The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath

The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath, illustrated by Andre Castaigne

This romantic novel is based on the classic fairy tale The Goose Girl, published in the famous collection by the brothers Grimm in the second volume (1815) and adapted many times.

Harold MacGrath (1871-1932) decided to make the plot more complicated, introducing numerous interesting characters which sometimes made the reading a bit confusing, yet still very entertaining. Being first published in 1909 it's one of his typical novels with powerful emotional scenes and vivid descriptions directly calling for movie adaptations.

Such novels were especially popular around the turn of the 19th into the 20th century, following a well-established form about an American in an exotic rural environment (unnamed Eastern European country with German-speaking residents). There are international spies, a kidnapping, a crime plot, a love story, political intrigues, and mistaken identity, all resembling the 'original' story of the fairy tale, although adding many interesting layers to it.

Not to mention a lot of twists and thrills.

MacGrath made a silent movie adaptation too and it was filmed in 1915 with Marguerite Clark (1883-1940) in the title role. Unfortunately, the movie is lost and we'll very likely never get a chance to see it again. But we can still enjoy the lovely illustrations by Andre Castaigne (1861-1929).

Here they are:

While such reading looks a bit naive for the more experienced and demanding reader, it offers a lot of interesting and pretty well-developed characters from the beginning (causing some confusion to some readers) it's actually a pretty good time-killer book for a beach or a rainy afternoon.

So if you enjoy a well-written, captivating, although a bit predictable (being written after a fairy tale, after all, we can only expect a happily ever after, don't we) mix of adventure, romance, and mystery reading, with a setting just after the Civil War, this book can be an enjoyable companion for your next vacation.

Everybody who wants to explore more about the Goose Girl by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, read the next article:

https://charlesrobinsonillustrator.blogspot.com/2023/12/goose-girl.html