The Seaboard Parish

The Marshmallows Trilogy #2

by George MacDonald

1869 Original Printing. Strictly original re-print on a Heidelberg press by Johannesen Printing and Publishing. Old World 1800's hand made edition, hard bound in forest green cotton cloth just like the originals! THE SEABOARD PARISH is a sequel to ANNALS OF A QUIET NEIGHBOURHOOD, written in the first person during the Victorian Era. The narrator describes the history of a year during part of which he took charge of a friend's parish while his brother n law Thomas Weir, who was the curate, took the entire charge of the town of Marshmallows. Reprinted 2 times from Johannesen Publisher.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Romance, Faith, Christianity, Christian Fiction

624 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1868

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

[Penn Hackney · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEMES:
The problem of altruism and God’s will 176226
The problem of selfishness and poverty 176238
Christmas
Milton, Lycidas 180453, 183624,
Keats,
Age and aging
Beauty ephemeral vol. 2 179009
Greed vol. 2 178021, 179032,
Pedagogy and child-rearing 179182, 179523 v2c6,
Rights of women, 179542 v2c6, 182813 v3c6, did he consult Louisa?
Church - preaching and purpose 179761 v.2.c.6
what one *believes* does not determine what may BE. 179871 v.2.c.7
Wordsworth and Shelley 179872 v2c7
Childhood and dreams 180180 v2ch9
Hope 180125, 180195
Church doctrines and personalities, and ecclesiology
Life & death, love & misguided altruism, 181126 v2c13; 181218;
Plenitude v3c1 181558
Nature 182232 v3c4
Nature as (salvific?) balm v3c2
The wrongness of “but for the grace of God ….” v3c6
Death and disease v3c6
Death, and how we relate to it v3c8&9 183601

Peter’s sermon: courage and fear; confession and offense; bragging and denying. Vol. 2 ch. 1 loc. 178718 ff., solution

Grief as an object of awe and reverence, v3c9

STORIES:
Winnie, depressed and gloomy but trying to put a brave face in it. Narrates the next one.
Connie, a sweet sunny soul and indefatigable good humor
Blacksmith Joe Harper and ??’s daughter Agnes (Aggie)
Carpenter Harry Cobb
Sexton Coombes, treats his cemetery residents like people; cf. Thomas Newell of Drumcondra churchyard
Willie Coombs and Mary
Percival, the artist
Turner, the doctor v.2.ch. 9
Mrs. Stokes: laborer v. Shopkeeper v.3.c.5
The shipwreck v3c8


Profound:
Our ability to act is most like to God v3c5
Crying brings relief xxx? ,
So much does the near hide the greater that is afar! v3c7
This should teach us to distrust ourselves, and yet have great hope for ourselves, and endless patience with other people.
The wisdom of not speaking v3c9
Moral dreaming v3c10
Hope can (should) lead to action v3c12 184281

Addresses the reader: 179453, 180572, 180663, 182070 (girl reader), v3ch9 183767,

“a lovable kind of hallucination” 180770

The Chief end of human life is to “will the truth.” 182923

Nameless servants 183094,

[Anne Ochs · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

I enjoyed this 2nd of the trilogy but not as much as I enjoyed the first book.
George MacDonald does well teaching Faith without being preachy.

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. I enjoyed it. However...at the beginning Mr. Walton states that he has 7 children goes on to name 5 and then later in the story talks about the little one that they adopted, presumably the 6th.... No where is a 7th mentioned... Did I miss something?

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love George MacDonald. I hate this book.

I am not the only one. I’m giving it two stars rather than one because it is not ENTIRELY loathsome. However, this book is not flattering to Georgie.

Even taking into account that it was written for one of those serialized magazine publications designed for families to sit around and read for edification on Sundays… this takes moralizing and preaching to an entirely new insufferable level. The vicar (who I quite liked in Annals of a Quiet Neigbirhood) I now despise and consider not only rude, pompous, self-righteous, hypocritical, and judgmental. But he’s also a miserable father.

He’s also responsible for the deaths of all those sailors he pressured into the lifeboat, and this is never addressed or answered since the only two men he cared about survived. Disgusting. Leave the experts to do what they do. Also don’t preach about the resurrection of Lazarus the Sunday after a catastrophic shipwreck which resulted in over ten people dead! What is wrong with you sir!!! You don’t even live in this town!!!

If this book were written as a satyrical mockery of the moralizing, self- righteous religious man who can’t let a comment on the weather pass without musing about the natural world reflecting God’s nature into our souls (pluck out my eyes! These passages tried my patience!) If the obvious frustration of the supporting characters with their moralizing vicar had been INTENDED by the author I could have given this book a shred of credit. Because the other characters DO seem fatigued and annoyed. Lovely dinners and beach-side picnics routinely die on the pages, cut down by a twelve paragraph sermon spewed without preamble over the party with such saccharine violence to all enjoyment or taste that the following silence resulting from such sermons is the only codicil, bringing both the enjoyment of the participants and the chapter to an exhausted close.


George….i hope the money you earned from this at the very least supported your 10 kids and beleaguered wife, because that is the only ounce of value that has ever been squeezed out of this work.

[Ross Acheson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good preaching and reflections on life and nature, but I can't recommend it as a novel. The story itself is slow and often uninteresting, and feels very much disconnected from the much more enthralling story of which it is the sequel.

I read the third novel in the trilogy, The Vicar's Daughter, before this one, and I see now that was a big mistake. The Vicar's Daughter is much more interesting and readable having read The Seaboard Parish, and thus having become acquainted with Wynnie and Percival before they were married.

[Jason Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not MacDonald’s best book, but it is thoroughly MacDonald - full of his insights into human nature and spiritual reality. The characters are genuinely complex and believable. The storyline is more of a walk through a leisurely park than an adventure. Not bad, just more casual than most modern fictions.

It did encourage me to lean on God, even in hard trials. The way Connie and her family handle her injury is inspiring. Also an interesting view into Victorian medicine.

Good book. I recommend it for a casual read, especially for those who need God’s encouragement in uncertainties.

[Tiffini Oporto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how MacDonald is always quoting, explaining, and expounding Scripture in this book. He seems to have a very high view of Scripture or he wouldn’t devote so much effort in writing about it. It’s encouraging because so many of his readers don’t have a high view of Scripture, and it doesn’t seem consistent to me at all. I’m glad I’m reading him for myself to understand really where his heart is and devotion to the Word.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books. I love the combination of story/romance, scenic description, quirky characters, and musings philosophical and theological. Also the little nuggets of parenting wisdom (the narrator is a dad of teens and younger at this point) throughout are gold.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously, what happened to the medical prescription “Go get a change of scenery and air for at least 3 months”?
https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...

[Charlotte Gunther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stylized characters, detailed descriptions of places and people -- but I enjoyed it.

[Zac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great peice from this immensely gifted story teller. Full of sound biblical truths

[Debbie Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seaboard Parish is delightful

I thoroughly enjoyed MacDonald's way of writing. I loved meeting his family and his encouragement to know that God loves us.

[Hae Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This original version is definitely better than the edited version. I thought the edited version was pretty boring. But this original version is now one of my favorite GM books. I feel I have grown and become enriched by reading this book. He has such insights to offer us. He sees God and humanity in Nature. He has fine perceptions of human nature and characters. He talks about growing old. Everybody should read the chapter titled "The sermon," the topic of which is death and resurrection. Definitely will reread some time in the future.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first George MacDonald novel. I truly appreciate the way He wrote about the characters' growth in their relationship with God throughout the story.

[Renee Wolcott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not MacDonald's best book. It has many loose threads and pointless meanders.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all of George MacDonald's book this one has an emphasis on the love of God that will encourage and inspire.