'They had enough of affection left for each other to preserve them from being absolutely cruel for cruelty's sake to those that came in their way but still they so heartily cherished the ancestral grudge against those who occupied their former possessions and especially against the descendants of the king who had caused their expulsion, that they sought every opportunity of tormenting them in ways that were as odd as their inventors and although dwarfed and misshapen, they had strength equal to their cunning.' “Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue.” Also, the beautiful descriptions and sweet flowing prose are enjoyable. The strong points are the magical atmosphere that is comforting, reminiscent of the later Tolkien’s work, The Hobbit, and the ideas that are imaginative and innovative. Miner boy Curdie is witty, clever and feisty, and goblins are ugly, grotesque and wicked. Princess Irene is the main protagonist, the example of strong morals and values present in a little girl with impeccable honesty, integrity and purity. The writing style is old-fashioned, characters naive, traditionally black and white, the plot simple and underwhelming, lacking the layers and complexity usually present in the genre, structurally more similar to fairy tales, representing the bridge between the folk tales and fantasy genre as we know it. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had 'made a difference to my whole existence.'Įlizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie, 'It moved me the way books did when, as a child, the great gates of literature began to open and first encounters with noble thoughts and utterances were unspeakably thrilling.'Įven Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.Ĭharming 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. A few hours later,' said Lewis, 'I knew that I had crossed a great frontier.' G. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his 'master': 'Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, MacDonald inspired many authors, such as G.K. He was educated at Aberdeen University and after a short and stormy career as a minister at Arundel, where his unorthodox views led to his dismissal, he turned to fiction as a means of earning a living. George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.

The princess and the goblin novel