The Ordinary Princess - M. M. Kaye

Date of Reading: 18/05/2016

Author: M. M. Kaye

Illustrations: M. M. Kaye

Publisher: Puffin Books

Place: New York

Year: 1980

Rating: 4.5/5

           You could never be too old to enjoy this amazing fairy tale novella. In a world which considers external beauty synonymous with internal purity this is a novelty to cherish. As the author informs us in the foreword our fairy tale genre keeps silent on the situation of gawky, snub-nosed, mouse coloured hairy princesses. It looks like the cutey princes had eyes only for those "lissome Royal Highness with large blue eyes and yards of golden hair and probably nothing whatever between her ears!" (Blimey! Is the real life any different???) 

          So Kaye has come up with the story of Princess Amy who is gifted with ordinariness in her birth, a gift that made her free from the boring courtly life of rules and restrictions. I have never found a book so wickedly funny and even if you know how it will end (as always with all fairy tales), the narration combined with the wonderful illustrations will keep you engaged throughout the story.

    Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne is the seventh princess of the kingdom of Phantasmorania. As per tradition a grand christening was scheduled as she was the seventh child and even the fairies were invited who gave her gifts of charm, courage, health etc. But the last and the most powerful of fairy godmothers gave her the gift of ordinariness and her life changed from that moment onward.

         Unlike her six beautiful elder sisters, seventh princess now called as Amy grew up as a brunette with snub nose and freckles. And unlike them she enjoyed life playing in the woods not bothered by the court life etiquette. While all the others were married off to handsome princes, no one came to seek the hand of ordinary princess, not that she was worried about it. In a desperate stage, king decides to bring a dragon to lay waste to the countryside and the prince who slays the fiery creature can be offered the hand of Amy provided that he never sets eyes on her before marriage.

         Appalled by this news Amy runs away from the palace to live in the Forest of Faraway where she makes friends with Peter Aurelious, the crow and Mr. Pemberthy, the squirrel. When her clothes get shabby and torn she obtains the job as 14th assistant kitchen maid in the castle of the king of Ambergeldar where she meets Peregrine, a man-of-all-work. They become great friends and enjoy the picnics in the forest.

         He soon finds out that she is a princess and Peregrine, it turns out to be King Algernon of Ambergelder who is as ordinary as Amy. Peregrine sends her home so that he can send a betrothal request to her parents and they are married to the great joy of everyone.

Something to ponder . . .

M. M. Kaye

". . . for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world. Not that it ever worried the Ordinary Princess" - 17

"Doing things you aren't supposed to do always seems more fun than doing things you are" - 48