When Princess Irene discovers a secret staircase that leads to the top turret of the castle, she's shocked and delighted to find her great-grandmother. But at the same time, Irene's friend Curdie, the miner's son, overhears a goblin plot to overthrow the kingdom. When the pair meet, it will take all their wit and courage — and the help of Irene's magic ring — to make sense of their separate knowledge and foil the goblins' schemes — and for Curdie to learn from Irene that sometimes "you must believe without seeing."
George MacDonald's pioneering fantasy novel, featuring one of the first independent princesses, is a strange tale in which things are rarely as simple as they seem! Young readers will love the just-suspenseful-enough story and the fun fantasy adventure of this tale. This Puffin Classics edition includes new elements, including an author profile, a who's who guide, and an introduction by author Ursula K. LeGuin.
"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.... 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, Amazon.com Reviews
Recommended Age | 8 - 12 |
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Author | George MacDonald |
ISBN | 1619492253 |
Publication Date | Dec 25, 2011 |
Publisher | Empire Books |
Language | English |