The Light Princess was first published in 1866 in Dealings with the Fairies (Alexander Strahan, London; see Dealings with the Fairies under “Books of Short Stories”).
The Light Princess tells the story of a princess afflicted by a curse of weightlessness, both literal and metaphoric, until an act of self-sacrificial love breaks the curse and she finds her gravity at last.
The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales contains the following stories:
The Light Princess
The Giant’s Heart (also known as “Tell Us a Story”)
The Shadows
Cross Purposes
The Golden Key
The Carasoyn
Little Daylight
“Death alone from death can save. Love is death, and so is brave. Love can fill the deepest grave. Love loves on beneath the wave.”
Recommended Editions and Adaptations
WRITTEN WORKS
Johannesen Publishing, in hardback: reproduced from the 1893 edition by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, with photolithography.
Edition illustrated by Tracy Wilson; published by The Works of George MacDonald
A look at:
— A vintage 1962 edition illustrated by William Pene Du Bois
— An edition illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Little Barefoot Books Edition, 1993, illustrated by Arthur Hughes
A variety of paperback editions are available on Amazon, some titled as above, others as “The Light Princess and Other Stories.”
OTHER MEDIA
Graphic Novel Edition: George MacDonald’s The Light Princess, Adapted by Meredith Finch, Illustrated by Renae de Liz and Ray Dillon. For a review by The Works of George MacDonald, click here.
London's National Theatre Production of The Light Princess, by Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson
Russian musical production of The Light Princess (and also see here) by Olga Lukmanova
Articles about The Light Princess and Other Fairy Tales
VARIOUS SOURCES
George MacDonald and the Light Princess by Bob Trexler
A mother’s perspective, by Tiffini Oporto
NORTH WIND ARCHIVE
The home page of the North Wind Archive can be accessed here.
“A Royal Pain: The Comic Spirit in George MacDonald's 'The Light Princess’ ”, by Greg Levonian
“Antigravity: Matter and the Imagination in MacDonald and Early Science Fiction”, by Elmar Schenkel
“Arthur Hughes' Illustrations for George MacDonald's Gutta Percha Willie: Parallels and Contrasts with 'The Light Princess’ ”, by John Docherty
“George MacDonald Then and Now: The Case of 'The Light Princess’ ”, by Roderick McGillis
“Language, Ideology, and Fairy Tales: George MacDonald's Fairy Tales as a Social Critique of Victorian Norms”, by Osama Jarrar
“Reading Scripture in Crisis: The Victorian Crisis of Faith and MacDonald's Response to Coleridge”, by Gisela Kreglinger