The Baronet's Song & The Shepherd's Castle

by George MacDonald

George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. His writings have been cited as a major literary influence by many notable authors including W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien,Walter de la Mare, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle.C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master": "Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew that 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". Elizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie, "It moved me the way books did when, as a child, the great gates of literature began to open and first encounters with noble thoughts and utterances were unspeakably thrilling." Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald. Christian author Oswald Chambers wrote in his Christian Disciplines that "it is a striking indication of the trend and shallowness of the modern reading public that George MacDonald's books have been so neglected". In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works on Christian apologetics including several that defended a view that has been described as Christian Universalism.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

480 pages

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Charyla Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

George McDonald continues his amazing storytelling with the adventures of Donal Grant, a Scottish shepherd boy and his young friend, Wee Sir Gibbie. The command of language is great. Check out this passage, speaking of a snobbish pastor's daughter:
"It was an ugly fashion, but so far as taste was free to operate, that of Miss Carmichael showed itelf good. She was said to be engaged to a professor of theology, and I think it very probable, but I do not believe she had ever in her life been in love with anybody but her herself. She was a good theologian--so good that when she was near, you could not get within sight of God for her theology and herself together" [The Shepherd's Castle, p. 58:].

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling!

[Cws]

YA Mac