Who wrote 'The Princess and the Goblin'?

George MacDonald wrote “The Princess and the Goblin.” This Victorian children’s fantasy centers on Princess Irene, a lonely eight-year-old living in a mountain kingdom threatened by goblins beneath the earth.

The story first appeared as a serial in Good Words for the Young between November 1870 and June 1871. It was published as a separate book in 1872, with illustrations by Arthur Hughes. MacDonald’s tale combines fairy-tale adventure with Christian symbolism, moral courage, and questions about trust and obedience.

Irene meets her mysterious great-great-grandmother, while a young miner named Curdie helps protect her from the goblins. A magical ring and invisible thread guide Irene through danger, making the thread one of the book’s most memorable images.

The novel influenced later fantasy writers, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. MacDonald followed it with The Princess and Curdie, published in 1883. The goblins are not simply comic villains: MacDonald presents them as an underground people with a history of exile and resentment.