1 h 42 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a princess can float above the ground, yet cannot feel the weight of anything?
A long-awaited daughter brings joy to a king and queen, but a forgotten christening guest turns celebration into trouble. The king's sister, Princess Makemnoit, lays a curse on the baby. Now the princess floats, laughs at everything, and cannot cry. Her anxious parents seek a cure, while the court's learned men offer theories that do not help.
In George MacDonald's The Light Princess, gravity means both physical weight and depth of feeling. Only in the lake does the princess find ease. But Makemnoit watches the place that gives her joy, and her anger remains. A prince from elsewhere wants to reach the princess, taking her seriously when she cannot take anything seriously herself.
What you’ll discover
- A curse with wit Follow a floating princess through a fairy tale built around the double meaning of gravity.
- Laughter without tears Meet a girl whose constant laughter hides an inability to feel deeply.
- A court of theories Enjoy MacDonald's playful treatment of learned men who cannot solve the king's problem.
- The lake's quiet promise Discover the water where the princess finds the ease that land cannot give her.
- Someone who takes her seriously Meet a prince who wants to reach the girl beyond her laughter.
Who will love it
For anyone who loves fairy tales with wit, wordplay and a hidden moral, and for parents who enjoy reading stories aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A forgotten guest brings a curse
- A princess who floats and cannot feel
- The court tries cures and fails
- Only the water gives her weight
- The witch plots and a stranger appears
- What the tale means and how it is told
Who’s who
- The PrincessA king's daughter cursed to float and laugh at everything, who cannot cry and who finds her only ease in swimming.
- The KingA loving and anxious father who forgot one guest and now struggles to find a cure for his daughter.
- The QueenThe princess's mother, devoted and worried, who shares the king's helplessness before the curse.
- Princess MakemnoitThe king's sister, a witch who feels slighted by the forgotten invitation and who lays the curse on the baby.
- The PrinceA young man from elsewhere who takes the princess seriously and wants to reach her.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 42 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear La princesa liviana in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
La princesa liviana
by George MacDonald · 1864
A witch steals a princess's gravity, leaving her floating and laughing, while a prince tries to reach her.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A forgotten guest brings a curse
The story begins in a kingdom where a king and queen have waited a long time for a child. At last a daughter is born, and the king prepares a grand christening. He sends invitations to everyone of note. But in his joy he forgets one person, his own sister, the Princess Makemnoit.
Makemnoit is a witch, and she is not a gentle one. She lives apart from the court, and she feels the slight deeply. In the fairy tales that MacDonald is playing with, an uninvited relative has a long history of turning up at a christening and doing harm. He knows his readers expect it, and he tells it with a wink.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about La princesa liviana
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Light Princess about?
It is a fairy tale about a princess whose witch aunt takes away her gravity, so she floats and laughs at everything but cannot cry. The story asks what weight, in body and in feeling, gives to a life.
When was The Light Princess written?
George MacDonald published it in 1864. It later appeared in a collection of his fairy stories. It is an invented fairy tale, not a true story, though it plays with old folk tale patterns.
What does gravity mean in The Light Princess?
Gravity has two meanings in the tale. It is the pull that holds us to the ground, and it is seriousness and depth of feeling. The princess loses both, and MacDonald plays on that double sense throughout.
The author
George MacDonald
1824–1905 · Scottish fantasy novelist and minister
George MacDonald (1824–1905) was a Scottish writer and Christian minister. Born in Huntly, Scotland, he later lived in England and Italy. He wrote novels, fairy tales, poetry and sermons. His books include Phantastes (1858), At the Back of the North Wind (1871), The Princess and the Goblin (1872) and Lilith (1895).
More by George MacDonald
All 8 books
Free
Free
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in fairy tales
See all
Free
Free
Free
