Curdie was the son of Peter the miner. He lived with his father and mother in a cottage built on a mountain, and he worked with his father inside the mountain.

A mountain is a strange and awful thing. In old times, without knowing so much of their strangeness and awfulness as we do, people were yet more afraid of mountains. But then somehow they had not come to see how beautiful they are as well as awful, and they hated them-and what people hate they must fear. Now that we have learned to look at them with admiration, perhaps we do not feel quite awe enough of them. To me they are beautiful terrors.

The Princess and Curdie

"Come oot o' the gutter, ye nickum!" cried, in harsh, half-masculine voice, a woman standing on the curbstone of a short, narrow, dirty lane, at right angles to an important thoroughfare, itself none of the widest or cleanest. She was dressed in dark petticoat and print wrapper. One of her shoes was down at the heel, and discovered a great hole in her stocking. Had her black hair been brushed and displayed, it would have revealed a thready glitter of grey, but all that was now visible of it was only two or three untidy tresses that dropped from under a cap of black net and green ribbons, which looked as if she had slept in it. Her face must have been handsome when it was young and fresh; but was now beginning to look tattooed, though whether the colour was from without or from within, it would have been hard to determine. Her black eyes looked resolute, almost fierce, above her straight, well-formed nose. Yet evidently circumstance clave fast to her. She had never risen above it, and was now plainly subjected to it.

Sir Gibbie

" De tous les arts dont il nous reste des vestiges, celui des indiens de la côte Nord-Ouest est certainement un des plus grands ".
Claude Lévi-Strauss

L'Art Haida

A short story derived from the Norwegian fairy "The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body".

Le cœur du géant

"The Christmas Stories and Poetry by George MacDonald: Illustrated" is a heartwarming and spiritually enriching collection of holiday tales and poems by the celebrated Scottish author George MacDonald. This anthology includes a selection of his most cherished works, such as "The Gifts of the Child Christ, " "A Christmas Carol, " "A Christmas Prayer, " "Christmas Meditation, " and more.

George MacDonald's writings are known for their profound spiritual insights and the timeless moral lessons they convey. In this collection, he brings the magic and wonder of Christmas to life through his storytelling and poetry. His works reflect the true spirit of the holiday season, emphasizing themes of love, compassion, and the deeper meanings of Christmas.

"The Gifts of the Child Christ" is a poignant story that explores the significance of giving from the heart, while "A Christmas Carol" invites readers into a tale of personal transformation and redemption during the holidays. MacDonald's poetry, including "A Christmas Prayer" and "Christmas Meditation, " offers reflections on the nativity and the profound spiritual significance of Christ's birth.

"The Christmas Stories and Poetry by George MacDonald: Illustrated" is a timeless and spiritually uplifting addition to your holiday reading list. It invites readers to contemplate the true meaning of Christmas and the values that make this season so special. Immerse yourself in MacDonald's heartwarming narratives and poetry, and rediscover the beauty and depth of the Christmas story.

Contents:

The Gifts of the Child Christ

My Uncle Peter 

Christmas Day and Everyday

The Christmas Child

Christmas Meditation

A Christmas Prayer

A Christmas Carol

Mary's Lullaby

Christmas-Day

That Holy Thing

Christmas

Christmas Song of the Old Children

King Cole

A Song for Christmas

The Christmas Stories and Poetry by George MacDonald - The Gifts of the Child Christ, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Prayer, Christmas Meditation and others

I HAVE been asked to tell you about the back of the north wind. An old Greek writer mentions a people who lived there, and were so comfortable that they could not bear it any longer, and drowned themselves. My story is not the same as his. I do not think Herodotus had got the right account of the place. I am going to tell you how it fared with a boy who went there.

He lived in a low room over a coach-house; and that was not by any means at the back of the north wind, as his mother very well knew. For one side of the room was built only of boards, and the boards were so old that you might run a penknife through into the north wind. And then let them settle between them which was the sharper! I know that when you pulled it out again the wind would be after it like a cat after a mouse, and you would know soon enough you were not at the back of the north wind. Still, this room was not very cold, except when the north wind blew stronger than usual: the room I have to do with now was always cold, except in summer, when the sun took the matter into his own hands. Indeed, I am not sure whether I ought to call it a room at all; for it was just a loft where they kept hay and straw and oats for the horses.

At the Back of the North Wind

With only her nurse, Lootie, for company, Princess Irene leads a lonely and sheltered life in her mountainous kingdom. She is unaware that goblins live in the underground mines, or that they are planning a war against those who live above the ground. With her new, plucky friend Curdie and the help of her otherworldly great-great-grandmother, Princess Irene hatches a plan to defeat the goblins and save her kingdom. Published in 1872, George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin has been translated into numerous languages and has been adapted for film and television, most notably as part of the popular Fractured Fairy Tales series in the 1960s. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

The Princess And The Goblin

Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one. I feel ill-used." So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it. But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was. Then the king grew very cross indeed. But the queen pretended to take it all as a joke, and a very good one too.

"Why don't you have any daughters, at least?" said he. "I don't say sons; that might be too much to expect."

"I am sure, dear king, I am very sorry, " said the queen.

"So you ought to be, " retorted the king; "you are not going to make a virtue of that, surely."

But he was not an ill-tempered king, and in any matter of less moment would have let the queen have her own way with all his heart. This, however, was an affair of state.

The queen smiled.

"You must have patience with a lady, you know, dear king, " said she.

She was, indeed, a very nice queen, and heartily sorry that she could not oblige the king immediately.

The Light Princess

Il giorno del suo ventunesimo compleanno, Anodos riceve le chiavi di un vecchio scrittoio ereditato dal padre. Dopo averne aperto alcuni cassetti e aver forzato un piccolo scomparto nascosto, appare d'improvviso una minuscola figura femminile: è lì per esaudire il suo desiderio, espresso distrattamente la sera prima, di trovare la strada per la Terra delle Fate. Quando il mattino successivo si sveglia, il ragazzo scopre che un rivolo d'acqua limpida scorre sul tappeto, che le decorazioni di fiori e foglie si muovono a una leggera brezza, che il mobile di quercia vecchio stile sta diventando un albero: l'intera stanza si sta trasformando davanti ai suoi occhi in un portale che si apre proprio su quel mondo fatato. Scorto un sentiero appena tracciato che conduce verso il bosco, lo segue istintivamente, preso da un'attrazione irresistibile. Tra le fate e i folletti, i vecchi libri e le bellissime fanciulle, il viaggio si rivelerà assai arduo. Anodos cadrà in errore e si risolleverà molte volte, ma dovrà percorrere la strada fino in fondo per poter crescere davvero e giungere a una forma più alta di consapevolezza."Phantastes" fu pubblicato il 28 ottobre 1858. Il romanzo era talmente enigmatico e ricco di riferimenti alla letteratura, alle religioni e al folklore che i lettori ne rimasero sorpresi. In maniera del tutto nuova, George MacDonald si era allontanato dai canoni editoriali dominanti dell'età vittoriana e aveva affidato alla pura immaginazione la sua indagine della realtà, rendendo "Phantastes" la sorgente da cui tanti autori della letteratura fantastica attingeranno, da Lewis Carroll a C. S. Lewis. La traduzione offerta ai lettori dalla casa editrice flower-ed, integrale e annotata, è arricchita dalla Prefazione di Lorenza Ricci ("Sia il tuo cuore una sorgente") e dalla Postfazione di Michela Alessandroni ("Specchi magici, cicli e alchimia").

The Princess and Curdie

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