The Princess and the Goblin
by
Princess Irene's discovery of a secret stair leads to a wonderful revelation. At the same time, Curdie overhears a fiendish plot by the goblins. Princess Irene & Curdie must make sense of their separate knowledge & foil the goblins' schemes.
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 since; in neither scope, story, characterisation or complexity. On the other hand, it is a rather enjoyable little fairytale, and it does have its positive sides.
Mostly, though, this book is not really one you read for fun. Except maybe if you’re eight years old and have never read a fantasy book. If that is not the case, this book is more an object for study than a source of entertainment. It’s a satisfying read because it gives an impression of what fantasy was like in the 1800s, but that unfortunately also means that it gives an impression of what fantasy was like before it got really good.
It is of course very dated. It does not match the standards that fantasy have created since; in neither scope, story, characterisation or complexity. On the other hand, it is a rather enjoyable little fairytale, and it does have its positive sides.
Mostly, though, this book is not really one you read for fun. Except maybe if you’re eight years old and have never read a fantasy book. If that is not the case, this book is more an object for study than a source of entertainment. It’s a satisfying read because it gives an impression of what fantasy was like in the 1800s, but that unfortunately also means that it gives an impression of what fantasy was like before it got really good.
(Markus - a reader)
Also, a book I read for my Children's Literature class!
I thought this book was good, but definitely not my favorite. I didn't really like MacDonald's writing style, especially when he broke the 4th wall and kept refusing to describe things while also describing them (like "I COULD tell you what this looked like, but I really can't."?????). He sorta got on my nerves. Another thing that I didn't really like was that MacDonald didn't explain everything! Like, for instance, what the heck was up with Irene's great-grandmother? WAS SHE EVEN REAL? Maybe he was trying to get the reader to interpret it for themselves, but come on, I'm not down for that. Just tell me, please!
I did like that it was very fairy tale-like, though! I absolutely love fairy tales, if you didn't know.
Also, another cool fact that I learned in class today was that MacDonald inspired Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in writing Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, respectively. Isn't that cool?
So all in all, I liked some aspects of it and didn't like others. Duh.
Zoë - a reader.
Enjoy the story!
I thought this book was good, but definitely not my favorite. I didn't really like MacDonald's writing style, especially when he broke the 4th wall and kept refusing to describe things while also describing them (like "I COULD tell you what this looked like, but I really can't."?????). He sorta got on my nerves. Another thing that I didn't really like was that MacDonald didn't explain everything! Like, for instance, what the heck was up with Irene's great-grandmother? WAS SHE EVEN REAL? Maybe he was trying to get the reader to interpret it for themselves, but come on, I'm not down for that. Just tell me, please!
I did like that it was very fairy tale-like, though! I absolutely love fairy tales, if you didn't know.
Also, another cool fact that I learned in class today was that MacDonald inspired Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in writing Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, respectively. Isn't that cool?
So all in all, I liked some aspects of it and didn't like others. Duh.
Zoë - a reader.
Enjoy the story!
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