The Princess and the Goblin / The Princess and Curdie

"The Children’s Stories [of George MacDonald] are of such a character that most of them could be read through by a child simply for the story. They all captivate the natural imagination by the vivid realisation of every-day things as in a beautiful dream. But for those who have eyes to see through the clear flow of the tale, the bed of truth can be plainly perceived under the running stream, that seems widening to the river and ever going onward to the infinite sea."

from the forward by Joseph Johnson