Name: The Little Lame Prince
ISBN: 9781426407550

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

The Little Lame Prince

Sarah Sammis

The book came with a sentimental recommendation from a dear friend. I was reading an old, well-read copy with delightful illustrations. Despite all these positives, I loathed the story.

Prince Dolor is paralyzed by his nurse, orphaned and locked away in a tower all in the first chapter or two. Before all this tragedy is heaped on Craik manages to create an interesting kingdom rich with traditions but she tosses this all aside to instead create a miserable childhood for her royal protagonist.

I realize that the orphan protagonist is a mainstay of the fairytale and of children's fiction but it took a potentially interesting fantasy story and turned it into just another run of the mill fairytale. The book does eventually redeem itself when the teenage prince confronts his uncle who usurped his throne and imprisoned him in the tower for all those years. His reaction to his imprisonment was interesting and and unexpectedly wise. But this moment of maturity from King Dolor is short-lived and the book goes back to being just another fairytale.

So out of fourteen chapters, it has two brilliant chapters and twelve ho-hum chapters. If you like Victorian fantasy and haven't read it, you should check it out. Harry Potter fans might also like it. Everyone else can take it or leave it.

The Little Lame Prince

Reviews