The Princess Knight Book

Originally published in German as Der geheimnisvolle Ritter Namenlos (which can be roughly translated as the mysterious knight no-name), Cornelia Funke's clever tale of a little princess, who, after the death of her mother, is taught by her father the same lessons and knightly pursuits he is teaching his sons, is both entertaining and empowering (and a great story for ALL children, not just little girls).

Violetta is smaller than her brothers, and like many younger siblings, receives her share of teasing, although this really never gets out of hand. The brothers are just acting like typical older brothers, and they are not maliciously cruel, not the type of villainous siblings so often encountered in traditional folk and fairy tales. And because Violetta realises that the manner in which her brothers are being taught their knightly skills just does not suit her, she thus decides to learn these skills on her own (in secret), using her own (successful) strategies. While her brothers become tall and strong, Violetta (although small) becomes nimble and quick; and due to her gentle nature and manner, her father's horses love carrying her on their backs. However, King Wilfred finally realises that Violetta is not one of his knights, but a marriageable princess, and thus decides to hold a jousting tournament for his daughter's hand in marriage (something that Violetta definitely does NOT desire). And although I do majorly despise that the king at first shuts his daughter in the tower when she rebels against his wishes (and so appreciate the fact that her youngest brother offers to win the tournament to prevent her marriage), I would, however, agree with many of my Goodreads friends that while King Wilfred is rather clueless and insensitive, he does indeed finally accept his daughter's decision and clearly does love her dearly. When Violetta returns after a year and a day, the king gives her a horse as black as her armour, and she is allowed marry whom she desires, not who is chosen for her.

I have, unfortunately, not had the opportunity to read the original German version of The Princess Knight (something I do hope to remedy sooner rather than later). Thus, I cannot and will not say all that much with regard to Anthea Bell's translation (how true it is to the original, for example). But as far as the general narrative is concerned, I think that it flows well, is engaging, and also does not feel like a "translation" (in other words, Anthea Bell's words read and feel like an original, well-written text, something that I find both desirable and important, necessary in translated works, especially works of fiction). There is actually only one minor possible bone of contention for me, and that is the title. I personally believe that the English title really gives away a bit too much of the mystery, and I think a title closer to Cornelia Funke's original German title (perhaps something like The Mysterious Knight or The Mysterious Anonymous Knight), might have been a slightly better choice than The Princess Knight, but that is a minor and generally rather unimportant quibble.

Now at first, I did not really enjoy Kerstin Meyer's accompnying illustrations all that much. I was intrigued by the fact that she had used the famous Bayeux Tapestry as inspiration, but as I have never found the former all that aesthetically pleasing, I had a similar first reaction to Kerstin Meyer's illustrations. On reflection though, I do think that the illustrations are, in fact, a perfect complement to the text, to the entire theme of the story. They so perfectly capture the Mediaeval feel of The Princess Knight, the knightly pursuits and lessons, the jousting tournaments. While by themselves, Kerstin Meyer's illustrations would definitely not be personal favourites, in combination with the narrative, with the text, they become magical and fun, whilst also giving an air of delightful historical authenticity.