristics of fairy tales--then he turns convention on its head. Some examples:

-Whereas in fairy tales wisdom is associated with the old and knowledgeable, wisdom is here associated with innocence.

-While in traditional tales, it is the hero who saves the princess, here the princess must rescue the hero.

-Fans of modern fantasy may be used to Providential Guidance being related to male literary figures such as Tolkien's Gandalf, Lewis' Aslan. Here the figure is Feminine--the Grandmother.

In the process of playing off of and twisting traditional Romantic literature and fairy tales MacDonald manages to transcend both genres and create a truly original work of wonder.

I recommend the "Princess and the Goblin" most highly. Get it today. Just be careful that you don't pick up an abridgment--they tend to rip out the heart of the tale in an attempt to make the text more modern (neutered).

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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic well worth seeking out, October 1, 2000
This wonderful children's novel tells the story of eight year old Princess Irene. Cared for by her nurse Lootie, she lives in a mountain farmhouse while her father rules over the region from a mountain top castle. The local folk work as miners but are beset by the Goblins who inhabit the underground. Irene is saved from the Goblins by Curdie, a thirteen year old miner, and she in turn saves him. The whole thing is told in a pleasant conversational style and is filled with humor, word games, magic, derring-do, and pure wonderment.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dover Edition is not Unabridged, as marked on cover, October 14, 2005
By Unity Dienes (Hollis, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have two copies of this wonderful book in front of me...the Dover Juvenile Classics edition and the beautiful hardcover by Macmillan. Not only does the Dover edition omit all the sweet pictures, but right from the very first page it omits a sweet exchange between "Mr. Author" and an unnamed interlocutor--reminiscent of the story interruptions by the "real" Christopher Robin and the narrator of the Pooh stories. If something has obviously been cut out right from the first page, I'd bet other passages have been cut out, too. Perhaps this is unabridged from some version of the story, but it is definitely not the most complete text available. Stick to the hardcover or deluxe versions of the text for the real thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, a little slow
It took a while to come, but it did make it before the date it promised. Make sure you leave a week or so extra to make sure you get it. Great book though. Wonderful allegory.
Published 16 days ago by Leia

4.0 out of 5 stars The Princess and the Goblin
This classic 19th Century fairy tale still holds up 100 years later. George MacDonald was in a sense a feminist ahead of his time; the beautiful and mysterious grandmother is a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Lewis

3.0 out of 5 stars The Fantastic Imagination Didn't Feel Like Being So Fantastic Here
George MacDonald has produced some mind-blowing works in his lifetime, as demonstrated in The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics). Read more
Published 8 months ago by Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars Great set
These books are pleasing to look at, have heavy paper with beautiful illustrations. The cloth like hardcover and illustration are much prettier in person than in the photograph.
Published 13 months ago by Xy

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy Camper
Book arrived in very good condition and on time. Who could ask for anything more??
Published 15 months ago by Sharon Larson

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Victorian
This is one of the books that JRR Tolkien used to read to his children. It was published around 1872 and it has a very Victorian vibe to it. Read more
Published 16 months ago by B. Weaves

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story!
When I was 8, the same age as the girl in the story (a princess-of course!)I read this book time and time again. I couldn't get enough of it. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Janice Nelson

4.0 out of 5 stars A Few Pro's and Con's to the Puffin Classics Edition
The Princess and the Goblin is a truly delightful tale that is beautifully told by George MacDonald and deserves five stars. Read more
Published on August 3, 2007 by Jeffrey W. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best fantasy books period
So it's written for children but I could hardly tell the difference. The simplicity of the storytelling made it all the more appealing and the veins of courage, humilty, and human... Read more
Published on June 18, 2007 by Shannon Wolosiewicz

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Fantasy Tale
Macdonald inspired C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. He is the father of modern fantasy. This is one of his best. Read more
Published on April 16, 2007 by ancientexplorer

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