Synopses & Reviews
In this sequel to
The Princess and the Goblin, Curdie has returned to his life as a miner and has dismissed the supernatural happenings of the past, believing them to have been a dream. When Curdie callously wounds a pigeon, his conscience leads him to Princess Irene's mystical great-great-grandmother for help. She has him plunge his hands into a pile of rose petals that burns like fire. Extraordinarily, this grants him the power to see what kind of "animal" a person is at heart.
She then sends him on a quest, accompanied by a peculiar doglike creature named Lina, who was once a human. However, Curdie must resolve his own skepticism before he can use the powers granted him to defeat the evil that is threatening the future of the kingdom.
Synopsis
In this wonderful tale of adventure and courage, Princess Irene and Curdie—helped by a strange gift from the princess's great-great-grandmother and a monster called Lina—must overthrow a set of corrupt ministers who are poisoning the king.
About the Author
George MacDonald was a prolific author of both children's and adult books, including such classics as At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and Phantastes. His works were the inspiration for later writers, including G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. A consummate Scotsman, MacDonald was born on December 10, 1824, in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He was ordained as a congregationalist minister in 1845 and became a pastor at Arundel. This appointment did not last long, as he soon came into conflict with his parishioners and church because of his belief in purgatory and that all people eventually came into heaven, even animals.In 1852, MacDonald married Louisa Powell, with whom he had six sons and five daughters. He was forced to resign from his church position in 1853, and after a brief sojourn in Algiers for the sake of his health, he became a freelance preacher, lecturer, and writer. His literary breakthrough came in 1855 with the publication of the narrative poem Within and Without. In the two decades that followed, he gained increasing fame and success with his children's books but was never able to earn enough money to support his family. Luckily, in 1877 he was granted a pension at the request of Queen Victoria.MacDonald died on September 21, 1905, in Scotland. Coming soon...