The Princess and Curdie
1883
The Princess and Curdie
1883
A year has passed since Curdie vanquished the goblins, but his true test has only just begun. The young miner is summoned by Princess Irene's enigmatic great-great-grandmother for a perilous mission: the king's own ministers are poisoning him, and only Curdie can infiltrate the palace and stop the conspiracy. What follows is a darker, more intricate tale than its predecessor. Curdie is given a strange companion, the grotesque creature Lina, whose terrifying appearance conceals a heart of fierce devotion. Together, they must navigate court intrigue, magical pruebas, and their own doubts. The story explores what it means to be tested, to be loyal despite fear, and to judge others not by their faces but by their deeds. MacDonald delivers a tale of courage and moral growth that understands children can handle genuine danger and difficult choices.
Editions
X-Ray
“There is this difference between the growth of some human beings and that of others: in the one case it is a continuous dying, in the other a continuous resurrection.””
— George MacDonald
“I don't know how to thank you.'Then I will tell you. There is only one way I care for. Do better, and grow better, and be better.””
— George MacDonald
“The boy should enclose and keep, as his life, the old child at the heart of him, and never let it go. He must still, to be a right man, be his mother's darling, and more, his father's pride, and more. The child is not meant to die, but to be forever fresh born.””
— George MacDonald
“Could you not give me some sign, or tell me something about you that never changes, or some other way to know you, or thing to know you by?"”
— George MacDonald
“Remember, then, that whoever does not mean good is always in danger of harm. But I try to give everybody fair play, and those that are in the wrong are in far more need of it always than those who are in the right: they can afford to do without it.””
— George MacDonald
“Then the great old, young, beautiful princess turned to Curdie.'Now, Curdie, are you ready?' she said.'Yes ma'am,' answered Curdie.'You do not know what for.''You do, ma'am. That is enough.””
— George MacDonald
“But it was little to Curdie that men who did not know what he was about should not approve of his proceedings.””
— George MacDonald
“I was doing the wrong of never wanting or trying to better. And now I see that I have been letting things go as the would for a long time. Whatever came into my head I did and whatever didn’t come into my head I didn’t do.””
— George MacDonald
“A mountain is a strange and awful thing. In old times, without knowing so much of their strangeness and awfulness as we do, people were yet more afraid of mountains. But then somehow they had not come to see how beautiful they are as well as awful, and they hated them--and what people hate they must fear. Now that we have learned to look at them with admiration, perhaps we do not feel quite awe enough of them. To me they are beautiful terrors.””
— George MacDonald
