Showing results by author "George MacDonald" in All Categories

A young man named Anodos experiences dream-like adventures in Fairy Land, where he meets tree-spirits, endures the presence of the overwhelming shadow, journeys to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The story conveys a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

When Princess Irene discovers a hidden stairway leading to a mysterious tower, she meets a wise great-great-grandmother who watches over her in ways unseen. Deep beneath the mountain, goblins plot in the darkness. Only a brave miner’s boy named Curdie—and a thread of trust—can guide Irene...

Coward, scoundrel, lover and cheat, but there is no better man to go into the jungle with. Join Flashman in his adventures as he survives fearful ordeals and outlandish perils across the four corners of the world. Given the choice between defending Britannia’s frontier against the mighty Sikh army and pleasuring a ravishing maharani in the Court of the Punjab, Flashman knew where he’d rather be. Of course, that was before he found out about the torture chambers or the malevolent influence of the Mountain of Light…

This is the story of the mystical travels of Diamond, a coachman's son, through distant lands and strange events while riding on the back of the beautiful North Wind.

Young Princess Irene is sent to the country to be raised in a half-farmhouse, half-castle located in the side of a mountain. While exploring the top of the castle, Irene becomes lost and inexplicably finds her way to a mystifying and beautiful woman spinning a thread. Princess Irene is drawn to the woman whom she discovers is her great-great-grandmother. But after she returns, her nurse, Lootie, refuses to believe in the old woman's existence.

Originally serialized in 1868 and collected as a book in 1871, At the Back of the North Wind is the magical story of Diamond, the son of a poor coachman, who is swept away by the North Wind – a radiant, maternal spirit with long, flowing hair – and whose life is transformed by a brief glimpse of the beautiful country – at the back of the north wind.

In this sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, Curdie has returned to his life as a miner and has dismissed the supernatural happenings of the past, believing them to have been a dream. When Curdie callously wounds a pigeon, his conscience leads him to Princess Irene's mystical great-great-grandmother for help. She has him plunge his hands into a pile of rose petals that burns like fire. Extraordinarily, this grants him the power to see what kind of "animal" a person is at heart.

Flashman must choose - politcs in London or slave trading in Africa - not that it matters really in this hilarious third installement of the Flashman Papers. When Flashman was inveigled into a game of pontoon with Disraeli and Lord George Bentinck, he was making an unconscious choice about his own future - would it lie in the House of Commons or the West African slave trade? Was there, for that matter, very much difference?

David Elginbrod was George MacDonald's first real success, a novel of Scottish country life. Published in 1862, it was dedicated to the memory of Lady Noel Byron.(Summary from Wikipedia)

’St. George and St. Michael’ is a little-known historical romance telling the story of a young couple who find themselves on opposing sides during the tumultuous years of the English Civil Wars. Tensions are rising between king and parliament, the Church of England and the numerous independent puritans, and rumours abound that Charles I will soon declare open war on the dissident elements within his realm. Seventeen-year-old Dorothy Vaughan knows little of the brewing conflict, yet is sure that her loyalty must be with her king and her nation. When she challenges her childhood friend, ...

Set in the invigorating wilds of Scotland, clans are crumbling and emigrating as their homeland is bought out from under them. The characters quickly become your friends as you identify with and learn from their struggles and joys. Contrasts abound between true and false (or shallow) relationships, convictions, morals, and faith. - Summary by HannahMary

An author who means to end a story with some variation of “And they all lived happily ever after” had better deal before that point not just with evil, strife, and terror but also with loss, failure, sacrifice, and death—or the ending will not be credible. And since such negative experiences do not easily lead to happy endings, only the best story-tellers succeed. George MacDonald is one of these.His protagonist, Anodos, discovers on the day he comes of age a path leading into an alternative reality, where a rite of passage awaits him: an entire lifetime in a land of marvels resembling ...

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown's schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents - horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the nineteenth century despite trying his utmost to escape them all. Flashman, soldier, duellist, lover, imposter, coward, cad, and hero triumphs in this first installment of The Flashman Papers.

Readers of George MacDonald are used to his engaging story-telling, winsome characters, and simple theology of trust in God as Father. But this book shows a different side of MacDonald. A Dish of Orts is a varied collection of essays, mostly in the nature of literary criticism. These essays are, in MacDonald's words, "but fragmentary presentments of larger meditation." - Summary by Devorah Allen

A fantastical and intricate novel, Lilith brings all the elements of a fascinating and epic journey with the added layer of spiritual and theological themes woven into the characters, trials, and temptations. Follow as Mr. Vane enters the vast, complex, and multidimensional “Region of the Seven Dimensions” and learns how much a connection to spiritual understanding and growth can change the course of his life and make or break his expeditions there.

A young man named Anodos experiences dream like adventures in Fairy Land, where he meets tree spirits, endures the presence of the overwhelming shadow, journeys to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The story conveys a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

Scotland’s official national day is St Andrew's Day, the feast day of Saint Andrew. In the Bible it is Andrew who introduces his brother Peter to Jesus as the Messiah. As well as Scotland he is also the patron saint of the likes of Russia, Greece, the Ukraine, and Barbados. It is thought that the day was first celebrated over a thousand years ago in the reign of Malcolm III (1034-1093).

This audiobook features a collection of classic vampire tales by Jan Neruda, E.F. Benson, and George MacDonald.

An wonderful collection of short stories for children.

It's a well known fact that a newborn princess will often be subject to a curse, especially if her royal parents neglect to invite an important magical relative to the christening. But never has there been a curse as charming (and hilarious) as that which befalls the Light Princess. Deprived of gravity, she can't take anything, or anyone, seriously. Even worse, she's apt to blow away on the first stiff breeze!