The Wise Woman tells the double story of two spoiled girls and the parents who spoiled them. A mysterious and powerful wise woman steps in to help the girls escape their destinies, but with little success. The great beauty of this short novel is graceful portrayal of how parents can harm their children by raising them without care and how difficult it is for children (and wise women) to find restoration to their true selves. Considered the grandfather...

Thematically linked to Mary Marston which preceded it, MacDonald here poignantly depicts the father-son relationship as he had earlier that of father and daughter. MacDonald's storytelling power again returns to the highlands of Scotland, setting his narrative in the hills south of Huntly. We encounter vivid descriptions of that wild terrain, including snowstorms, summer joys, harvests, along with MacDonald's trademark mysteries, inheritances, treasures,...

Although one of MacDonald's lesser-known books, The Elect Lady, published in 1888, stands out for the memorable relationship of godliness, trust, honesty, and humility between three children-Andrew and Sandy Ingram and their friend Dawtie-whose growth into adulthood MacDonald follows with simple yet moving power. Their relationships provide the foundation for MacDonald's wisdom to shine forth on the nature and purpose of the church, climaxing in the...

MacDonald's second realistic novel written in the first person by a fictional female narrator, almost from its opening pages, The Flight of the Shadow feels somber and ominous. It is thus linked with The Portent from early in MacDonald's career, both books similar of length and style. Again MacDonald develops his familiar themes through the character of an orphan, who, without an earthly father, must yet discover the goodness of God's Fatherhood....

This wonderful Scottish tale from 1893, not so expansive of theme and scope as some of MacDonald's lengthier Scottish stories, is yet poignantly moving in its own way. The descriptions of the highlands and the lives of its people are the equal of those in Castle Warlock and What's Mine's Mine. Who, after reading the story of Kirsty Barclay in Heather and Snow, will forget her brother Steenie's cry after "the bonny man!" Indeed, Kirsty is one of MacDonald's...

This towering 1875 novel, set in the Scottish fishing village of Cullen, is considered by many as George MacDonald's fictional masterwork. The intricate tale is more true to place than any of MacDonald's books. As Malcolm is drawn into the web of secrets surrounding majestic Lossie House, with the marquis of Lossie and his tempestuous daughter Florimel at the center of them, we meet some of MacDonald's most memorable characters. Through them Malcolm...

Released in 1871 after At the Back of the North Wind, MacDonald's first realistic "young readers" novel follows the boyhood adventures of Ranald Bannerman up to the moment in his teens when he realizes that he is "not a man." Thus begins his growth into true manhood. MacDonald's editorship of the highly popular magazine Good Words for the Young in the late 1860s and early 1870s resulted in five young-reader stories, starting with At the Back of the...

This final installment of the Thomas Wingfold trilogy from 1891 adds yet further dimensions to the personal search for faith and the nature of belief, exemplified in the characters of Barbara Wilder and Richard Tuke. Both Barbara and Richard must ask whether or not God's existence is true, what God's character is like, and what demands are placed upon them as a result. Wingfold's conversations with Barbara probe the foundations of belief with depth...

Fairy tales told around the fire on Christmas Eve-including "The Light Princess," "The Shadows," "The Golden Key," and "The Giant's Heart." Reminiscent of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, MacDonald's attempt to package a collection of short stories in the guise of a novel is built around a group of snowbound travelers attempting to pass the time in a country house by sharing stories in hopes of distracting young Adela Cathcart from her illness. Early...

MacDonald's final full length, realistic Scottish novel of 1897, is replete with dense Scottish dialect and spiritual themes. The repentance (through fire) of young minister James Blatherwick, who recognizes the sham of his pretended spirituality, is reminiscent of Thomas Wingfold's spiritual journey. It also embodies in fictional form one of MacDonald's signature themes from his first volume of Unspoken Sermons, "The Consuming Fire." Along with these...