Children's book: The Princess and Curdie

Overview
George MacDonald continues the fairy-tale world begun in The Princess and the Goblin by following Curdie as he grows from a brave miner's son into a young man entrusted with grave responsibilities. The tone is moral and adventurous, blending folkloric wonder with earnest Christian sentiment. MacDonald contrasts earthly power and petty ambition with inward holiness, using Curdie's loyalty and practical courage as the novel's moral center.

Plot Summary
Curdie, older and more experienced, is called to action when evidence of rottenness in the kingdom surfaces. Where once he battled goblins and attended to Princess Irene's safety, now he faces human wickedness: officials and conspirators whose ambitions threaten the common good. Guided by a strong sense of duty and a sparse but steady faith, Curdie sets out to discover the truth, expose corruption, and protect Irene and the rightful order of the realm.
The narrative unfolds as a sequence of discoveries and moral trials. Curdie uses his keen powers of observation and a practical, no-nonsense courage to investigate suspicious behavior, uncover plots, and confront those who would deceive or dominate others. Along the way he is tested: loyalty must hold when favors and status tempt him, humility must survive when praise is offered, and compassion must temper the urge for retaliatory justice. The story reaches its resolution when Curdie's truthfulness and steadfastness bring hidden crimes to light and restore a healthier balance to the kingdom.

Main Characters
Curdie remains the story's central figure, shaped by honesty, industriousness, and a physical courage born of mining life. He is earthy and straightforward, the embodiment of moral common sense, and MacDonald uses him to model how ordinary virtues change the course of public life.
Princess Irene retains her quiet, saintly presence. Though less the focus of peril than in the earlier tale, she serves as the moral compass and the object of Curdie's devotion. The princess's great-great-grandmother, an enigmatic and guiding figure, continues to represent wisdom that transcends the immediate politics of the court. The antagonists are human agents of selfishness and pride, more dangerous because they wear respectable faces and manipulate law and custom for private gain.

Themes and Moral Tests
The novel foregrounds the conflict between outward authority and inward righteousness. MacDonald insists that legal power without moral grounding becomes tyranny, and he shows how integrity, humility, and faithful service can outmatch cunning and corrupt influence. Curdie's encounters operate as moral tests: each choice reveals whether he will be shaped by love and truth or by fear and self-interest.
Forgiveness and correction appear alongside justice. MacDonald does not celebrate mere punishment; he values the reformation of character and the restoration of right relationships. The story stresses that leadership demands moral accountability and that the health of a kingdom depends on the private virtues of its citizens.

Style and Tone
The prose balances clear narrative momentum with lyrical, reflective passages that invite spiritual consideration. MacDonald writes with imaginative detail but without unnecessary ornament, trusting the story's moral clarity to engage readers. Humor and pathos alternate, keeping the tale lively while allowing its ethical lessons to land with quiet force.
The Princess and Curdie reads as an old-fashioned fairy tale updated by moral seriousness. It will appeal to readers who value stories where bravery is tested not only by physical danger but by the demands of conscience, where ordinary people make extraordinary differences by choosing truth and compassion over craft and ambition.