George MacDonald Books

I found this treatise one of the most challenging, the most ringingly true summary of the gospel I have ever encountered. At first I thought it was "works oriented," but then I started realizing that, as they say in AA, nothing changes if nothing changes. Obedience can be as simple as praying when you are blessed with the impulse.

This book is marketed as if it is a romance, but it is much more than that. It makes a powerful case for a simple Christianity where doctrine is important, but much more important is recognizing God in everything around us and loving him for it.

As I read it, my heart burned with desire for more of a relationship with God like that.

In my view, good literature lifts ones sights to "see" and understand ever more and beautiful things. This book definitely did that for me.

This is an excellent introduction to the universal genius Leibniz. Leibniz was as G. MacDonald Ross makes clear a ' polymath' not simply in the sense that he had knowledge in a wide variety of areas, but rather in that he sought to make out of this knowledge a comprehensive and deep understanding of the world. He too was the subject in Voltaire's Candide and in Swift's Gulliver of much ridicule, the man of vast schemes and optimism who could be chided for not really knowing what practical, common sense, everyday life was about. But he was not so ' simple-minded' as his satirical critics make him.
In fact his search for knowledge led him into dialogue with the most distinguished minds of his time. His vast correspondance fifteen- thousand letters was according to him the real abode of his wisdom and knowledge even more so than his books. Because of his diverse interests he somehow rarely completed anything including the many technical projects he worked on. His contributions to mathematics,and logic, to metaphysics and science are each given separate chapters in this work. His interests however extended into law, politics, religion, and also some of the pseudo- sciences such as alchemy. A civil-servant in the court of Hanover, living under the protection of patrons he was often accussed of ' working at everything but that which he was paid to work for'. He was the intimate of royalty and a consulted expert in the whole subject of 'dynastic succession'. In this biography we get no sense whatsoever of whether he cared for personal or family life in any way, though we do learn that his sole- heir was his sister's son. Leibniz only a small part of whose writings have been translated into English is considered one of the great universal geniuses of mankind. But he is also mocked as being a ' pure rationalist' whose emphasis on the life of the mind made him a bit less than human.
This is a rich little book. One detail of it intrigues me especially. On one of his trips home Leibniz stopped in Holland and there had four days in intense conversation with the lens- grinder Spinoza.
How many of us would like to hear how the monads sounded when seen from the eyes of Eternity.

G.K.Chesterton once said, "Fairytales are the sunny land of common sense." And if anyone can make a charming, funny, exciting fairytale and bring it to life that, my friends, would be the wonderful George MacDonald. Snaps to George for having such a fanbloodytastic mind.

Illustrations are magnificant,the story is different from every day fairy tales too. It's a must have!

Though these 3 books are not what I consider MacDonalds best works, but they are still excellent. Phillips had done a great job of cutting out alot of sermonization, yet still retains the true essense of what MacDonald wrote that is as revelant in our day, as it was in his. All 3 books are great reads for anyone looking for a good read in Christian fiction, but whose standards may be higher than many of the so called christian fiction out there today. These are the books you want to pass on down to your children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and anyone who loves to read a good clean book.

The main character in this book is thought to be patterned after the Author himself. It's the story of a young man who was raised by his Grandmother. Her narrow Calvinist beliefs nearly drive him away from her. The pure love of God in his heart gives him patience and understanding for her, and endears him to others he meets as he grows into manhood. This book also provides a glimpse into Scottish life in the late 1800's.

This was a difficult book for me, personally, in as much as I could look back over my own life and identify far too closely with Dr. Paul Faber, I formed an immediate dislike of the man. Indeed, he was, in the eyes of the world, a very good man. He was kind, compassionate, caring, and charitable. He was among the first to assist those in need, to give freely to the poor. Yet, Faber, not unlike the Pharisee at his prayers, saw himself as the very font or source of this goodness, and it was his smug self-assuredness and self-satisfaction that alienated me. The woman whom he chose to marry was, in my estimation, little better. She was shallow and vain and, like Faber, prone to self-pity, although deeply in love with and devoted to Faber. Of course, when two such individuals marry there is bound to occur difficulty. They are each so entranced with their own self-perceived purity, excellence, and divinity-both of themselves and one another-that there exists no option but the inevitable fall from grace. They place one another on towering marble pedestals from which the inescapable fall becomes all the more inglorious, painful, and, forgiveness, virtually impossible.

It is the dwarf (my favorite character), Polwarth, who stands tall as a shining beacon of light. It is Polwarth, ill-formed and asthmatic, who loves his God above all else and lives this love through his service to others. It is Polwarth who, with subtlety, humility, and self-effacing kindness, leads Faber and Juliet toward the true source of all goodness. Whether they will follow is, of course, their decision, for many who have seen the light prefer the darkness. Will you follow Polwarth, or will pride and self guide you further into the darkness?

Being a disciple of C. S. Lewis, I wanted to read from George MacDonald--an author who is known to have influenced Lewis.

I read the "Curate's Awakening" with interest, but the story of Gibbie is a cut above, absolutely touching and meaningful. MacDonald artistically and movingly paints a picture of this young, neglected, then orphaned, mute boy who has a beautiful heart, despite his difficult life.

What "gets" me is that he refuses to play at being a victim, although one might jump at the chance--for he is cruely treated in several instances. The book kept me throughout Gibbie's youth until his young adulthood.

The beauty of the characterization and the fictional storyline make a thoughtful, heartwarming read and healthy escape.

Hats off to Phillips for the edit.

One of the most memorable characters from George MacDonald's "The Princess and the Goblin" was the miner boy Curdie, who rescues Princess Irene and infiltrates the goblin kingdom. But the princess was the real focus on the book, not her miner boy.

However, the sequel "The Princess and Curdie" shifts the focus from Irene to Curdie. MacDonald's otherworldly writing elevates what could have been a simple morality tale, and makes it both horrifying and beautiful. This is one book that doesn't suffer as a sequel.

Time has passed since the events of the first book, and now Curdie is back in the mines, and has come to believe that Irene's great-great-grandmother is "nothing but ridiculous nonsense." Then one day he thoughtlessly shoots a pigeon -- a pigeon that happens to belong to that lady. Overcome with remorse, he carries the pigeon to the tower where she lives.

The lady forgives Curdie, but gives him a mission to fulfil, to make up for it: He and a repulsive creature called Lina must find a way to save the king from his malignant advisors. To do that, she gives him the power to tell whether a man is good at heart -- or is turning into a beast.

About ninety-nine percent of the time, it would be a rotten idea to make a sequel to a book like "The Princess and the Goblin." It was charming, magical and optimistic. So why mess with something that is already perfect?

But "The Princess and Curdie" has the success of being a more mature, darker book, with a surprisingly palatable moral lesson. The skeptical Curdie learns that "whoever does not mean good is always in danger of harm," and MacDonald provides a small glimpse at the darker side of human nature.

MacDonald's writing stays dreamy and vaguely otherworldly, even with such ordinary things as a family sitting down to dinner, or children running out to see a dog. The only problem is the ending, a few paragraphs that could have been easily left out, which seem needlessly pessimistic after the book's triumphant events.

MacDonald continues wotj the mysterious, goddess-like presence of the old princess, hinting that she is everywhere under different names. And Lina is an especially poignant addition, a woman who did something, and ended up being turned into a grotesque creature as a punishment.

While "The Princess and Curdie" is very different from its predecessor, it is also a rich, enchanting fantasy story that builds on the strengths of MacDonald's first "Princess" book.