George Macdonald

Though no longer a household name, his works (particularly his Fairy Tale s and Fantasy novels) have inspired deep admiration in such notables as W. H. Auden , J. R. R. Tolkien , and Madeleine L'Engle .
C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master". Picking up a copy of '' Phantastes '' one day in a train station, he began to read; "a few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew I had crossed a great frontier."
G. K. Chesterton cited '' The Princess And The Goblin '' as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence".
Elizabeth Yates wrote of ''Sir Gibbie'' that " {Link without Title} t moved me the way books did when as a child ... Now and then a book is read as a friend, and after it life is not the same ... ''Sir Gibbie'' did this to me."
Even Mark Twain , who initially despised MacDonald, became friends with him upon their meeting for the first time, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald (see links below for an article on the subject).

BIOGRAPHY

The man who was to inspire such feeling was born on December 10 , 1824 at Huntly , Aberdeenshire , Scotland . His father, a farmer, was one of the MacDonald s of Glen Coe , and a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the Massacre Of 1692 . The Doric Dialect of the area frequently appears in the dialogue of some of his non-fantasy novels.

MacDonald grew up influenced by his Congregational Church , with an atmosphere of Calvinism . But he was never entirely happy with Calvinism; legend has it that when the doctrine of Predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as ''Robert Falconer'' and ''Lilith'', show a distaste for the Calvinist idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others.

He took his degree at the University Of Aberdeen , and then emmigrated to London , studying at Highbury College for the Congregational ministry.

In 1850 he was appointed pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, Arundel , but his sermons (preaching God's universal love and the possibility that none would, ultimately, be damned) met with little favour and his salary was cut in half. Later he was engaged in ministerial work in Manchester . He left that because of poor health, and after a short sojourn in Algiers he settled in London and taught for some time at the University of London. MacDonald was also for a time editor of ''Good Words for the Young'', and lectured successfully in the United States during 1872 - 1873 .

His best-known works are ''Phantastes'', '' The Princess And The Goblin '', '' At The Back Of The North Wind '', and '' Lilith '', all fantasy novels, and fairy tales such as — "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". "I write, not for children," he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald also published some volumes of sermons , the pulpit not having proved an unreservedly successful venue.

MacDonald also served as a mentor to Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson); it was MacDonald's advice, and the enthusiastic reception of '' Alice '' by MacDonald's three young daughters that convinced Carroll to submit ''Alice'' for publication. Carroll, one of the finest Victorian photographers, also created photographic portraits of the girls and their brother Greville.

MacDonald was also friends with John Ruskin and served as a go-between in Ruskin's long love affiar with Rose La Touche .

MacDonald was acquainted with most of the literary luminaries of the day; a surviving group photograph shows him with Tennyson , Dickens , Wilkie Collins , Trollope , Ruskin , Lewes , and Thackeray . While in America he was a friend of Longfellow and Walt Whitman .

In 1877 he was given a Civil List Pension . He died on September 18 , 1905 in Ashstead (Surrey). He was cremated and buried in Bordighera .

As hinted above, MacDonald's use of Fantasy as a literary medium for exploring the human condition greatly influenced a generation of such notable authors as C. S. Lewis (who featured him as a character in '' The Great Divorce ''), J. R. R. Tolkien , and Madeleine L'Engle . MacDonald's non-fantasy novels, such as ''Alec Forbes'', had their influence as well; they were among the first realistic Scottish novels, and as such MacDonald has been credited with founding the " Kailyard School " of Scottish writing.

His son Greville MacDonald became a noted medical specialist, and also wrote numerous novels for children. Greville ensured that new editions of his father's works were published.

Rock group The Waterboys titled their album '' Room To Roam '' after a passage in MacDonald's ''Phantastes''. They also based the song ''A Church Not Made With Hands'' on one of the Narnia stories, confirming the enduring link in modern pop culture between Macdonald and Lewis.

PARTIAL LIST OF WORKS