Lillith

by George MacDonald

Scottish author George MacDonald wrote the fantasy novel Lilith, first published in 1895. MacDonald employed the

character of Lilith in service to a spiritual drama about sin and redemption, in which Lilith finds a hard-won

salvation. Many of the traditional characteristics of Lilith mythology are present in the author's

Long dark hair, pale skin, a hatred and fear of children and babies, and an obsession with gazing at herself in a

mirror. MacDonald's Lilith also has vampiric She bites people and sucks their blood for sustenance.

A biography about MacDonald and other annotated notes are also included in this book.

Genres: Fantasy

435 pages

Published November 30, 2011

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

[James Wirrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a mixed reaction to this book. I listened to it as an audiobook. I can see the depth to this story and the riches that lie within, but this was a very hard story to follow. It’s a bit like listening to a book of poetry or a Shakespeare play. Reading a plot synopsis is absolutely essential if you are going to follow the story. Just when you think you have the hang of it, suddenly it’s off on a seemingly completely irrelevant and unconnected plot line, and the author will wax poetic about something and suddenly transition to something that isn’t really. connected to what you were reading. So if you listen to this, I would strongly recommend getting a plot synopsis first so that you can follow what is going on. The story itself is a fairy story in which a guy passes through to another world, and encounters various characters. I can’t really describe the plot very well because I had such a hard time following it. Overall, the guy encounters a group of fairy children, then Lilith, who was Adam’s first wife. She’s evil and in need of redemption. He encounters Lilith’s daughter and another woman. There is various battles and an earlier person he encountered turned out to be Adam. In the end Lilith is defeated and the guy ends back in this world. There’s very clearly a good deal of theological undertones to the story but I think it might best be absorbed by reading it slowly and with a guidebook.

[Morgan Swank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty decent gothic take on the mythology of Lilith. I found it randomly on Spotify and thought the author was being pretentious in his prose until I realized it was written in the late 19th century. It can be a little dense at times with flowery language of the era, but overall the story has enough tension to keep you intrigued.

[Jeffrey Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. You might not. I have a particular itch and it scratched just where I needed it.