George Macdonald

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Has anyone ever read any books or short stories by George MacDonald? I've heard that it is in his writing style that both C.S. Lewis and Tolkien largely found their inspiration. Some of his works are allegorical (sp?) and some are not - but they're all fantasy oriented.

His most famous book was for children and is called The Princess and the Goblin. If you read some of the scenes with the Goblins, you'd swear you're listening to Dwarves in LOTR. They're underground culture is so similar - only the Goblins are very bad. It's the only one I've read and it was OKAY - but very much a kiddie book - much more so than LWW. I'd really like to read some of his adult works - particularly Phantastes and Lilith, both of which are supposed to be very good. Has anyone read them? I've heard they're pretty deep.

I know C.S. Lewis wrote the introduction for both Phantastes and Lilith. And George MacDonald was good friends with Lewis Carroll much the way Tolkien and Lewis were.

The opening line of Phantastes is "I was dead, and right content."

Sounds intriguing.
 
I can't say that I have read those books, but it sounds like it would be an interesting thing to start.
 
I've never read Lilith or Phantastes, though I saw them at my uncle's book store and really wanted to.
The only George MacDonald book I've read is The Fisherman's Lady, which is very good. Not a fantasy at all, if I remember correctly, but so mysterious it seemed like one anyway... it was strange, but I liked it. Well, except the end. I seem to remember (this was a while ago that I read it) that I thought it should definitely have a sequel, but I never found out that it did. Does anyone know if it does? :huh:
 
I read Phantastes some 20 years ago, and I really have no memory of what it was about. I dug out the book (still have it). Does anyone know anything about what I should expect? I know Lewis was very much influenced by the book.
 
MacDonald is very interesting, though also very much of his time, so reading him isn't easy. He uses the flowery prose common of Victorian era writers, though I understand he's not as bad as some.

I don't know exactly what Lewis saw in Phantastes, but if I had to guess, it was that it was an imaginative tale that both told a story and delivered a message without being overly preachy, as morality tales of the day were wont to be. I found MacDonald's style to be a little obscure in Phantastes and Lilith (though not near so much as Charles Williams).

If you want a good sampling of MacDonald's work, as well as a touching story, see if you can find At the Back of the North Wind. An easy read with a wonderful message.
 
I would highly recommend George MacDonald. He is by far my all time favorite author. But I'll agree that he can be a bit difficult to dive right into. Once you get used to his style, its easy to understand though. For anyone just starting out, I'd start with The Princess and the Goblin books or his collections of fairytales. These will give you a decent familiarity with his writing. From there go to At the Back of the North Wind (one of my favorite books), and then hit Lilith or Phantastes. Those familiar with the Hobbit will find some interestings similarities in There and Back. Far Above Rubies is a good one too. He's got about 48 books plus some collections of unpublished manuscripts out there so there's plenty of him to enjoy.
 
Oh yes. I knew someone would start a thread like this one day. My family and I are big fans of his work. As Lewis' mentor,I believe he inspired Lewisto do most of the things he did. --EV
 
everlasting said:
Oh yes. I knew someone would start a thread like this one day. My family and I are big fans of his work. As Lewis' mentor,I believe he inspired Lewisto do most of the things he did. --EV
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This thread is actually 2 1/2 years old. I just revived it. :)

I am starting to read Phantastes now. Starting out slow in hope that it draws me in.
 
faeriechylde said:
I've never read Lilith or Phantastes, though I saw them at my uncle's book store and really wanted to.
The only George MacDonald book I've read is The Fisherman's Lady, which is very good. Not a fantasy at all, if I remember correctly, but so mysterious it seemed like one anyway... it was strange, but I liked it. Well, except the end. I seem to remember (this was a while ago that I read it) that I thought it should definitely have a sequel, but I never found out that it did. Does anyone know if it does? :huh:
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yes! it does have a sequel...in case you still haven't found out. it's called the marquis' secret and it's quite exciting if you ask me. it answers a lot of questions from the fisherman's lady.
 
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