George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie

Joshua Grasso (East Central University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of York), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1883

Places

Scotland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

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Though a sequel to MacDonald’s justly celebrated fairy tale,

The Princess and the Goblin

(1872),

The Princess and Curdie

is a much darker look into the forking paths of innocence and experience than his earlier book. Indeed, as his penultimate book of fiction (only

Lilith

would follow it), we find MacDonald at the end of his writing career, much as Lemuel Gulliver returned to his travels for a fourth and final adventure in Swift’s

Gulliver’s Travels

(1726). And like that famous work of fantasy, MacDonald can scarcely hide his scorn for the Yahoos (Gulliver’s humans) who have willingly debased themselves into all manner of senseless, sensual animals. As Gulliver writes at the end of Part IV, “And although it be hard for a Man late in Life to remove old Habits; I am not altogether…

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2628 words

Citation: Grasso, Joshua. "The Princess and Curdie". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 July 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24713, accessed 24 November 2024.]

George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie

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