Summary
Summary of A Double Story
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Two lives share one fault
A Double Story brings together two girls whose lives look very different: a princess and a shepherd’s daughter. Both have received plenty of attention but too little correction, and both have grown selfish. Their shared fault matters more than the distance between their homes.
George MacDonald places a mysterious Wise Woman beside them, a guide whose care includes firmness. The tale asks how pride can be cured, and how love can help a child grow rather than simply satisfy her wishes.
Key idea 2
Rosamond expects every wish granted
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Key idea 3
Agnes mirrors the princess
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Key idea 4
Firm care enters their lives
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Key idea 5
Change must be put into practice
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Key idea 6
Selfishness makes its owner unhappy
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Key idea 7
Wonder makes the moral visible
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Key idea 8
Love sometimes refuses to give in
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love fairy tales with a moral heart, parents and teachers seeking stories about character, and fans of C. S. Lewis, who admired MacDonald.
What this book is
A Double Story is a fairy tale by the Scottish writer George MacDonald, published in 1875. Later editions often carry the title The Wise Woman. It follows two girls who live very different lives and share one fault. One is a princess. The other is the daughter of a shepherd. Both have been given too much attention and too little correction, and both have grown selfish.
MacDonald wrote for children, but he never talked down to them. He was a minister before he was a full-time author, and he believed a story could shape a heart better than a sermon could. In this book he gives you a patient, strange and often funny guide, the Wise Woman, who cares enough about the girls to be firm with them. You get a tale about pride and its cure, told with plain warmth. Let us begin with the princess and how she came to be what she is.
In this summary
- 1A princess who expects the worldFree
- 2A shepherd's daughter with the same fault
- 3The Wise Woman takes charge
- 4Change comes through plain, hard work
- 5What the story says about selfishness
- 6How the tale is told
Key point 1 of 6
A princess who expects the world
The story opens with Rosamond, a king's daughter. Everyone around her treats her as the centre of the world. She has servants, comforts and a great deal of praise. What she does not have is anyone who tells her no.
MacDonald shows how this goes wrong without any cruelty at all. Nobody means to harm her. They simply give in to her, because it is easier and because she is a princess. As a result she grows fretful, bossy and sure that every wish ought to be met at once.
The author is gentle but exact about her faults. She is not wicked in a grand way. Her failings are small and daily, such as temper, vanity and a habit of thinking first of herself. MacDonald knows that these small things can fill a whole life.
This opening matters because it sets the question the book asks. What happens to a child who is loved in the wrong way? The answer is not punishment for its own sake. The story soon makes clear that someone will have to undo the harm, and that this will not be pleasant for the girl.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What do Rosamond and Agnes have in common?
Right. “Both have been given too much attention and too little correction, and both have grown selfish.”Not quite. “Both have been given too much attention and too little correction, and both have grown selfish.”
How does the Wise Woman help the girls change?
Right. “The Wise Woman sets them in situations where their old habits fail them.”Not quite. “The Wise Woman sets them in situations where their old habits fail them.”
Why does the tale offer hope for selfish people?
Right. “Because the fault is learned, it can be unlearned.”Not quite. “Because the fault is learned, it can be unlearned.”
Questions about A Double Story
What is A Double Story by George MacDonald about?
It is a fairy tale about two spoiled girls, a princess and a shepherd's daughter. A mysterious Wise Woman works to cure their pride and selfishness, and the story shows how slowly and hard that change comes.
Is A Double Story the same as The Wise Woman?
Yes. George MacDonald first published the tale as A Double Story in 1875, and later editions often use the title The Wise Woman. It is the same fairy tale under another name.
Who is the Wise Woman in the story?
She is the guide who takes each girl in hand. She is patient, firm and a little mysterious, and she cares enough about the girls to correct them, which is why many readers see her as a wise teacher.
Is A Double Story hard to read?
No. The language is Victorian but clear, and the narrator speaks warmly to the reader. The pace is gentle and the tale is short, so it suits reading aloud to children or on your own.
What is the main message of A Double Story?
Selfishness is learned, so it can be unlearned. The book argues that spoiling a child does harm, that real change takes effort and honest guidance, and that wisdom means caring for others.
