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Written by George MacDonald - Audio book performed by Ian Whitcomb - Unabridged Fiction - 5 COMPACT DISCS - 6 hours, 1 minute

Publisher, Tantor Media (1996)

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Young Princess Irene is sent to the country to be raised in a half farmhouse, half castle located in the side of a mountain. While exploring the top of the castle, Irene becomes lost and inexplicably finds her way to a mystifying and beautiful woman spinning a thread. Princess Irene is drawn to the woman whom she discovers is her great-great grandmother. But after she returns, her nurse, Lootie, refuses to believe in the old woman's existence and the young Princess cannot find the way back to her great-great grandmother.

Days later, while on an outing with Lootie, Princess Irene believes that she detects a Goblin. They meet a young miner, Curdie, who confirms her sighting. Soon Curdie discovers Goblins lurking under the castle that have constructed an evil plot against the king and his palace. Princess Irene's belief in her great-grandmother's powers becomes essential as she and Curdie work to foil the sinister Goblin plan. As the Princess tells Curdie, "sometimes you must believe without seeing".

About the Author: George MacDonald was a prolific authors of both children's and adult books, including such classics as At The Back Of The North Wind, The Princess & the Goblin, Lilith, and Phantastes. His works were the inspiration for later writers including G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The consummate Scotsman was born December 10, 1824, in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He was ordained as a Congregationalist minister in 1845, and became pastor at Arundel. This appointment did not last long, as his beliefs conflicted with his church and parishioners. The quarrel originated with his unorthodox views regarding who or what goes to purgatory and heaven.

In 1852 he married Louisa Powell, with whom he had six sons and five daughters. He was forced to resign from his church in 1853, and after a brief sojourn in Algiers for the sake of his health, became a free-lance preacher, lecturer and writer. His literary breakthrough came in 1855 with the publication of a narrative poem Within and Without. In the next two decades he gained increasing fame and success with his children's books, but was never able to earn enough to support his family. Luckily in 1877 he was granted a pension at the request of Queen Victoria.

After one of his daughters went to Bordighera Italy for her health, the MacDonalds fell in love with the area. They built a house there and spent most of each year in Italy until the death of Mrs. MacDonald in 1902. George died on September 21, 1905 in Scotland. Per his request he was buried beside his wife in Bordighera.