Audiobook · read by volunteers
Light Princess
George MacDonald (1824–1905)
Read by Fox in the Stars · 15 chapters · 1 h 44
About the book
Most fairy-tale princesses are cursed with a spinning wheel or a long sleep, but the princess in this story suffers something far stranger: her wicked aunt, in a fit of spite, takes away her gravity. She floats, laughs at everything and cannot take anything seriously, and she is in danger of drifting away altogether. Her parents struggle to cope with a daughter who cannot be kept on the ground, but nothing breaks the spell. Perhaps, suggests the tale, what she needs is to fall in love, though how a girl who cannot feel the weight of anything could manage that is another question. George MacDonald tells this comic fantasy with wit and warmth, full of puns and playful asides. Fox in the Stars reads the fifteen short chapters in under two hours, a delightful afternoon or bedtime treat.
Introduction
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish minister, novelist and writer of fantasy, whose imaginative stories influenced later authors, most notably C. S. Lewis. The Light Princess dates from 1864, and it is one of the most famous literary fairy tales of the Victorian period. It is a humorous, whimsical story that plays with the conventions of fairy-tale writing and often addresses the reader directly with jokes and puns.
The central idea is a single comic one: the princess has lost her gravity, in both senses. The pun between physical weight and seriousness drives the plot, and MacDonald uses it to reflect on love, sorrow and the way that real feeling gives a person depth. Behind the lightness lies a thoughtful story about what makes us human, and the ending carries an emotional force that surprises many first-time readers.
The audio edition has 15 chapters, with titles such as What! No Children?, Won't I, Just? and She Can't Be Ours. It runs for about 1.7 hours and is read by one LibriVox volunteer, who goes by the name Fox in the Stars.
Why listen today? The book is brief, funny and inventive, and it appeals to children and adults alike. Its jokes are well suited to a spoken performance, and its message about the weight of real feeling is gently conveyed. The story is also a fine example of how a Victorian author could address children and adults at once. Children enjoy the absurd premise and the floating scenes, while grown-ups can follow the more serious thread about feeling and sorrow that runs beneath. It is a rewarding listen on a quiet afternoon.
Public domain
George MacDonald died in 1905: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text