I didn't know, until the other day, that MacDonald was C. S. Lewis's mentor (thanks Denise!)
Turns out he also was a major influence on Tolkein, Auden, L'Engle, Carroll and even Twain. Guess I'm in good company!
Socially he hobnobbed with Thackeray, Dickens, Tennyson, Wilkie Collins, Longfellow, Whitman - well, really anybody who was anybody in those days.
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| Looks a bit like Rasputin - eek! |
The books we had were early editions that had been in our family for ages. I adored the beautiful evocative illustrations as much as the words. The stories involved a race of goblins who lived underground where they plotted to abduct the child Princess Irene and marry her to the goblin prince. The mastermind behind the scheme was Prince Harelip's mother, the Queen, whose feet sported toes, unlike the other goblins. She took great pains to hide her "deformed" feet from the other goblins, she probably feared they'd turn on her, I don't really remember much about her motivation as a character. I do remember that the goblins had extremely hard heads, to hurt them Curdie had to aim his miner's pick at their feet instead. Curdie and Princess Irene's goddess-like great great grandmother ultimately saved the day.
These stories inspired certain aspects of my novel TENDRIL.
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| Young Princess Irene & her Great Great Grandmother |
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| Older Princess Irene with Curdie |
What author from your own childhood inspired you?
