The Princess and Curdie

A dark shadow is looming over the kingdom of Gwentystorm. Even from the remote province where Curdie the miner boy lives, it can be felt. A year and a half has passed since Curdie and Princess Irene saved the kingdom from the plots of the goblins in the tunnels beneath their feet. The king and the young princess departed for the capital with promises of letters and presents, but the months have rolled on in suspicious silence, and the miner boy begins to wonder if he has been forgotten.

Now Irene’s mysterious great-great-grandmother summons Curdie to follow the princess’ footsteps to her castle, to discover what evil has been lurking there. With nothing but a motley horde of creatures to aid them, can the poor miner boy and the young princess confront the machinations of the castle’s twisted occupants? Can they overcome prejudice, treason, and the threat of foreign invasion to save the people of Gwentystorm from destruction?

This is George MacDonald’s classic tale from 1883, retold for modern readers.