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King are in mortal danger, so Curdie realises why the Old
Princess has sent him: he must save the king (Irene's father) from a plot to poison him and steal his kingdom by forcibly marrying his daughter Princess Irene to an evil pretender. With the aid of the old Princess, who has been disguised as a housemaid, the king, his daughter, and the kingdom are saved. Curdie and Princess Irene are later married and rule the kingdom after the king dies. However, they have no children, and after they both die, the kingdom deteriorates until one day it collapses and is never spoken of again.
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burns his hands in her special fire of roses. His cleansed hands now possess the ability to be able to feel the hands of his fellow men and detect what kind of person (or beast) they are on the inside. She also gives Curdie's father a special emerald to keep while Curdie is away on the quest. If Curdie is in danger, the emerald will change colour, to alert his father to go after him.
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Having sneaked in to spy on what is going on and eavesdrop on the palace servants, Curdie realises that the King's "doctor" is actually slowly poisoning him. The palace servants and courtiers have all become morally corrupt and enemies of the king. No one can be trusted and both the
Princess and the
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The old
Princess gently tells Curdie of his wrong thinking, and he confesses. Because he now believes, the pigeon heals. He is then told to keep his bow and arrows but use them for good instead of bad things. The old Princess then tells Curdie he must go on a special quest. Before she sends him, she
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As the years go by, Curdie begins to hunt for pleasure. He also slowly begins to doubt Irene's story of her great-great grandmother. One day, he shoots down a white pigeon. Curdie then remembers Irene's tale of her grandmother's pigeons, assumes the one he has shot down was one of them, and becomes
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Curdie is given a monstrous yet friendly beast, Lina, as his only travelling companion. Lina saves him from many perils as they travel to
Gwyntystorm. Once they reach their destination, Curdie's task becomes clear: he finds himself at the King's palace, where the King lies weak and ill in his
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144:. The adventure continues with Princess Irene and Curdie a year or two older. They must overthrow a set of corrupt ministers, who are poisoning Irene's father, the king. Irene's grandmother also reappears and gives Curdie a strange gift. A monster called Lina aids his quest.
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Two years have passed since the last book, and
Princess Irene and her father go to Gwyntystorm, while Curdie (a miner boy who is the friend of the Princess) stays at home with his mother and father.
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aware of his folly. A light appears at the roof of the castle, and Curdie follows it. There, Curdie meets the old
Princess, who appears small and withered, contrary to Irene's descriptions.
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193:, and lauded the "awesome ugly monsters" and the quality of McDonald's prose, but criticized Curdie's power to assess moral worth by touch as "horribly
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for her 7th birthday as "a formative moment in literary life – and not in a good way", calling it "dark, dense, moralistic". At the
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Book Of A Lifetime: The
Princess and the Curdie, By George MacDonald
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REVIEW: The
Princess and Curdie, and Lilith by George MacDonald
232:; published october 9, 2009; retrieved November 2, 2018
250:; published July 5, 2010; retrieved November 2, 2018
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562:Novels set in mansions and country houses
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592:Children's books about princesses
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597:Children's books about monsters
537:Scottish children's literature
390:The Day Boy and the Night Girl
16:1883 novel by George MacDonald
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348:At the Back of the North Wind
506:Children's literature portal
362:The Princess and the Goblin
273:public domain audiobook at
141:The Princess and the Goblin
97:The Princess and the Goblin
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532:Novels by George MacDonald
355:Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
138:The book is the sequel to
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527:Children's fantasy novels
127:is a children's classic
22:The Princess and Curdie
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110:The Princess and Curdie
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557:British fantasy novels
341:Alec Forbes of Howglen
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207:References
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49:Children's
310:Works by
186:SF Signal
172:Reception
58:Publisher
485:Nycteris
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148:Synopsis
37:Language
247:SF Site
40:English
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