Dealings with the Fairies and many more - The Princess and the Goblin

My daughter wanted to read this sequel to the Princess and the Goblin and she rated it 3.5 stars. The first half was disappointing because the princess was nowhere to be found! Once it got closer to the end and the princess entered the story, she loved it! She is 9 and was able to read and understand this story independently.

In the great style of George MacDonald, the story of the princess and Curdie comes to a marvelous ending, although it would have made me happier if it would have went on another round. As one before me has stated, if the first book was about the princess, this one is more about Curdie. But if you can look outside the"box", as I'm sure from this realm come his creations, there is more meaning hidden throughout the story than meets the eye. A very good read, if you like this kind of literature. If not, you'll not understand it and therefore will not like it. If you haven't read it yet, also read his book, The Wise Woman. (Also called The Lost Princess) You'll find the old princess there, as well.

Highly readable. Rich and delightful. A treasure for any avid reader. Amazing storytelling. Refreshing reverence for decency, honesty, integrity and self sacrifice. In this story and in The Princess and Curdie, I found hope, instruction in ways of rightness, and a wonderful reminder of the peace that can come with a clear conscience. These stories are simply superb on many levels.

We read this as part of our homeschool curriculum and my nine and four year olds both thoroughly enjoyed this tale. There was bravery, chivalry, suspense, and some mystery, too. My nine year old son said it was the best book he ever heard. He identified closely with Curdie, one of the main characters, And of course my four-year-old daughter identified with Princess Irene. As our read-aloud, I enjoyed the story as much as my children and learned several valuable lessons about faith in what is unseen.

There were numbers throughout the book in brackets that I thought were footnotes, but nothing in the back. Some lines reprinted twice or the same line in another section. Seems like it was hastily reprinted. Otherwise, I am following the story pretty well; and I think it's a good story.

I enjoyed the story but was disappointed to find out it wasn't a complete copy of the original. From what I have read of other reviews this version has omitted elements that are important to the understanding of the book as a whole. It is unfortunate that those pieces are missing. So I can't give it a 5 star rating.

The Princess and the Goblin is a truly delightful tale that is beautifully told by George MacDonald and deserves five stars. But, I will not attempt to review the story itself, for there are such wonderful descriptions and testimonies from other reviewers on this page concerning the content of MacDonald's work. However, I would like to describe the Puffin Classics edition in a little more detail. Please be aware that the Puffin's paperback cover is very soft and not as durable as other paperback covers. As well, the paper quality is rather grainy, which may not hold up well in the years to come. Thus, I have allotted this product four stars. On a positive note, I am pleased that the publishers kept the nostalgic illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Also, this copy has been edited well for typos and simple mistakes. With these particular points in mind, I would like to encourage the potential buyer to consider other editions of the text as well. Everyman's Childrens Library (The Princess and the Goblin (Everyman's Library Children's Classics Series)) has produced a hardback copy, which may be a better choice if the copy is to be given to a child. Also, for the MacDonald researcher or literary student, I would highly recommend the Johannesen edition(The Princess and the Goblin (George Macdonald Original Works)) since it is an authoritative edition. However, when it comes to the price, the Puffin Classics edition can not help but to be rather tempting. I hope these few notes have been helpful - Happy shopping.

This was a fun quick read! I am still contemplating on all of the unspoken meaning that this book presented! It was very well written and any age from pre teen to older and wiser would appreciate this wonderful book!

George MacDonald, one of the author's who inspired C.S. Lewis offers a creative adventure in the Princes and the Goblin that is comparable in content and quality to the better known Chronicles of Narnia. In the Princes and the Goblin, McDonald paints a picture of what it means to place faith and trust in the unseen powers. Like Chronicles of Narnia, the Princes and the Goblin is written from a Christian prospective, although the Christian perspective is less obvious than in Chronicles of Narnia.

George MacDonald, one of the author's who inspired C.S. Lewis offers a creative adventure in the Princes and the Goblin that is comparable in content and quality to the better known Chronicles of Narnia. In the Princes and the Goblin, McDonald paints a picture of what it means to place faith and trust in the unseen powers. Like Chronicles of Narnia, the Princes and the Goblin is written from a Christian prospective, although the Christian perspective is less obvious than in Chronicles of Narnia.

This was a great book. Probably meant for a well read 10 to 12 year old but very entertaining for a quick adult read. I checked this book out because I read somewhere online that if Tolkien was the Father of the Fantasy Fiction Genre, George MacDonald was the Grandfather. I wasn't disappointed. It is also refreshing to see a book portray both the girl and boy characters in the book as strong and brave within their sphere unlike the trend of the last couple of decades in which men are portrayed as drama queens, and women are portrayed as brave only when they unrealistically act like men.

I have read a lot of George MacDonald. His books vary in quality a great deal. Many people had recommended The Princess and Curdie to me, so I finally read it. This is not, in my opinion, one of his better fantasies. By far his best story, in my opinion, is the Light Princess (clever, playful, but also rich in symbolism and allegory, with characters that one comes to care about).

This story has so many other meanings to think of while reading. It was very good except I feel it ended very abruptly. Gave a severe turn of events and stopped. I guess I don't know how else it could have or should have ended! So many underlying messages!

George MacDonald wrote for children, but he wrote the kind of fairy-tales grown-ups can enjoy reading to them. It is easy to see how his style of writing inspired Chesterton and Lewis. Softly moralizing while telling an exciting story. I loved the book, and intend to read the rest of the series.

Highly recommended.

This a lovely sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin". If you liked that you will enjoy this book as well. It is a lovely fun read. MacDonald manages to teach life lessons without boring the reader.

George MacDonald's lovely story has been absolutely butchered by this so-called "publisher". There are rampant grammatical errors throughout the book- punctuation, capitalization, formatting errors and so on. The binding appears to have been constructed by someone who had never in fact seen a book before, and thus is lacking most of the standard elements that make up a book. No title on the spine, no evidence of original publishing history, no half title-page, no endpapers, no table of contents. Worst of all (yes, it gets worse) is the blurb on the back cover- it reads like a third-grader's book report, and gives away key elements of the story. I am BEYOND disgusted with the quality of this publication. Who ARE these people?

I remember watching the cartoon version of this when I was a kid, and it was very dark. The novel(la?) does have a slightly different plot, but I think they both have their merits. The memory of the music and the visuals from the movie merely enhanced my experience of the book. I would recommend it to any fantasy lover/purist.

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 central and memorable character. The goblins are wicked but not too scary. The descriptions of the [Welsh?] landscape are vivid, and the relationship between the princess and the humble miner's son, Curdie, speaks of breaking down class barriers.

Immediately after we finished reading the first novel in this two-part series, The Princess and the Goblin, I bought this one to continue the journey with Princess Irene.

I cannot say that it is quite as captivating for me as the first book, but my son seemed to be just as taken with the story. It's a very enjoyable read, with enough of a fleshed-out plot to keep my boys' attention, and to prevent me from being bored while reading it to them!

If you have kids who enjoy reading (or being read to), you won't regret purchasing this book.

Even though this is a children's book, perhaps for grades 5 or 6, it was written beautifully and held my attention throughout the entire book. For adults who enjoy reading fantasy books, this one is a must.

There are more exciting literary adventures and typically with a less-peculiar cast. I normally don't read books in a series back-to-back, unless I can't resist. After reading the previous installment I couldn't wait to get into this one! It is sweet and amazingly prophetic and insightful for society today. Give Curdie a chance.

This book has some very good advice that should be taken into consideration by everyone. It is a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. I learned new words. It has situations that if everyone followed the advice the author gives, our country and world would be a much better place. I highly recommend this book.

This is a beautifully bound book with classic illustrations and easy to read text. This was one of my favorite books as a child and I was really happy to share this copy with my daughter. It has a nice hard cover so it will last and hopefully she can read it with her own kids. I thought it was a good value.

I was so excited to discover this audio book since the story itself is around 150 years old. My [...] daughters loved the book so much and wanted me to read it to them again. I wanted to move on to other books so I bought this and it is wonderful. Ian Whitcomb reads slowly enough for children to grasp the meanings that are profoundly simple while they listen and think at the same time. They had many questions to ask me about the meaning of things in life after listening to this. At the conclusion of the over 5 hour reading, of course listened to it over a few days, they asked to hear it again. It was a delight to me as well since I have listened to other readers talk so fast that much of the story was missed.

Written for children, the story is overly simplistic. Children act significantly more mature than adults? The guards seem to be completely incompetent yet the king completely trusts them with his daughter's life!

As a children's fable, it's pretty good. It does moralize a little too much, again probably because it was written to children.

Such a wonderful book, I enjoyed every page. George Mac Donald was a master of fantasy and faith. Every child from 5 to 90 will enjoy this series. This is a book that I will share with friends, children and grandchildren.

Great fantasy that portrays truth of the Christian's life. Following the fine thread into the goblin cave to find Curdie is such an excellent picture of our life of faith in dark times. Also the mysterious Queen Irene's description has marvelous symbols of the coals in the fire or the thread she weaves.

Great story. Moves well and keeps you hooked. My 10 year old daughter and I both loved it. Tried to read "Phantastes" by MacDonald and couldn't get into it, but "Princess and the Goblin" is a delight.

A classic fantasy book for children. A thrilling and magical adventure.
I loved it when I was a child. Tolkien liked it too, and when he wrote The Hobbit he was influenced by MacDonald's description of goblins.

I grabbed this knowing it wouldn't be the suspenseful, modern read you get nowadays, but figured that the man who largely inspired CS Lewis (plus saw a movie based on this book as a child) was worth checking out.

It was a bit slow because (kind of like Tolkien) MacDonald tends to tell you what is going to happen so there isn't too much question in your mind. However, there was some beautiful imagery--the mountain, the great-great-great....great grandmother, the palace, the goblins' pets--and some really important comments. (MacDonald was a Christian minister, and you can definitely see where he's coming from, but I think most of his comments about beliefs and our behavior towards each other are universal). One of my favorites: "People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those that believe less."

Finally, you have to love both Curdie and Irene. They both make mistakes, but they are also courageous and doing their best. Their fight and reconciliation is funny and a good point about trusting others and seeing things from others perspectives. I would heartily recommend this if you've the time--especially as a story that you could read aloud with a child or a friend.