The Princess and the Goblin

The Princess and the Goblin
Cover of the 1911 Blackie and Son edition, illustrator uncredited[1]
AuthorGeorge MacDonald
IllustratorArthur Hughes (serial and 1872 book)
GenreChildren's fantasy novel
PublisherStrahan & Co
Publication date
1872
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages308, 12 plates (1911, Blackie and Son, above)[1]
Followed byThe Princess and Curdie 
TextThe Princess and the Goblin at Wikisource

The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in the monthly magazine Good Words for the Young, beginning November 1870.

Anne Thaxter Eaton writes in A Critical History of Children's Literature that The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel "quietly suggest in every incident ideas of courage and honor."[2] Jeffrey Holdaway, in the New Zealand Art Monthly, said that both books start out as "normal fairytales, but slowly become stranger", and that they contain layers of symbolism similar to that of Lewis Carroll's work.[3]

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920
From The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920
  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 1911blackie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Eaton, Anne Thaxter (1969). Meigs, Cornelia (ed.). A Critical History of Children's Literature. Macmillan. p. 200. ISBN 0-02-583900-4.
  3. ^ Holdaway, Jeffrey (August 2005). "Eight Important works". New Zealand Art Monthly. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2009.