Princess Academy

Princess Academy (2005) is the first novel in the Princess Academy trilogy by American writer Shannon Hale. This children’s fantasy novel follows 14-year-old Miri Larensdaughter, who, along with other girls from her village, is sent to an academy to train for the chance to become the future bride of the prince. At the academy, Miri learns to overcome interpersonal conflicts with her rivals and a stern tutor, confront her fears and insecurities about her place in the village, and empower herself and others through their studies. 

Princess Academy received a number of awards and honors. It was named a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Children’s Book, and a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book. It was also a New York Times Best Seller.

This guide refers to the 2005 Bloomsbury e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, bullying, and child abuse.

Plot Summary

Miri Larensdaughter is a 14-year-old girl who lives in the small mountain village of Mount Eskel in the kingdom of Danland. The people of her village make a living by quarrying linder, a valuable stone. Miri longs to work in the quarry, but her father will not let her; Miri believes that this is because of her small stature, and it makes her feel unworthy. 

One day, a royal messenger arrives in the village with news: The prince’s future bride will be chosen from Mount Eskel, and all eligible girls between the ages of 12 and 17 must attend an academy to learn the skills necessary to be a princess. After this, they will meet the prince at a ball, and he will choose one of them to be his wife. Miri does not want to go to the academy, but she must. 

Miri reluctantly joins the other eligible girls at the academy, which is an old stone mason’s building outside the village. They meet their tutor, Olana Mansdaughter, a harsh woman who looks down on the illiterate mountain girls. Olana enforces her strict rules with cruel punishments, such as locking the girls in a dark closet, lashing their palms, or denying them meals. Though Miri initially considers running away, she decides to stay and prove that a mountain girl can be an academy princess. She dedicates herself to studying and quickly excels at reading. This impresses Olana but also creates a rivalry with the ambitious Katar Jinsdaughter, an older girl who is determined to be the next princess.

One night, Miri sneaks into Olana’s study to return books she secretly borrowed. When Olana catches her, she locks Miri in the closet as punishment. After hours in the dark, a rat crawls onto her braid; Miri is terrified and silently sings a quarry song to console herself. Olana finally lets her out after a younger girl, Gerti, reminds her that Miri is still in the closet. Later, Gerti says that Miri seemed to be using quarry-speech—a silent form of communication that the quarriers of Mount Eskel use. This is how Gerti realized where she was. Gerti’s revelation makes Miri curious, and she begins exploring this ability. Simultaneously, she also befriends Britta Pawelsdaughter, a 15-year-old lowlander who is living with relatives in Mount Eskel.

As Miri continues her studies, she becomes fascinated by the subject of commerce, learning that linder is far more valuable than what the villagers are paid for it by the traders. When the spring holiday approaches, Olana gives the girls an exam that they must pass to return home to celebrate the holiday. All the girls, except for Miri and Katar, fail the exam, and when a girl named Esa protests Olana’s decision, Olana prepares to lock Esa in the closet. Thinking quickly, Miri uses quarry-speech to lead the girls to escape to the village. They enjoy their spring holiday, and Miri dances with Peder Dodson, her childhood friend; she realizes that she has developed romantic feelings for him. Before the night ends, he kisses her on the cheek, calling her his best friend. 

Miri shares what she has learned about the value of linder with the villagers. Inspired, they decide to demand more from the traders for the linder, and this gradually ends up strengthening Mount Eskel’s economy. Miri’s sister, Marda, also theorizes that quarry-speech is connected to linder and passes memories between those who grew up near it. This explains why Miri is able to use quarry-speech even though she never worked in the quarry. 

The academy girls decide to use the ideas from their diplomacy lessons to return to the academy and negotiate with Olana to treat them better. Olana is impressed with their intelligence and agrees to their terms. During a rest day in the village, Doter, Peder’s mother, reveals to Miri that the reason why her father doesn’t let her work in the quarry is because Miri’s mother died after a quarry accident. She was pregnant with Miri at the time, and Miri was born prematurely. Miri feels like she understands her father better after this revelation. She also begins teaching Marda to read and finds this fulfilling.

As the ball approaches, Olana gives the girls a final exam, and Miri uses quarry-speech to help them all pass so that they can go to the ball. When the exam results in a tie, the girls vote for Miri to be the academy princess, though the prince will make the final decision about who he will marry. This upsets Katar, who reveals that she wanted to be the princess to escape the village, never having formed any bonds there. 

When the prince and his attendants arrive, Britta falls sick and cannot attend the ball. Miri dances with Prince Steffan, who is reserved but gradually opens up to Miri’s charming personality. However, after meeting all the girls, he cannot decide who to marry and leaves, postponing his choice until the spring. Frustrated, Miri vents to Peder, saying that she does not know what she can do if she cannot be either a quarrier or a princess. Peder believes that she wants to marry the prince rather than him and leaves angrily. 

Soon after, Miri receives a terrified quarry-speech message from Esa, telling her to run. However, a bandit immediately catches Miri, and she discovers that a group of bandits has taken over the academy. They intended to kidnap the girl who was selected to be princess and use her to demand ransom from the prince; however, since no one was selected, the bandits decide to take all the girls. The girls are bound and gagged; fearing for their lives, Miri sends a quarry-speech message to Peder.

Peder responds through quarry-speech, showing that he and the villagers are on their way and that the girls need to escape from the academy before they arrive. Miri successfully gets the girls out before the bandits wake. In the standoff that ensues, the leader of the bandits, Dan, grabs Miri before she can reach her father. She struggles against him, and they both fall over the cliff. Miri lands on the cliff bed, with Dan holding onto her leg. Miri’s father strikes Dan with his mallet, causing him to fall to his death. 

With the academy’s food supply destroyed, everyone returns to the village for the winter. Miri starts a village academy to teach others reading, writing, and other subjects. Then, in the spring, a messenger calls the girls back to the academy so that the prince can make his decision. There, Britta confesses to Miri that she is a nobleman’s daughter and is Steffan’s childhood friend. She is in love with him but fears that he will not choose her—this is why she pretended to be ill during the ball. Miri reassures her that Steffan will recognize her, and when he sees Britta, he immediately chooses her to be his princess. 

Mount Eskel is now declared a province of Danland, and the village must send a chief delegate to live at the palace. Britta initially wants Miri for the job. However, Miri convinces her to choose Katar since Katar wants to leave the village and was the highest-achieving student at the academy. Miri plans to stay back in the village and continue her village academy. Peder is happy that the prince did not choose Miri; the two walk back to Mount Eskel together. As they reach home, Miri joins her father and Marda in singing a Mount Eskel song, fully embracing her place in the village.