George MacDonald Books

Very funny, entertaining, and historically pretty accurate. George McDonald Fraser is a former Gordon Highlander who served in Burma among other places and has also written a few hollywood scripts. Flashman is the character from "Tom Browns Schooldays", is expelled from Rugby for drunkenness , joins the army and is sent to India... Royal Flash is what "The Prisoner of Zenda" should have been, hilarious and adventurous. Flash for Freedom and Flashman and the Redskins are the pick of the bunch. McDonald Frasers book "The Pyrates" is great for anyone who has ever watched an Errol Flynn movie....

I have enjoyed all of the books by George MacDonald Fraser over the years. His "Flashman" series is wonderful! They are, without a doubt, the finest historical fiction I have ever read. I have taken the time to research many of the incidents where Fraser has inserted "Flashy" and have found that his dedication to the historic context is quite accurate. Often I feel that I have to research the outrageous events related in the story as they seem outlandish and impossible- but I always find that history is stranger than any fiction. Many times while listening I am struck by the sheer genius in stringing together so many seemingly unrelated events into a fantastic tale! My highest reccomendation.

The novels involving the Flashman character are some of the most entertaining, enlightening and engrossing stories of the Voctorian era worldwide. I await Mr. Fraser's spin on how Harry Flashman philanders his way though the American Civil War. It will be a great story. When is going to happen, George?

George MacDonald Fraser is a first rate historian who has published several history books. With his Flashman series he puts his man Harry Flashman into actual historical events of the last century. These books are richly documented and have extensive footnotes... But that is not all.... The Flashman papers (as all of these books are supposed to have been written by Harry Flashman, retired in his mid 80s and early 90s) tell the story of a decorated war hero, a knighted soldier, and a beloved national figure, who is really a world class cad and scoundrel who won all of his awards and honors in spite of the fact that he is at best a womanizing coward! These are funny and entertaining while showing you actual historical events in great detail. All that is left is to wonder A) how Flashy got into the situations, and B) how he will get out of them. I highly recommend the entire series!

I too was first introduced to George MacDonald by way of CS. Lewis. A friend gave me this book, "for recreation" during my busy final term in college- and it has become one of the most highly prized works in my collection. This series of short stories and fairy tales will enchant anyone who already loves Hans Christian Anderson or delights in "wonder" tales, and anyone looking for fresh parables and expressions of Christian faith.

Highly recommended!

The stories in this volume are so original and intriguing.
George MacDonald writes multi-layered tales that make great read aloud stories for children and fascinating studies for adults.

George MacDonald was one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, 19th Century fantasist, and a key influence on C. S. Lewis. He was a Unitarian minister, and much of his fiction was essentially religious. I am particularly fond of his children's novels, At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, and The Princess and Curdie. He also wrote adult novels, most importantly Phantastes and Lilith.

He also wrote a lot of shorter fiction. Much of the best is collected in The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories, selected by Glenn Edward Sadler. Two of the very best are "The Light Princess", a very funny story about a princess with no gravity, either of spirit or physically; and "The Golden Key", a lovely symbolic story about a boy and a girl and their long journey together. Other highlights are "The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess", a long story (35,000 words or so) about a spoiled princess and a spoiled shepherd's child and the efforts of an old wise woman to reform them; the title story, about how the daughter of a too serious man and his neglected young wife brings them together after their younger child is stillborn; "The Carasoyn" (or "The Fairy Fleet"), about a young man and his less than enjoyable involvement with a group of fairies and their queen; "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" (or "The Day Boy and the Night Girl"), about two babies kidnapped by an evil fairy, the boy brought up only in daylight, the girl only in darkness; and "The Cruel Painter" is a fine story about a painter who insisted on distorting his scenes to bring out the worst in their subjects, and the young man who falls in love with his daughter and comes to work as his apprentice.

There are quite a few more stories, most quite interesting, roughly evenly divided between fairy tales or fantasies and contemporary tales. Only very rarely does MacDonald moralize to the detriment of his stories, though his stories do quite often make moral points. (And quite explicitly Christian points.) Sadler has also selected quite a few period illustrations, many by Arthur Hughes, many from the original publications of the stories.

My wife gave me this book for Christmas; she new I liked C.S. Lewis and that he counted Geo MacD as his mentor. I can heartily recommend this volume to anyone. The variety of style is what struck me the most: some of these I will read aloud to my children, some made me laugh out loud, and others left me scratching my head as to what the author was alluding to. Geo MacD has great insight into human nature, revealing our innermost thoughts so we can see we are not so different from the next guy. If you have heard of the author but aren't quite sure you would like him, try this one --- you'll know instantly!

I've read a lot of MacDonald books; I love the spiritual aspects that come into the story and plot. This book, coupled with The Gentlewoman's Choice (as mine was), are two of my favorite MacDonald books. The spiritual journeys that the protagonists travel are personally applicable; the questions raised should be asked of the reader, as well. And the simple (clean!) "romantic" novel side of the story is pulling, as well.

I love MacDonald, and haven't read a book of his I didn't like; but this is one of my favorites.

Love of the homeland, insights into the clans relationships, Christian ethics lived in life, wonderful action and unexpected plot twists, FUN! and it made us feel like we wanted to be truer to the truth of Christ ourselves from reading of others experiences. You'll love it!

I couldn't put this one down. It makes one feel wonderful and free, closer to God and joyful.

MacDonald was C.S. Lewis' favourite author and for good reason. Few men ever wrote with the passion and insight of MacDonald.

This book is enjoyable and intellectually challenging. It would make a great gift for university lecturers as it challenges many of today's views about land rights, culture and religion.

I cannot praise this book too much. If I had the money I'd by a million of them and give one to every influental person in the western world.

This book's message is the same message of 1 Samuel 16:7 that "man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart". I read it in three days, because it's such an impossible put-down. The best thing is it's surprise ending. You can't go wrong with this book!

This book was the first book in a college course called 'Violence and Grace' So true, the title of this course, for the book as well. MacDonald has a magical story-telling ability that impacted the writtings of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, and this is a great book to introduce you to his masterful writtings. If this is the same copy I bought, the artwork is beautifully complimentary as well. I HIGHLY suggest this book to people of EVERY reading ability and personality.

An insightful look below the surface of two souls that look a lot like us. Modern ideas of self-importance being instilled as a virtue are skewered, and humility and obedience are offered as antidotes. Either you love MacDonald, or you hate him, for his books are not easy to read... as they are not about somebody else. Horn (above) did not like the sermonizing, but these were the best bits in our opinion.

George MacDonald is the type of writer that you can't predict. You never know where he is going to go next. This is the type of book I wish there were more of for my children to read. We got it at the library, but now we're going to buy it and we're giving it to other children as birthday gifts. Books that inspire and entertain at the same time are rare. People don't like his books because he calls a thing what it is and that hits too close to home.

Perhaps I have just come to expect too much of George MacDonald Fraser based on the excellence of his Flashman novels, his first two collections of stories, and his autobiographical Quartered Safe Out Here, but I found this collection of stories to be short of Fraser's usual standard. They aren't bad; I don't think Fraser is capable of producing a bad story or novel. They just don't merit the praise that The General Danced at Dawn and McAuslan In the Rough do.

There are a few excellent stories here: The Gordon Women is plotted with a skill worthy of Wodehouse, The Constipation of O'Brien shows McAuslan at his comic best, and Extraduction (not really a story, but one of the offerings here) is a touching remembrance of the battalion's colonel. On the other hand, Captain Errol relies in large part on a "surprise" ending which I was anticipating an entire page (in a thirty-one-page story) earlier than it was revealed. Ye Mind Jie Dee, Fletcher? is not about Fraser's outfit in northern Africa circa 1945, but, rather, Scotland's 1978 national soccer team. McAuslan narrates it in his usual dialect - for eight unbroken pages, and McAuslan isn't nearly as funny out of uniform.

Those who have enjoyed The General Danced at Dawn and McAuslan In the Rough (two of my very favorite collections of stories) will most probably find this worth the read, as I did. They may also find, as I did, that it suffers by comparison with the two earlier collections.

It is time that you hear "the sub-muckin', the whole cheese, the hail clanjamfry, the lot' about the Scottish Highland Regiment that served in Africa after World War II.

George MacDonald Fraser has written the stories of this regiment and its most infamous soldier, Private McAuslan, in three collections: The General Danced at Dawn, McAuslan in the Rough, and The Sheikh and the Dustbin.

Through the narration by platoon commander Dand McNeil, McAuslan comes alive as the dirtiest soldier in the world, "wan o' nature's blunders; he cannae help bein' horrible. It's a gift."

Yet McAuslan is one of the most loveable creatures in all of literature. He may be grungy, filthy, clumsy, and disreputable, but he tries to do his best. Through his many misadventures, McAuslan marches into the heart of the reader, right leg and right arm swinging in unison, of course.

McAuslan, outcast that he is, experiences some infamous moments in his career: court martial defendant, ghost-catcher, star-crossed lover, golf caddie, expert map reader, and champion of the regimental quiz game (!). His tales, and the tales of his comrades-in-arms, are poignant at times, hilarious at others. These tales are so memorable because they are based on true stories.

The reader basks in all things Scottish in the stories. The language of the soldiers is written in Scottish brogue, although Fraser says in his introduction, "Incidentally, most of this volume is, I hope, written in English." Don't fret - a glossary is provided. (Reading the glossary alone causes some serious belly laughs.

If you read only one book this year, read this one. And if you know any veterans, give them a copy. It's a volume that the reader will not soon forget.

This book should "hit home" with any Army veteran, young or old, British or American, that was ever garrisoned overseas in peacetime.

Young Dan'd MacNiell trys to keep his copybook clean and his upper lip stiff while dealing with the absurdities and dangers of being an occupying power in postwar Egypt. He and his men muddle through bravely, sometimes hilariously. One of their biggest muddles, of course, being the notorious Private MacAuslan, "The Dirtiest Soldier in the Army." The names and some facts were changed (probably on legal advice), but the stories ring true as a sword blade. Hilarious, sometimes touching.

I couldn't put Thomas Wingfold, Curate down. The spiritual journey that he embarks on, and continues throughout the book, is one that includes questions all Christians will have to eventually ask themselves. Some of the sermons and questions in the book hit home, and really made me ask questions of myself.

If you like MacDonald, this is a book with a clear spiritual message that will really impact you. I highly recommend it.

Thomas Wingfold, Curate is a wonderful story of redemption and the honest search for a true and loving God. Wingfold enters the Curacy as a profession, but it soon becomes a passion as he is forced by his position in the church to truly struggle with his faith (or lack thereof). He discovers the amazing love and sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ, and he can do nothing but share the amazing life (and death) of Christ with his fellow parishiners. He nurses a young man who is wrought with the agony of having committed a murder to spiritual health and peace in knowing that when he dies soon, he will see Jesus. We are given a glimpse of the immense power of divine forgiveness to those who so desperately need it and seek it.

A young man commits a murder in a heat of passion, and when he comes back to his senses, must deal with the reality of what he has done. A loving sister finds that the love she has to offer is not as selfless as she would like to believe, as she finds herself playing devil's advocate for her own selfish reasons, instead of giving her brother the encouragement to face up to what he has done, repent, and take the consequences for his actions. (I'm afraid I identify with her here!) I keep thinking I have read the very best MacDonald book, and then another one comes along that I feel is even better! Such is the case with Thomas Wingfold, Curate. This story explores pride, judgement, conscience, forgiveness, the meaning of Christ's salvation, capital punishment, and how honestly searching, questioning, and hoping can bring us to a greater understanding and closeness with God. As with all the writings I have been exposed to of MacDonald's, I find this book inspiring and enlighting and at this point in my life, I find myself learning profound truths at the foot of this great storyteller. There is much to enjoy about this story from an entertainment standpoint. I found myself unable to put it down as I wondered what would happen next. Romance, some humor. and some heartwrenching moments, make this story an enjoyable and potentially life-changing read.

This novel emphasizes the struggles within the heart of a young pastor as he confronts his faith in God and examines whether what he professes to believe is acually true. His dilema begins when one of his congregation (an outwardly deformed but inwardly pious dwarf) notices that the sermons he is delivering are not of his own making. We watch Thomas Wingfold as he struggles to confront the Truth and then apply it to his life as he seeks to help a rich young girl deal with a grief that is threatening to open her up to a deeper part of life that she ever knew existed.

For those who have read "Quartered Safe Out of Here" by the same author, an autobiographical account of his time in WW2 in Burma, it's obvious that the books contained within "The Complete McAuslan" are a continuation of the author's life loosely disguised as fiction. They're a great and hilarious collection of stories about life in a Highland Regiment of the British Army in the immediate aftermath of WW2. My Dad was in a similar British Army unit just after the war and told a lot of stories that these remind me of every time I read them.

Sadly, the author passed away in early 2008 so we won't be getting any more of these or the equally entertaining Flashman stories. As a previous reviwer noted, this is a large tome, but not insurmountably so - great reading for the train, bus or plane. It'll certainly keepyou occupied for a flight across the Pond. Maybe not the Pacific, but you can't have everything....

The title of this missive is misleading. Comparing Flashman to McAuslin is like comparing Heroditus to Camu. It's senseless. Except that both entertained me greatly (not so much Herotditus). This is the case with this collection.

Because this is a compendia better reviews than this one have doubtlesly been written. At the very least they must be less grammatically fragile (to say nothing of my oafish spelling. But i'm a chemist not a writer!). I'm merely waiting for a bus at a public library, killing time waiting for the bus at a public library criticizing my favorite author.

I owned the three books before this was released. They were not at all easy to find back then before Amazon. I consider it a great inspiration that the public at large will be able to access this incredibly funny, mostly ficticious account of the worlds dirtiest soldier and the regiment of personalities in which he is immortalized.

This is a fantastic collection of short stories to have on hand for times (such as now) when keeping on top of an entire novel is not easy. There is a great deal of informative history along with incredibly entertaining and funny storys. I was not always biased completely in favor of the author. My initial impression of The pyrates was unfavorable and I found Mr American to be a slow, serious, meticulous read that I have only been able to accomplish twice. Candemass Road is written in a language I barely understand, a testament to the authors grip of Tudor speach and accents which in this tome is expressed in the dialect of the highlanders and presumably Cumberland and the borders.

Since my origional copies of these books are ragged tatters it's good to be able to have them all whole and in one place. Without question, within a few years, I will need a new copy because I cannot help but read many of these stories countless times.

On a final, practical note, this book is not dense in both senses of the word. It's a large tome but not heavy, which makes it as excellent a travelling book as the origional three paperbacks.

I too found these books to be outrageously funny and insightful regarding the life of a postwar highland regiment. Just a note to the previous reviewer, George McDonald Fraser in his autobiography "A light on at the Signpost" mentions that he ran into his old company comander from the McAuslan days at a book signing. His commander loved the books and asked GMF why he labled them fiction? GMF said he mumbled something about lawyers and goes on to tell all of us readers that these books are essentially taken from true envents in his post war service.

GMF passed away in January 08 from cancer- I for one will miss him.

I really, really enjoyed this story. Probably more than any of the other MacDonald I've read/listened to. The story was engaging, the characters were easy to get into, and it had all the elements of a great work of fantasy. I highly recommend it.

MacDonald's skill in imagery and storytelling are exemplified by this memorable fairy tale. One of those wonderful rare books that's extremely accessible and "light", but also is deeply stirring and has lasting weight. I'm sure it's one I'll enjoy reading to my kids.

I absolutely love this story! George MacDonald has a lovely sort of grandfatherly style, and this is perfect to be divided up as a series of bedtime stories. A boy who has never seen night and a girl who has never seen day help each other cope with their fears. It is available online if you don't mind digging a little. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for them to find it for you. E-mail me if you want the address for the online e-text version. It doesn't quite have the charm of an actual book, but if it's all you've got, it's better than nothing.

I purchased this book because of the beautiful, eye appealing cover. The purchase was made two week after a life threatening heart infection. This book along with that experience has help me realize what is really important in this life. It was used of God to heal old wounds and renew my relationship with Him. Reading this book will be one of the most memorable times in my spiritual walk. It is wonderful. A must to read. njk.

This book is very inspirational. It points out that God gave us our 'self' and we must take care of our 'self' because some day we are going to be givng our self back to Him. And every decision we make, even the smallest, most unimportant decision makes up what and who we become and is what we present to God when he calls us home. This book is very well written and easy to read, but really makes the reader stop and think. It is a very powerful, thought provoking book and one that I will be reading over and over again.

I truly enjoyed this book as it unfolds a story that deals with what one would think is the "afterlife". This is centered around a garden that has been maintained throughout the life time of the author. From one flower comes either a scent or a color that represents something that has occurred in life, either good or bad. There are bushes and trees that have been chosen to show how a behavoir, belief, word, act or deed was dealt with while on earth.

The most signficant memory I have is that we have been given everything we need to be successful here on earth. It is how we chose to use each gift that we have which determines our "afterlife". God gave us our "will" and by doing so we have "choices". We need to be conscience everyday of the choices we make. ...because it may bring up a foul smelling flower or discolored bush or tree. Reading this book allowed me to reflect on my "limitations" and see why I must do all I can to do His "will".

I read this book for the first time when I was in high school and fell in love with it. I read it again in college, and recently again in my mid-20's. Every time I read it it inspires me. The character of Annie is so unlike your typical protagonist; she is shy, self-deprecating, loyal, insecure, pure, and simply the most precious character you're likely to come across. The love between her and Alec grows so sweetly and unexpectedly that it's a revelation. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you are seeking something different from what is mainstream today. It is sweet, and pure, and incredibly beautiful and you will never forget the time you spent in its world. It illustrates what real love is in a way you will carry with you forever.

Michael Phillips did an excellent job of reproducing George MacDonald's Alec Forbes of Howglen. This book has all the touching qualities of a George MacDonald book with all the thought provoking one-liners that we all know George sat and crafted carefully.

This book is one of the best i have ever read.
I feel as if I have known Annie and Alec all my life.
I feel as if I've been in Scotland and seen the streets, bridges, stores and houses in howgland.
If you could read only 1 book this year...make it this one!!!!