The Princess and the Goblin (1872) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Princess Irene: The princess of the land. She is about 8 years old.
• Curdie: A young miner about 12 years old.
• Queen Irene: The princess's great-great-grandmother and namesake, lives secretly in a tower.
• Lootie: Princess Irene's nurse.
• Curdie Peterson: A miner's son who helps the princess.
• Peter Peterson: Curdie's father, a miner.
• Joan Peterson: Curdie's mother.
• Helfer: A goblin; son of Glump.
• Glump: A goblin.
• Sir Walter: One of the king's manservants, protecting Irene.
• Harelip: The goblin-king's son.
• The goblin queen: She wears shoes made of granite. When Curdie takes one off she has toes.

Quotes edit see section history

• “What shall he call me, then, Lootie?" "Your royal Highness." "My royal highness! What's that? No, no Lootie, I will not be called names. I don't like them. You said to me once yourself that it's only rude children that call names; and I am sure Curdie wouldn't be rude.—Curdie, my name's Irene.”

  Irene and Lootie

• “No one understands animals who does not see that every one of them, even amongst the fishes, it may be with a dimness and vagueness infinitely remote, yet shadows the human…”

• “People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less.”

  Queen Irene

• “It was foolish indeed—thus to run farther and farther from all who could help her, as if she had been seeking a fit spot for the goblin creature to eat her in his leisure; but that is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we are afraid of.”

• “You confess, my boy, there is something about the whole affair you do not understand?....Then you have no right to say what she told you was not true....There is something you cannot explain, and her explanation may be the right one.”

  Joan Peterson

• “Seeing is not believing — it is only seeing.”

  Queen Irene

• “You are right. Curdie is much farther on than Lootie, and you will see what will come of it. But in the meantime, you must be content, I say, to be misunderstood for a while. We are all very anxious to be understood, and it very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary." "What is that, grandmother?" "To understand other people.”

  Queen Irene and Princess Irene

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• The king's palace: Built upon one of the mountains in the great country he rules. It is grand and beautiful. Where Irene was born.
• Irene's home: A large house, half castle, half farm-house. It is situated on a different mountain about halfway up the side.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Cob: An old word for spider; used by Curdie as a pejorative term for goblin.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The Princess and Curdie.

Preceded by The Cuckoo Clock, and followed by Nobody's Boy.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. George MacDonald (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Jessie Willcox Smith (Illustrator)
2. Arthur Hughes (Illustrator) - Original

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.8

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › Authors & Illustrators, A-Z › ( M ) › MacDonald, George
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( M ) › MacDonald, George
• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror › Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• The Princess and the Goblin: Read the book online at Project Gutenberg.

More Books Like This edit see section history