The Complete Fairy Tales

by George MacDonald, U.C. Knoepflmacher (Editor)

George MacDonald occupied a major position in the intellectual life of his Victorian contemporaries. This volume brings together all eleven of his shorter fairy stories as well as his essay "The Fantastic Imagination". The subjects are those of traditional fantasy: good and wicked fairies, children embarking on elaborate quests, and journeys into unsettling dreamworlds. Within this familiar imaginative landscape, his children's stories were profoundly experimental, questioning the association of childhood with purity and innocence, and the need to separate fairy tale wonder from adult scepticism and disbelief.

Genres: Fantasy, Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Literature, Christian Fiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1882

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

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? Some writers are eternal and George MacDonald is one of them. I love him. I do. And his collection of fairy stories are so wonderful. I read this once again, for The Light Princess, which has themes and motifs that I love. What brilliant fiction. What a brilliant, thoughtful man George MacDonald was. I wish I had a time machine and I could go back and spend an afternoon with him. What a wonder!!!!!!!! Of all the things I have read in the last month, this has been my favorite.

A REREAD FOR RESEARCH.

[Joy Pixley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings together fairy tales from various sources, including stories that were originally part of longer novels. The book is hard for me to review, because I got stuck on one story I didn't like for so long that by now I've practically forgotten the earlier ones, but I'll muddle through. My only prior experience with George MacDonald was "Princess and the Goblin," which I have a vague memory of liking but no specific recollection of. These stories are thoroughly fairy tales – magic and fairies abound -- which I appreciated, but I wasn't bowled over by the content or the writing. I can believe that this was radically exciting stuff when it was first written, and I praise it for that. And some of the story bits are quite clever. I especially liked the first story, "The Light Princess," in which a witch's curse takes away the princess' gravity. It's light (no pun intended) and funny and also touching. The style and story flowed well, and there was plenty of movement to it. My favorite was the last story included here, although it also has the advantage of being best recalled: "The History of Photogen and Nycteris: A Day and Night Mährchen." Not only is the idea creative (a weird witch who raises a boy to know only sunlight and raises a girl to know only darkness) but I loved how he portrayed Nycteris' unique perspective on things, given her limited knowledge – it was beautiful, and touching. Between those two stories, though, were several that I didn't care for. Some were mostly enjoyable but had long swaths of extraneous boring bits. Some included poems or songs that added nothing to the story – and the longest ones were the worst about that – making me understand why some people refuse to even read such additions. "The Giant's Heart" had the same fun, lighthearted quality as the first story, until they murdered the giant; but that appealed to my love of German folk tales with the gruesome endings. I think I liked "The Golden Key," although it's too long to revisit at this point: it has a nice adventure quality to it, although I seem to remember it dragging, too. Okay, the more I look back over the book, the more I remember liking the earlier stories. "The Carasoyn," for instance, is a nice example of the trouble people get into when they mess with fairies, and how if a wise woman (witch) tells you to do something, you'd better do exactly what she says. Those are common themes in these stories, and they work well.

The one story I really didn't like, and which is coloring my perspective, is "The Wise Woman or the Lost Princess." This is the longest story, at about 80 pages, and about half of those pages could have been cut and still conveyed the same content. I'd say this story suffers the most from feeling dated; these ideas might have made perfect sense over a century ago, but taste sour to me now. The main theme is that little girls should behave themselves better – keeping their emotions and desires in check and being quiet and obedient and generous to others – and if they don't, it's their parents' fault for spoiling them. (There's no reason this couldn't have been about two little boys, but since it was girls and nothing was said about boys also having to behave themselves, it felt sexist.) A powerful wise woman / witch basically kidnaps two such girls and tries to cure them of their obstinacy by putting them through various humiliating trials. Granted, they are very poorly behaved and stubbornly refuse to obey her, but the lessons go on and on and on, long after the reader has figured out what the end result will be. Not surprisingly, the noble-blooded princess is the one who manages to succeed, whereas the peasant girl comes from poor stock and cannot be salvaged. To make it worse, woven throughout the story is the claim that you can tell how good and noble people are by their appearance. I had always thought that the Tolkien trope about good guys being handsome and bad guys being ugly was an unconscious bias, but here it is stated explicitly and repeatedly. Characters can supposedly tell that the princess isn't really princess-like because of the crude, rude look of her facial features. As she becomes better behaved, her face literally changes. Not her expression, mind you: the actual shape of her nose and other features. Wow.

Overall, this is an interesting excursion into the history of some of our favorite fairy tale ideas, with plenty of clever and creative bits of storytelling, and I'm happy to keep it on my shelf. But it's no Lord Dunsany.

[Mariangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel: I liked all the tales by George MacDonald because they were very well described.
They are better than other fairy stories.

[Stefan Yates · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possibly the language and era in which the tales in this book was written effected my enjoyment of this book. There were some tales in it that I did like, for example, The History of Photogen and Nycteris was quite good actually. Overall however, I found most of the tales to be preachy and in effect little more than sermons dressed up as fairy tales. This makes sense since the author, George MacDonald, was a Christian minister, but understanding in this case did not increase my enjoyment.

On a positive note, the tales are very well written. The introduction also contains some very good insights by the author about writing and fairy tales in general that I found interesting. I do not dispute that this is an important and influential work, I just did not find the majority of the book to be entertaining.

For those that enjoy reading the classics, don't let my review put you off. I am judging this book entirely by my enjoyment of it, not by its literary merit. I would say that it would be worth your time to give it a shot. You may find it much more rewarding than I did.

[The Scribbling Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Light Princess - 4.5
The Shadows - 3.5
The Giants Heart - 3

Cross Purposes - 2.5
The Golden Key - 5

Little Daylight - High 2
Nanny's Dream - High 2
Diamond's Dream - 3

The Carosyn (part 1) - 3.5
The Carosyn (part 2) - 3
The Wise Woman/The Lost Princess - 4
The History of Photogen and Nycteris - 5

[Lidia · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you desire to read fairy tales with the Fae Folk, Wise Women and Princesses then George MacDonald's fairy tales are the perfect stories for you! 😉

P.S: Now I get the title of The Light Princess 😅 I never read the story till now so I was wondering what the title means... well now I know 😂

[Isabelle✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read two of the stories in school, but the rest I finished on my own. "The Wise Woman, or the Lost Princess" is such a terrible story- only the brat princess can be redeemed and the brat peasant girl cannot. The other stories are all similarly boring and had no point.

[Kate Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Light Princess is now a new favorite! Unfortunately that was the singular story I loved in this entire collection. Beautiful writing but the other stories never stuck the landing for me.

[Davis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Golden Key" is really, truly, one of the greatest things ever written. This is a desert island book.

[Surreysmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1986:] What I like about MacDonald's fairy stories (as opposed to, say, Lewis' Narnia chronicles) is that they are not so openly allegorical nor so openly addressed to children. What I like about them - as opposed to, say, Tolkien's Ring trilogy - is that the imaginative vision is not so closely linked in with a particular mythology, and thus does not lose its charm as one grows older and wiser in these things. The first of these stories, "The Light Princess," is indubitably my favourite: I am sure it must have been read to me when I was a child, for it all seemed achingly familiar, and that dreadful, wonderful image of the Prince being slowly swallowed up by water as he gazes at his love haunts me (Hughes' illustration also seemed to ring bells). I didn't like the "little people" stories quite so much, but "The Day Boy and the Night Girl" is quite spell-binding. Photogen and Nycteris and the werewolf pseudo-mother Watho go through their symbolic evolutions in a way which appeals very strongly to basic human sympathies. That combination, methinks, is characteristic of the best parts of all these stories. "The Golden Key" is another such, a Pilgrim's Progress through a wonderfully mystic fairy landscape full of spiritual signiface, but only intimated significance, never over-obvious.

[Mindy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are basically fairy tales for adults. I am loving George MacDonald's style in many of these tales, and his inserted thoughts. He has an old-fashioned, simple, melodic way of writing, and he has that grandfatherly way of inserting little life lessons as if he were telling a story to a young grandchild on his knee.

Usually his writing is easy to understand, though some stories (like The Shadows) are more difficult to follow.

The stories have fairly simple meanings underneath, as well.

Some portray the simple, eloquent beauty of love among young lovers, old spouses, or siblings in a way few other authors seem to understand. The Wise Woman seems to be a great lesson in both parenting and child psychology--I hope I'm as understanding of and wise and gentle with my children someday as George MacDonald seems to have somehow become. So far, I have loved Little Daylight, The Light Princess, The History of Photogen and Nycteris (The Day Boy and the Night Girl), and The Wise Woman; liked The Giant's Heart and The Golden Key okay; and not liked The Shadows.

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this collection of George MacDonald's Fairy Tales at Waterstones when I was in Oxford, England with my Scottish friend David Jack, who endorsed my book Surprised by Agape, and who also translates the Scots novels of MacDonald into English.
It is a wonderful collection of MacDonald's fairy tales. My favorite of them all is The Golden Key. I also liked the fact that MacDonald's powerful essay The Fantastic Imagination was included with this volume. It is a book that I greatly cherish, and will be one that I return to again and again.

[Jessie Wittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

His gentle virtuizing, combined with his descriptions of nature which render the familiar unfamiliar and fresh, make George McDonald a delightful read. Some of the stories in the collection are a tad laborious, but over all the stories raise the reader unto a desire for personal character.

[Paul Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you aren't familiar with Christian theology, MacDonald might trick you into thinking you are reading a nice little fairy tale. Which you are. But you are reading a nice little fairy tale that is laden with beautiful religious allegory. A masterful storyteller.

[Marquise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a more complete and exhaustive collection of MacDonald's stories than the Complete Fairy Tales edition, and includes both his literary fairy tale shorties and his Fantasy novelettes & novellas. Wish it had more illustrations, though!

[D.J. Edwardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars really on the strength of three of its stories- The Light Princess, The History of Phtogen and Nycteris, and my favorite of all, The Wise Woman or the Lost Princess. Not that the other stories are bad, but to me these three rise above the rest. The Light Princess has a great deal of Christian imagery and symbolism, but it is superficially like most fairy tales, especially Sleeping Beauty. The end is really quite moving. Photogen and Nycteris feels a bit more like classical mythology. Its story and imagery are very much fantastical and even a bit eerie. But its has a great deal of depth. However, even amongst these three, my far and away favorite story was The Wise Woman or the Lost Princess. This in fact is probably my favorite piece of fiction that I have ever read. The story contains so much prfound wisdom and spiritual insight that it is truly amazing. The story for me was odly convicting and I felt as if MacDonald was giving us a window into the soul that few writers are able to do. That he did this through a fairy tale was even more incredible, but after reading this book, I will not underestimate the genre again. In fact, from this and other works I've read lately, I wonder if the fairy story and its variations are not perhaps the quintessential or ultimate achievement in literature. I absolutely loved this story and will be reading it again and again through the years.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

These were some very curious tales. The more I read of MacDonald the more he puzzles me. I saw some glimpses of "The Princess and the Goblin" in here, but he tends to lose me in the longer descriptive passages. I think I'd come back to these again in a few years, to see if I feel differently. I did really enjoy the last one in the collection, "The Day Boy and the Night Girl."

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love MacDonald's style of telling fairy tales, and my favourites of his in this collection were "The Light Princess," "The Golden Key," and "Little Daylight." I don't know why some of his tales are missing from this anthology, though, such as the one about Photogen and Nycteris, but maybe those were included in the edition that includes the Fantasies as well as the Tales.

[David Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in:
2008
2012 (25-30 June)
2013 (10-22 September)

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chipped away at this for about a year. This is one of those books, like Frederick Exley's "A Fan's Notes," that working writers will enjoy and borrow material from (C.S. Lewis certainly did, in the case of MacDonald) and normie page-turning readers will find tedious, overwrought, and at times utterly devoid of plot (rightly so). I had that reaction to MacDonald when I read *At the Back of the North Wind* in my preteen years, but decided to give him another go decades later.

I think I'll stop with this collection, at least for now. For every incredible sentence that appears almost sans context - "Rinkelmann made his living by comic sketches, and all but lost it again by tragic poems" (the opening line of "The Shadows") - you've got to trudge through lots of clunky dot-connecting (hence my Exley comparison - his main book is worth reading for about 3-5 pages of stellar material). And yet...what's here is excellent. The stories linger far longer in the mind than one might expect, particularly the darker ones, and the whole thing packs a punch. But it's no "Through the Looking Glass" or "A Confederacy of Dunces," no collection that has even the slightest chance of appealing to the majority of readers. It's not even as good as the two volumes of "Sylvie and Bruno," which contain some of the sharpest criticism of academia I've ever read.

At the same time, this is top-shelf work, "writing for writers who love writing," if you will. Yet you have to wonder if MacDonald, who wrote in the shadow of so many better storytellers, understood he had missed the big-time by a plot or three? I've sold a lot of fiction over the years - mysteriously so, but I've got my patrons - and I've always felt the same way about that work. It's a lot of sentences, but to what divine end?

"But who knows that, when we go out, we shall not go into a day as much greater than your day as your day is greater than my night?"

"And that is all my double story. How double it is, if you care to know, you must find out. If you think it is not finished—I never knew a story that was. I could tell you a great deal more concerning them all, but I have already told more than is good for those who read but with their foreheads, and enough for those whom it has made look a little solemn, and sigh as they close the book."

[Sharon Ouderkirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seminal collection echoes through the decades in the works of other great writers - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, and the list goes on to include a knock on impact on pretty much all fantasy written (or filmed) since the the 1860s. Beginning with MacDonald's essay, The Fantastic Imagination, and including his shorter fairytales (not the novel length ones), MacDonald's work set a very high bar for modern fantasy, which included strong female characters existing outside of Victorian gender roles, and complex psychological insight. MacDonald did not need Freud or Jung or any other giant of psychology to show the way: he was writing well before they were practicing, begging the reaction that the imagination may be the true path to self-understanding.
My personal favourites are 'The Shadows' (the part where the shadows danced with the Northern Lights is now a recurring image in my own brain) and 'The Wise Woman, or the Lost Princess: A Double Story' the latter being a useful contemporary parenting guide as much as anything else. MacDonald was funny as well as profound, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of his caustic side remarks on the happenings. 'The Light Princess' was a comic delight. I am by no means a MacDonald expert, but our relationship (MacDonald and this reader) has just begun.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of tales ranges in quality, but I have to give five stars for the book based on how much I enjoyed both *The Wise Woman* and *Photogen and Nycteris*, together the which takes up well over one third of the book. Macdonald was an inspiration to both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and was a friend to Lewis Carroll, so that should give some indication of the company he kept as a writer.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I have read all the McDonald fairy tales. This collection has 11 stories, not of which I liked equally. I think my favorites are The Light Princess, and The Wise Woman.

[Patience · Rating 4 out of 5]

George MacDonald deserves every ounce of praise heaped on him by C.S. Lewis.

[Alexander Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great; I especially loved The Light Princess for its depth and charm.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was sometimes hard to find the thread of the stories, but I think that was more a lack in me than the author.

[Elihú · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacDonald siempre me sorprende. No importa cuánto me tarde en leer otro libro suyo, cuando llego a él es una delicia. Sus narraciones tan cargadas de simbolismo y de amor por la Fantasía, se expresan de sobra con cuentos únicos y muy bellos. Fantastes fue de las mejores lecturas del año pasado, aún cuando era un libro denso y que merece una lectura más reposada para captar todos los mensajes subyacentes que iba presentando, aunque el principal quedaba muy claro, recordándome mucho a Le Guin y su Mago de Terramar. No hay duda de que ella tomó inspiración de este escocés, así como Lewis y Tolkien.

Estos cuentos reflejan todo lo que MacDonald es como cuenta cuentos y fantasista. Al igual que Dunsany, el "sueño" es un elemento importantísimo a la hora de confeccionar el ambiente, pues para él es la "barrera", la linde con el "mundo que conocemos" y que nos transporta al País de las Hadas, una tierra de ensueño que nos enseña y nos hace crecer, a veces más que en la "tierra de las sombras", es decir el nuestro. Esta, es una idea que el barón de Dunsany explotaría posteriormente en sus cuentos y, sobre todo, en La Hija del Rey del País de los Elfos. Ay, esas lindes.

La Princesa Ligera es una de esas historias raras al principio, pero que te van atrapando y divirtiendo, con sus elementos característicos como la bruja que pone una maldición a la princesa y que solo un príncipe podrá romperla. Ya hemos visto y leído un montón de cuentos así, pero es la forma de contarlos lo que vuelven a estos cuentos diferentes de otros, más especiales. A mí el que más me gustó fue el que cierra la colección, "El Día y la Noche en el País de las Hadas", en el que el autor juega con los opuestos hasta en la manera de escribirlo, como si estuviera frente a un espejo.

Lo que me gusta de George es que se las arregla para contarlo todo de manera amena, con mucho humor a veces, burlándose de ciertos elementos repetitivos de los cuentos de hadas, pero sin dejar de lado ciertas crueldades que ya se sabe no se escatimaban de ellos. Sin embargo, a diferencia de Perrault o los Grimm, no quiere aleccionar a nadie ni darle moraleja alguna. Fomenta la libre interpretación en sus cuentos para todas las edades, ya que él defiende que entre más símbolos tenga una obra artística, mejor será. Y porque efectivamente, cualquiera puede leerlos. Cualquiera con corazón de niño, "ya sea que tenga 5, 50 0 70 años".

Esta manera más "pura", si queremos llamarlo así, de encarar la Fantasía, es una que muchos lectores actualmente están olvidando o no están teniendo la fortuna de descubrir. La Fantasía de Ende o la de Le Guin está siendo enterrada por otra "fantasía" más terrenal, sí, pues la "realidad" también es importante. Pero no hay que olvidarnos de aquella que lucha por encarar nuestro día a día no desde la violencia, el sexo explícito o construcciones masivas, sino desde la "bondad y la esperanza", palabras que a veces me alucina que produzcan rechazo en las personas. Para algunos tal vez sean muy escasas, pero por eso es un tesoro que debería buscarse y pasar a otros cuando se encuentre.

Estos cuentos son parte de ello, de esta magia de la que solo los que tengan la valentía de alejarse de prejuicios podrán encontrar algún consuelo. No se trata de renegar de las cabronadas y materialidades del mundo exterior, sino encararlas desde una perspectiva menos "dolorosa" y aún así, igual de difícil.

[Professor Kirke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many similar collections, this is quite hit or miss, but there are some gems in here that are very much worth your time. Here are my short reviews of the individual tales:

1. The Light Princess
A beautiful story of love and sacrifice. The Prince isn't a to-the-letter Christ character - but a (naturally flawed) type of Christ who "died for us, while we were still sinners" (Rom 5:8) and selfish enemies of God - much like the Princess who is so obsessed with her own desires that she doesn't even realize that the waters that bring her so much pleasure are going to drown him.

2. The Shadows
This story didn't resonate with me as much as the first one and I was surprised by some of the continuity errors it had, although I can't rule out the possibility that I missed something. Anyways, some interesting ideas here but nothing that will stick with me for long. I liked the creepier aspects of the story that had an almost Lovecraftian element to them. Would've enjoyed an expansion of those themes.

3. The Giant's Heart
Another weird little story that seems to lack context to be correctly understood. Which makes sense, since it is originally told by a character in one of MacDonald's novels. I liked the ending more than most of what lead up to it.

4. Cross Purposes
A cute, poetic and pretty unique love story of sorts, set in "Fairyland," which is full of absurd and colourful characters and places. As I've come to expect from these fairytales, the deeper meaning of the story is quite obscure, but once again I can't help but notice the hidden references to Christ and his self-giving love. I liked this one!

5. The Golden Key
My favourite story so far, and the most abstract of the bunch. Fascinatingly innovative, full of vibrant, beautiful imagery and almost impenetrably obscure at times, this story seeks not to stimulate the intellect but to "baptize the imagination" as C. S. Lewis put it. Sort of like an esoteric take on The Pilgrim's Progress.

6. Little Daylight
Very similar to other stories in this volume but once again a quite lovely read. The prince's first encounter with princess Daylight was magical. I understand what Lewis meant when he wrote that, when he read MacDonald, his "imagination was baptized".

7. Nanny's Dream
This one doesn't seem to make any sense outside of its original context, so I can't really say a lot about it. I found it to be quite boring.

8. Diamond's Dream
Weird! Didn't like it. Again, clearly missing context.

9. The Carasoyn
Another weird story that's apparently based on a Scottish folk tale. I wasn't a fan of this one although I did like the darker tone, especially in regard to the fairies.

10. The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess
This is probably the longest story in the book, and one of my favourites! Lots to think about and reflect on.

11. The History of Photogen and Nycteris: A Day and Night Mährchen
Well, I'm sure this one is super deep and rich in symbolism. Unfortunately it's also very boring!

[An-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a collection of stories, this is one of those books you'll probably partially like and partially not like so much. For me, personally, there were three stories I didn't really enjoy, those being "Cross Purposes" and "The Giant's Heart", both of which seemed sort of incoherent and stretched out, and "The Wise Woman", which was too preachy and a little too dubious for my taste. The rest of the stories I loved. I can especially recommend "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" (the story was absolutely spellbinding), "The Light Princess" (delightfully funny but still with your standard fairytale 'moral'), and "Little Daylight".

Possibly my favorite part about the book, however, was MacDonald's essay on the nature and writing of fairytales. I love his personal philosophies, and the best parts of it come out especially well in this relatively short but insightful bit of text. It also explains why Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were so affected by him. It's a very nice read for any fantasy fan.

As a side note, I read the Penguin Classics version, and most of the explanatory notes in it are worthless. Quite a number of them say something like "blah will happen later in the story" or explain some more or less obvious source for a personal name. However, the introductory blurbs to each section of stories were pretty interesting, so for someone looking for background and frame info for the stories, the edition is possibly worth getting.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are not Disney-like stories. They're subtle and definitely a product of their time (late 1800's.) MacDonald's fairy tales are made up of lovely images, humor, and somewhat meandering story-lines.

I'm sure not everyone would enjoy reading MacDonald's fairy tales. But for fans of Tolkien - and C.S. Lewis especially - it's interesting to read and see influences MacDonald's writing had on their work.

According to the forward of this book, C.S. Lewis called George MacDonald a master in the art of myth-making "whose best work was done in a fantastical mode that hovers between the allegorical and the mythopoeic" (Mythopoeic - had to look that one up: "Giving rise to myths; pertaining to the creation of myth.")

One caution: I read the forward by U.CKnoepflmacher before reading any of the stories. He makes reference to gender and sexual tensions that made me wonder what in the world I was going to be reading. More than 2/3 through the book now, I personally haven't see any of that in MacDonald's work and honestly found lovely stories. I admit I wasn't reading this book in any type of critical or academic pursuit so my opinion may not count against his in that regard.