The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald - Classic Fantasy Novel (Dodo Press Edition) | Perfect for Bedtime Stories, Homeschool Reading & Book Club Discussions

The story takes place in a land where men rule during the day, but the night is ruled by goblins and their creatures. Goblins used to live among men in the open air but they didn't like to pay taxes so they went underground and disappeared it seemed from the world of men all together. There living in dampness and without light the goblins changed in mind and body until they became short grotesque creatures who hated all men, especially the King and his descendants.Years later the good King who ruled the land at the time of this story had an eight year old daughter named Princess Irene. It is mentioned that Irene's mother was very sick when she was born, but since she isn't mentioned at all any further in the story it might be implied that she died. Since her King-Papa, who loved her very much, was constantly away traveling looking after his kingdom, he had to leave Irene in the care of a nurse named Lootie in a small castle, and provided her with all the amenities she would need to be looked after. He then would come to visit her there often on his travels with an accompaniment of his men at arms.One rainy day when the princess was bored she decided to go exploring the old castle by herself and discovers a stairway leading up to a hidden level of the house. There she meets her mysterious Great-Great-Grandmother Irene (whom she was named after) secretly living in the house. Her Grandmother has many magical powers and gives Irene a few small gifts to help protect her from harm. Her Grandmother also has the power to only let people find or see her whom she wishes to, so when Irene returns to her nurse, nobody believes her when she tells them about her Great-Great-Grandmother.Several days later when the sun finally comes out Irene has Looty take her for a long walk in the mountains to enjoy the fresh air and loses track of time. When darkness starts to fall the nurse panics and tries to rush the princess home but it won't be in time before the sun is going to set. No one has seen a goblin in years, but they still fear being out at night just in case.On the way they meet a brave little twelve year old boy named Curdie who was on his way home from working in the mines all day with his father Peter, and he escorts them home. From working in the mines Curdie has learned all the old ways to protect yourself from goblins so he doesn't fear them. He tells the Princess and Looty that he believes goblins will leave you alone if you aren't afraid of them, and that more than anything else they hate to hear rhymes. So all the way home he sings rhymes out loud to scare away any stray goblins. Irene promises him a kiss as a thank you for his troubles but Looty puts it off for a later time.The story then takes us back to Curdie's humble house where we meet his loving mother and father. Curdie is trying to save money to buy his mother a new coat for the winter, so the next few days he stays late in the mine and does some overtime work. During the night he discovers a family of goblins and by spying on them overhears part of a plan the King of the Goblins was working on to kidnap the Princess and to get rid of all of the miners.In order to discover the rest of their plan however, on the subsequent nights Curdie with his pick axe and a hand full of new rhymes has to sneak further into goblin territory. Not only does he risk having to fight off all the goblins and their pets if he is discovered, but if he loses his way he could be lost forever in the many caverns. By the time he does finds the King and Queen of the Goblins along with their son Prince Hairlip, and discovers the rest of their plan along with another of their vulnerabilities, he is so far gone into their territory that it looks like he may never make it home again unless he receives a lot of outside help.The Princess then proves to be just as brave as Curdie and comes to his rescue. Together with the magical powers of the Princess's Great-Great-Grandmother it all leads up to a great battle between the men and goblins.McDonald showed a lot of imagination in writing this great adventure. I'm sure my girl's who are eight and six will love it.The illustrations by Arthur Hughes were very good, but the goblins look more like silly little gnomes in his pictures rather than the grotesque creatures described in the book. I guess they wanted to scare the children who were reading the book, but just not that much.