George Macdonald

The Princess and Curdie George Macdonald

George MacDonald's The Princess and Curdie is a children's fantasy novel. It is the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin. The Princess Irene and Curdie are now a year or two older, and must overthrow a set of corrupt ministers who are poisoning Irene's father, the king. Irene's grandmother also reappears and gives Curdie a strange gift and a monster called Lina to help his quest. Anne Thaxter Eaton writes in ''A Critical History of Children's Literature'' that ''The Princess and the Goblin'' and its sequel "quietly suggest in every incident ideas of courage and honor. Jeffrey Holdaway writing in New Zealand Art Monthly said that both books start out as "normal fairytales but slowly become stranger", and that they contain layers of symbolism similar to that of Lewis Carroll's work.