MALCOLM

Malcolm #1

by George MacDonald

MALCOLM IS A SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN NOVEL! WORDING IS SOMETIMES HARD TO GRASP BUT GETS EASIER AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH THE NOVEL! 529 PAGES IN PAPERBACK...A GREAT READ!!

The story revolves around a small Scottish fishing village and the marquis' estate. And, of course, the marquis owns the village, but doesn't take much note of what goes on there except when he wants to entertain himself and his guests -- which often turns out to be a sorry mess. He has a young daughter who begins to find Malcolm interesting, but at times repressive. Conflict arises daily -- some of it comical, some of it appalling -- described with utmost realism and detail.

The characters are some of the most interesting people I have ever encountered. Though we love and admire Malcolm, the hero, he is definitely not the most delightful character in the book.
If you only read one book by MacDonald, this would be the one!! It will warm your heart if you let it.
A rugged old Scottish Cinderella story. A willful, adventurous girl whom he dares not love captivates Malcolm, a Scottish fisherman. Theirs is a story laced with intrigue and haunted by deep secrets. As the story unfolds, Malcolm’s small world is shaken as he discovers his true heritage. More startling still, he discovers who she really is…and life will never be the same for either of them. Can they settle into their new lives and find true love, or will they be destroyed by the secrets that surround them?

As a side note, MacDonald was a Christian and the influence is seen. This is the man who inspired CS Lewis in writing!!

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Christian, Romance, Mystery

529 pages, Nook

First published January 1, 1875

About the author

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Christian Romance Writers,
THIS is what you need to be reading. MacDonald combines some of the great in all genres, offers some fabulous spiritual truths, and creates a charming male hero who is strong and Godly without alienating the reader. It's pure genius. True, he is overtly fond of the adjective "manly"...but why shouldn't manly become more of our vocabulary? Why shouldn't there be a wholesome hero? Its encouraging and should be taken note of.
Loved The Fisherman's Lady. I can't wait to read more by MacDonald.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to return to these MacDonald novels for years now and finally read this one again. It is the story of Malcolm. How does it hold up? At first I didn’t think I was going to like it again at all. I did not enjoy the old piper’s ravings and I remembered being endeared to him before. In the end I found myself anxious to pick up The Marquis Secret which is a sequel to this one. These novels are rambling diversions with forays of great depth. I especially loved the “witnessing” conversation between Mr. Graham and the old Marquis.

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful comfort read!

I had started this one a while back but was unable to get through the heavy Scottish country dialect. I picked it up again and although struggled in the beginning, found it didn't take me long to learn this new language. I'm so glad I stuck it out. As a side note: proper English is the majority but all country Scottish characters dialog are written in country Scottish phonetically.

MacDonald was a Scottish minister and author ( late 1800's) and I came upon him by accident while searching through the Gutenberg project (free public domain books) website and read "Lilith A Romance."

Being part Scottish, I fell in love with Malcom and his sea town. It was cozy and sweet.

There is a sequel which I will jump right to after this review.

A few Cast of characters:

Malcom MacPhail is a 20 year old fisherman and lives with his blind grandfather who is the towns piper. They are poor but humble and happy people. Duncan, Malcolm's grandfather may be blind, but he has keen senses and can get around like any who can see.

Malcom becomes devoted to the 16 year old beautiful daughter of the Marquis Florimel when he sees her on the dunes reading her book. He knows there is a gulf between them socially, but his adoration of her never falters. She on the other hand, blows hot and cold, going from kind to condescending in her attitude towards Malcom. (the following is a major spoiler) Florimel is his sister, but neither know this until later. No romance between them as the author tricks the reader to believing. A Romance for Malcom comes in Book 2 "The Marquis of Lossie" with Clementina

Then there is the mad laird. A puir (poor) creature of a man who is of nobility but sadly deformed, having a large humped back. But the town folk don't shun him and take care of him as best they can. The problem is he is standoffish to everyone, especially his cruel mother.

Lastly we have Mrs. Catanach, our antagonist who likes to cause mischief in everyone's lives by spreading lies and gossip.

Mac Donald takes the reader through this beautiful highland sea town and lets us peek into the lives of simple Scottish fisher fowk (folk), painting a vivid picture of what life was like 50 years before his own time.


Content concerns: Mild fighting, Christian views/bible quotes. Mild mild cursing (I wouldn't even call it cursing). Romance peeps see major spoiler above.

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This moving story, originally published in 1875 by an incredible Scottish writer that I greatly admire, was a beautiful tale about pride and humility, parental abandonment, selfishness, forgiveness, and redemption, and the very admirable character Malcom finding the true identity of who is parents are, and who he is in Christ.
One of my favorite characters was Malcom's grandfather Duncan, who embodies the old Scottish Highlander ways.
My Scottish friend David Jack signed my copy of this book on a beautiful Autumn October day when I went for a walk with him, his wife Jessica and their son Evan at The Hermitage, which is in Perthshire, Scotland. That same day I signed his copy of my book Surprised By Agape. It brings back a very good memory. I look forward to reading the sequel-The Marquis of Lossie!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a number of years ago, before I discovered Project Gutenburg. Yes, it's edited, and I hate editing, but Phillips does a good job. If you don't want the dialect, this is a great book to read. The unedited version is now on my to-read list, since I finally found a reprinted hardback copy of the original version. After I read the edited copies, I have gone back through each of his books slowly, and very few of Phillips's editings took out enough to make the story unrecognizable, as some editors I could name do. I would definitely recommend this.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have rated it five stars except for a twist at the end that destroyed my ship. (WHY. THAT WAS SO CRUEL.) Otherwise, I absolutely adored it, from its old-fashioned writing style, to its memorable characters, and its quaint, beautiful setting.

Malcom is the best. Just sayin'. ♥

I'm hoping the next book measures up--and makes up for this one's disappointment!

[Elizabeth]

Will write more when I discuss with my buddy reader, Melissa!

[Celestria]

Dnf page 101

This was just kinda slow and boring to me and I can't stand to read one more scene with the marquis in it. What a jerk.

[Sarah Therèse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the start of a two part series, which is very Jane Eyre esque, haunting, interesting and full of good.

The characters are SO broad in their status and heart, making this tale super intriguing. You never know who will show up next! And they are all quite pivotal to the unraveling of the mystery.

Malcolm, our main gent, is humble, gentle, kinda dreamy and extremely devoted to his Saviour. His story is the mystery that kept me turning page after page after I said I would go to sleep.

So so good. Immerse yourself in this story. It was a great pleasure to read.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is lovely. While being a suspenseful mystery tale, it also develops deeply rich and varied characters and unabashedly laces Christian faith seamlessly throughout. And then it ends with a cliffhanger! Ordering the sequel today!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it took me a long time to get through this book. Yes, I admit there was a point where I wasn't sure I wanted to finish. Yet, in the end, I ended up loving this book.
I loved the large cast of characters. By the end of the book, I felt like I could walk into the village and know everyone. This showed how small-town life can be both wonderful and challenging.
This story also took a lot of turns I wasn't expecting. It kept me on my toes.
I just soaked up this wonderful tale many years ago. It's saturated with the salt of the Scottish coast and a strong faith.
I plan to dive into the sequel in the next couple of days.


Content notes: (minor spoliers) There are a couple of discussions about a child being born out of wedlock. A couple of times innocent people are accused of doing bad things. A character who is shown to be godless uses God's name flippantly. One woman you find is manipulative and spitefully using others. A mentally challenged man is treated badly by some, but most of the village defends and loves him.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Fisherman's Lady" is a "retelling for modern readers" of MacDonald's romance originally entitled "Malcolm."
As a rule, I avoid abridgments. My husband explains it thusly: "If the author is considered a master, and the 'reteller' is not, what business does he have retelling it?"
What business indeed? And I consider myself a reasonably educated, patient reader: I have read quite a bit of unmodified MacDonald without too much difficulty. I know what "ken" means, I know what "fash" means, and hey, I can even make it through Shakespeare or the KJV when motivated!
In this case, a few things convinced me.
1) I was temporarily parted from my Nook, which is where I would perforce need to read the non-abridged version (which is available from Project Gutenberg), but I had a this book in paperback in my hand
2) While Michael Phillips (the reteller) admits to editing a great deal for length - cutting out perhaps 50% of the page count which he describes as rambling sermons, stories, and other departures from the main thrust of the story - he also translates a great deal of the Scottish vernacular spoken by most of the characters. He provides an example of such vernacular in his introduction, and in truth it is nearly impenetrable to a modern American. Indeed, even the dialect he leaves more or less intact in Duncan's mouth can be difficult to wade through with his constant substitutions of "p" for "b," "t" for "d," and etc.

What I wish I had, after having read the book, is a version where the vernacular and dialects are (mostly) translated, leaving about as much local flavor for character as Phillips in fact did, but all the rambling sermons, stories, and other bits are left intact. There were a number of places where I could Tell that the abridger had been at the text removing long explanations and whatnot, and frankly I have enough respect and appreciation for MacDonald that I would really have preferred to read it all.

Anyway, my critique of the story itself:
I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are amazingly vivid: not just Malcolm and his Grandfather Duncan, but also many of the "side" characters such as the Mad Laird, Bawby Catanach, and Grizel's Aunt (can't believe I forgot her name!) The setting is beautifully drawn, the plot is satisfyingly and even surprisingly twisty with shocking "reveals" I didn't see coming at the very end. And throughout it is suffused with MacDonald's beautiful sense of Christianity, primarily in the mouth of Malcolm's teacher, but also in Malcolm's own simple faith. There is much that is thought provoking, comforting, and beautiful, especially near the close of the book when one of the characters is near death.

I now have my Nook back, and I've downloaded the sequel ("The Marquis of Lossie") in unabridged format. I hope that I am able to make it through the dialect, because I really am curious what happens next. I also intend to come back and read at least portions of this story again and see what gems the reteller saw fit to drop.

[Elisabeth Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the tally marks in the front of this copy are correct, I’ve read this book some six times, which seems like a lot? But I do remember being obsessed with it in highschool. Ironic now that I read so much YA fantasy when fifteen years ago I was reading and rereading musty classics.

Anyhow. I’m giving this five stars, partially for nostalgia’s sake, partially because MacDonald is a powerful writer. This combines some gothic drama with hearty highland scenery and stout morality.

Now off to book two, because BOY is this a cliffhanger. Which is not a surprise to me, since I’ve read it six times.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever. Has a bit of everything for anyone. classic, romance, history, poetry, mystery, intrigue, poetic descriptions,family and secrets. I hate science fiction so okay-that may not work, but this book has you covered in many genres. I have this with the 2nd follow up book.-Must read both to get the whole story and it's dramatic conclusion- in 1 volume. Conclusion to this book is: The Marquis' Secret.

[Laughholly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and cover art make this look like a trashy romance, don't they? And it is a romance, but in that 19th-century sense in that the whole story is Gothic and romantic.
I wanted to read George MacDonald because I've liked C.S. Lewis's writing and he mentions MacDonald all the time. I confess I don't completely get his admiration, but that could be because I don't understand the literary context in which MacDonald wrote. It was still an entertaining read -- enough for me to try to find the sequel (unsuccessfully so far, but I've only looked at the library). Not to force an image into your head, but when I had trouble understanding the main character, I imagined a young Brendan Fraser playing him, and suddenly he made a lot of sense.
It was interesting, from my modern perspective, to see some characters depicted as purely evil. I'm not used to looking at people this way, be they real or fictional. I wonder if this might not be as dismissive and judgmental as my knee-jerk reactions tell me, and if it's occasionally accurate and helpful. Haven't quite landed on a conclusion on that yet.

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second MacDonald book. I love the characters, especially the truthful and gentlemanly Malcolm.

MacDonald writes in a way that you would want to emulate his best characters. That would eventually lead to the emulation of Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life.

He writes of the good old days, when one could sit by the fire and read a good book. His characters are all human in nature, not one seems superhuman. The plots are simple and yet intriguing. I had difficulty guessing who the parents of Malcolm were. I doubted Miss Catanach but compelled to acknowledge that even the vilest of creatures can speak of truth. And I did resent her behavior from the first time she appeared in the book until the very last pages.

A wonderful read.

[Charyla Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I should read George McDonald because C.S. Lewis says that all he ever wrote was influenced by him. So I grabbed The Fisherman's Lady off the shelf and delved in--not know it was a "mystery"--not a genre that I would ordinarily choose. But it was great. I couldn't put it down. The character development, the conflict of good and evil, the Scottish flavor all intrigued me. There's a sequel which is not on my bookshelf so I must hunt it down. In the meantime I read two more of his books!!

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking for The Fisherman's Lady for years based on half-remembered names and the keyword Fisherman...thankfully, my friends are more skilled with WordCat than I, and found it for me quite quickly.

This book is one of the first that I can remember where I had to reread pages for both the beauty and the understanding that came when I did. It's one of the first that I savored rather than galloping through. I hope that anyone who reads it will feel the same deep, abiding love that has, for me, lasted more than 10 years.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good ol' Gothic novel with all kinds of lost identities and locked doors and all the rest of it. Plus it's got a strong, fun Scotch streak to give it extra flavor. If you're reading MacDonald, it's probably because you're a C.S. Lewis fan, and you won't be disappointed in this one-- not as spectacular allegorically, but with all the spiritual iron, so to speak, you'll find in the best of Lewis.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit of a struggle to get through this book since I found the plot somewhat slow. However, I did enjoy the story since MacDonald is a good writer. There is a mystery on whom Molcolm actually is and the village is full of gossip and secrets. The best part is that a man gets saved on his deathbed and the truth is revealed. I hope the sequel will bring more clarity to the story and come to a satisfying conclusion.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to learn a different language to get through this, but it was worth the effort for the beautiful writing. I’m still haunted by the image of the poor hunchback “Mad Laird” prostrate under a blue-black star-studded sky, repeating, “Father of Lichts…Father of Lichts…” It reminded me of my favorite scene in Luther where he’s praying face down, “save me, I’m yours save me I’m yours save me, I’m yours.”

Save me, I’m yours FATHER OF LICHTS!!!

[Apple · Rating 4 out of 5]

George MacDonald is probably my favorite author. C. S. Lewis says about his books: "I never wrote a book in which I did not quote George MacDonald." This story shows, like many of his books do, the presence of God in the lives of the characters. I always learn something about God and His relationship to me when I read his books.

[James Churcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has great characters and an intriguing plot. Some of the dialect is in Scotch, which has been a barrier for readers until now, but David Jack's finr translation into modern English makes it accessible. Definite great buy to read or to give as a gift

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet book! ☺️ George MacDonald is an amazing author and he definitely shows that in this book. His gripping plot kept me engaged wondering what was going to happen next. The secrets throughout this story only add to the suspense. Malcolm is surrounded by lies while trying to learn the truth, and I loved his loyalty and unselfishness even while others around him were thinking of themselves! I didn't want to put it down! I am excited to start the second book to see the rest of the story unfold. I also loved how MacDonald made God a part of this book. Definitely one to read again!

[Buz Mayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis said that he never wrote a book without quoting George MacDonald. So, 33 years ago I began reading George MacDonald novels, short stories and sermons. My wife & I read them before the era of heavy editing of his writing to make it easier to read. While I remembered Malcolm, the hero in this story, I had forgotten how thoroughly MacDonald creates his multi-dimensional characters. I don't think I have ever read a novel that was believable where the thoughts, motives and actions of the main character actually made me want to be a better man.

[Kathy Sturch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tried reading this but gave up. The original language made it too difficult for me to understand. But then was given a copy edited by Phillips and soon understood why this is so highly rated. The Fisherman's Lady is a complex look at life that transcends time and location and yet gives one a sense of being a part of old Scotland.

[Sean Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malcolm is a classic novel by a gifted novelist, but how are we to deal with the Scots? There are paraphrases or you can try to figure out the Scots (which I have done a couple of times). David Jack's edition with Scots side by side with English lets anyone enjoy MacDonald's original with confidence that they are getting the whole story.

[Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story. This version is EDITED! Missing important plot facts but does have a nice glossary to help you understand the dialect of characters. Get the sequel ready - a real cliff hanger!

Original book - Malcolm 5 stars
original sequel - The Marquis of Lossie 5 stars

[David Mashburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic MacDonald! A Gaelic highland tale which draws you in with suspenseful curiosity and gives a final plot twist that will leave you in tears from its character and goodness.

[Maria Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

George MacDonald never disappoints. And the atmosphere is the coolest.