<P><B>Full of exquisite moonlit scenes that play out like dreams and underground escapades descending into nightmare, this is a must-read for all fantasy aficionados and fans of Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling</B></P><P>Eight-year-old Princess Irene lives a lonely life in a wild, desolate, mountainous kingdom, with only her nursemaid Lootie for company. She is protected from the outside world and oblivious to the existence of goblins, hideous creatures that live underground and only come out at night. One day, while out walking, Irene and Lootie get lost. As night falls, strange shadows creep out from under boulders and around corners, closing in on them. Terrified, they try to run but the goblins give chase. It is then they run into Curdie, the brave miner's son who knows how to scare the goblins away. He leads the pair to safety, back to the castle. While working late one night in the mines Curdie overhears the goblins' diabolical plan. The terrible goblin Queen plans to kidnap the princess and force her to marry her son, so humans will be forced to accept goblins as their rulers. Can they be stopped and the kingdom be saved before it is too late? Before the creation of Middle Earth or Narnia, George MacDonald was inventing wonderful kingdoms and populating them with magical creatures and enchanted beings, such as this unique, compelling fantasy.