Admired by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis and considered by W. H. Auden to be "the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books," The Princess and the Goblin is a classic example of nineteenth-century children's literary fairy tales. This is an ageless tale of courage and loyalty, beauty and mystery, and above all, good and evil.

The discovery of a secret stairway running to the top of the castle where she lives leads Princess Irene to a revelation even more weighty than the fiendish plans of the goblin community that Curdie, a miner boy, has discovered. Will the Princess and Curdie understand the significance of what they have found, or will Harelip and the goblins successfully execute their evil plan?