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The George MacDonald Treasury
s/t: : Princess and the Goblin, Princess and Curdie, Light Princess, Phantastes, Giant's Heart, At the Back of the North Wind, Golden Key, and Lilith
This enchanted collection brings together eight of George McDonald's most well known fantasies into one delightful volume. The George McDonald Treasury includes The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, The Light Princess, Phantastes, The Giant's Heart, At the Back of the North Wind, The Golden Key, and Lilith. MacDonald's classic works have inspired deep admiration in such notables as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Elizabeth Yates, and Lewis Carroll. C. S. Lewis wrote, "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him." One day while in a train station, he picked up a copy of Phantastes and began to read. "A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence." Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "Surely George MacDonald is the grandfather of us all-all of us who struggle to come to terms with truth through imagination." If you loved J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, you will love the works of his hero and model - George McDonald.
This enchanted collection brings together eight of George McDonald's most well known fantasies into one delightful volume. The George McDonald Treasury includes The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, The Light Princess, Phantastes, The Giant's Heart, At the Back of the North Wind, The Golden Key, and Lilith. MacDonald's classic works have inspired deep admiration in such notables as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Elizabeth Yates, and Lewis Carroll. C. S. Lewis wrote, "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him." One day while in a train station, he picked up a copy of Phantastes and began to read. "A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence." Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "Surely George MacDonald is the grandfather of us all-all of us who struggle to come to terms with truth through imagination." If you loved J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, you will love the works of his hero and model - George McDonald.
668 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2007
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501 people want to read
About the author
George MacDonald
1,711 books2,498 followersGeorge 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 19, 2023
C.S. Lewis is right that MacDonald is great at making myths. They tend to be hard to follow as a whole, and episodes or sub-stories jump out.
October 7, 2009
I wish I had these stories when I was little.
The Princess and the Goblin
Fun story with delightful asides on how to act like a true princess (always remember your handkerchief!) as well as some doctrinal insights on faith and trust. ("Seeing is not believing -- it is only seeing.")
The Princess and Curdie
Sequel to The Princess and the Goblin where Curdie is the main character. One interesting theme contrasts wicked people acting like beasts with ugly creatures acting rightly.
The Light Princess
Humorous story with plenty of puns. (As a result of losing her gravity, the princess floats in the air and is never serious.)
Phantastes
I can see how this inspired C. S. Lewis. At times it is a little weird and rambling but there are powerful truths hidden in the fantasy. And I love the love story with an unconventional ending.
The Giant's Heart
Short, odd, and just a little macabre. I guess the moral is not to eat little kids. Or maybe that you can still be brave even if you have a name like Tricksey-Wee or Buffy-Bob.
At the Back of the North Wind
Here we have musings on the problem of pain (as C. S. Lewis calls it) and how to live a virtuous live even in the midst of poverty and misfortune. Of course that's all hidden underneath the story of a little boy befriended by a beautiful goddess and how he's changed by visiting the country "at her back."
The Golden Key
A boy and a girl set out on a journey to find what the Golden Key opens and the way to the idyllic land from whence the shadows fall. McDonald plays a lot with age and time passing and we learn that not only is there an Old Man of the Sea, there is also an Old Man of the Earth and an Old Man of the Fire who looks, paradoxically, like a child.
Lilith
This story is a little longer and darker and blatantly religious than the others. The main character's stupidity, fear, and disobedience annoyed me and I don't think he was worthy of his reward. Which was probably the whole point. Repentance and salvation is available to absolutely everyone (even the vilest sinner) who is willing (however reluctantly) to let themselves die and be resurrected in glory.
The Princess and the Goblin
Fun story with delightful asides on how to act like a true princess (always remember your handkerchief!) as well as some doctrinal insights on faith and trust. ("Seeing is not believing -- it is only seeing.")
The Princess and Curdie
Sequel to The Princess and the Goblin where Curdie is the main character. One interesting theme contrasts wicked people acting like beasts with ugly creatures acting rightly.
The Light Princess
Humorous story with plenty of puns. (As a result of losing her gravity, the princess floats in the air and is never serious.)
Phantastes
I can see how this inspired C. S. Lewis. At times it is a little weird and rambling but there are powerful truths hidden in the fantasy. And I love the love story with an unconventional ending.
The Giant's Heart
Short, odd, and just a little macabre. I guess the moral is not to eat little kids. Or maybe that you can still be brave even if you have a name like Tricksey-Wee or Buffy-Bob.
At the Back of the North Wind
Here we have musings on the problem of pain (as C. S. Lewis calls it) and how to live a virtuous live even in the midst of poverty and misfortune. Of course that's all hidden underneath the story of a little boy befriended by a beautiful goddess and how he's changed by visiting the country "at her back."
The Golden Key
A boy and a girl set out on a journey to find what the Golden Key opens and the way to the idyllic land from whence the shadows fall. McDonald plays a lot with age and time passing and we learn that not only is there an Old Man of the Sea, there is also an Old Man of the Earth and an Old Man of the Fire who looks, paradoxically, like a child.
Lilith
This story is a little longer and darker and blatantly religious than the others. The main character's stupidity, fear, and disobedience annoyed me and I don't think he was worthy of his reward. Which was probably the whole point. Repentance and salvation is available to absolutely everyone (even the vilest sinner) who is willing (however reluctantly) to let themselves die and be resurrected in glory.
April 25, 2008
These Victorian Fairytales easily transcend the genre and make the leap in to real, lasting literary greatness. Bordering on the edge of the surreal at times, McDonald doesn't pander to easy decoding of his texts. Still, the images and metaphors he creates ring with a vivacity that makes these stories seem like they easily must have predated his tellings of them. Long stories like "The Golden Key" and "The Light Princess" and "The Wise Woman" are fantastic. Rich in language and image, I suppose they must be children's stories in some way, but in truth, they're really just great, life-evoking literary fantasy that have a rare sort of magic to them.
McDonald has his flaws, as he can be very wordy at times (I had a hard time getting in to "Lilith", but at his best he's easily as good as Tolkien, which makes sense-- he was a direct influence on him, and Tolkien held him in very high esteem.
McDonald has his flaws, as he can be very wordy at times (I had a hard time getting in to "Lilith", but at his best he's easily as good as Tolkien, which makes sense-- he was a direct influence on him, and Tolkien held him in very high esteem.
October 23, 2012
A collection of George MacDonald's Short Stories. The light-hearted and somewhat moral/religious undertones were evident in many of his pieces, causing not only enjoyment from a fairy tale, but a deeper reflective moment.
I have been reading a lot of George MacDonald lately, and I m very fascinated. Every story in this collection is written in an innocent and pure way. If read to a younger audience, it would seem like a fun and fulfilling fantasy. Yet it would take a more mature mind to detect the religious messages and moral evidence. I see this as a perfect meld for young adult readers, it has a face value of story for the young, yet the symbolism for the mature, finding that delicate point in young adult readers.
I have been reading a lot of George MacDonald lately, and I m very fascinated. Every story in this collection is written in an innocent and pure way. If read to a younger audience, it would seem like a fun and fulfilling fantasy. Yet it would take a more mature mind to detect the religious messages and moral evidence. I see this as a perfect meld for young adult readers, it has a face value of story for the young, yet the symbolism for the mature, finding that delicate point in young adult readers.
June 5, 2009
Finished the trilogy. We all enjoyed these stories. We plan to read the next 5 stories in this collection this summer.
These are the books we are reading for Wendy and Rebecca's Liberty Belles group. The Princess and the Goblin is the first story in this book and is one of a trilogy. We are currently reading the second book, The Princes and Curdie. They are such great stories with great teachings throughout. One prominent theme throughout is the importance of not judging others by appearances. We look forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, and reading the others in this book.
These are the books we are reading for Wendy and Rebecca's Liberty Belles group. The Princess and the Goblin is the first story in this book and is one of a trilogy. We are currently reading the second book, The Princes and Curdie. They are such great stories with great teachings throughout. One prominent theme throughout is the importance of not judging others by appearances. We look forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, and reading the others in this book.
August 19, 2010
The Princess and the Goblin: This story was light and frothy like a strawberry milkshake. Irene charms the readers with her unfailingly sweet and innocent character, while Curdie captures us with his bravery and "It's no big deal" kind of goodness and humility. The plot drags a bit and doesn't have an especially exciting climax or rising action... the imagery, narrator, and characters are what carried me through. I was interested in the surroundings McDonald describes and the magic. The Grandmother seemed too God-like, omniscient, and interfering of the plot, which irked me a little. However nonetheless I appreciated this story for what it did have... and I particularly enjoyed Irene.
December 28, 2011
This is a masterpiece of fantasy literature. If you like fairy tales, it's quintessential. It's written in archaic style, with very long sentences and paragraphs, exotic words and florid, meticulously detailed descriptions of places, emotions and states of mind. It'll bring you into Faery Land and leave you there to find your way out. The rules don't apply, anything can happen and things are never what they seem; as with any good fairy tale, when I got into it, things around me started to look weird. It's a beautiful piece of art and it left a mark.
July 29, 2011
I read these stories as a kid and loved them. Sometimes, I reread books I loved back then and, unfortunately, I don't feel the same about them now. These stories are still wonderful and I have a new appreciation for MacDonald's prose. I'm happy to say that MacDonald is still one of my favorite authors.
July 11, 2007
One of those books that underpins a whole genre - this was a book that influenced C S Lewis as a teenager and set him on his path of fantasy writing. It's somewhat Victorian in language and thought, but still, quite something.
August 16, 2007
Dark fairy tales. This is what precedes Lewis, Tolkein, and even Madeleine L'Engle.
December 10, 2013
All of the stories are amazing, but some are very hard to read for a modern reader, even one who loves reading!!
January 4, 2017
Thoroughly enjoying reading the children's stories.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews