Audiobook · read by volunteers
Princess and the Goblin
George MacDonald (1824–1905)
Read by Lizzie Driver · 18 chapters · 5 h 31
About the book
Deep in the mountains lives the young princess Irene, in a great house where her nurse Lootie looks after her. One rainy day the girl climbs to a forgotten part of the building and discovers a mysterious great-great-grandmother with a secret of her own. Outside, a miner's son named Curdie knows something the household does not: beneath the hills a race of goblins is stirring, and they are not friendly. As evenings darken and strange noises rise from below, Irene and Curdie form an unlikely friendship that will test their courage and their loyalty. George MacDonald tells this fairy tale with humour, warmth and an unmistakable sense of wonder, and he speaks to the reader directly, as a storyteller by the fire might. Eighteen chapters, read by a single voice over about five and a half hours, make an ideal family listen for long evenings or journeys.
Introduction
George MacDonald, who lived from 1824 to 1905, was a Scottish writer and minister whose fantasy stories had a deep influence on later authors. The Princess and the Goblin was published in 1872 and is among his best-loved books for young readers. Its blend of adventure, imagination and gentle moral seriousness has kept it in print for well over a century.
The tale belongs to the tradition of the literary fairy story: a modern author inventing something with the feel of an older folk narrative. MacDonald fills it with homely details and mischievous asides, and he is generous with imagery of light, darkness and the underground. Readers often point to the way he treats children as intelligent and brave, and to how seriously he takes the world of wonder. A sequel, The Princess and Curdie, followed later.
This LibriVox recording has eighteen sections, some covering a single chapter and others several at once, and it runs for roughly five and a half hours. It is read by one volunteer, Lizzie Driver, whose steady voice suits the shifts between cosy nursery scenes and tense moments in the dark. Today it remains a rewarding choice for anyone who enjoys classic fantasy, whether they are listening with children or on their own. Many later writers of fantasy have acknowledged their debt to MacDonald, and listening to this book it is easy to see why: the underground tunnels, the mysterious thread and the old house at the top of the stairs all have a power that has not faded. It is a story that children can enjoy at one level and adults at another.
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