What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gifts of the Child Christ, and Other Tales
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2007
30 people want to read
About the author
George MacDonald
1,792 books2,527 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 15, 2018
ⓒ 1973. Imaginative short stories by Scotland's Christian non-conformist par excellence. If only the world and the people in it could be as he imagined...
February 21, 2013
First I tried to read this to 5 year old Bridget and couldn't maintain her interest. Then I read it for myself. I love it.
George MacDonald is a master of fairy tales and allegory. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien attribute much of their inspiration to MacDonald's examples. Lewis said that, "MacDonald baptized my imagination." This book of short stories is MacDonald at his best. The first story is one of my favorite Christmas stories, "The Gifts of the Christ Child." Sad and sweet.
The rest of the short stories in this book are classic fairy tales. Through fantasy, they capture the hearts and minds of readers with the ultimate reality behind the penultimate reality that we see around us every day. In MacDonald's fairy tales, good does triumph over evil. Virtue matters. There is meaning in the menial. Crime will be punished. Justice will rule. Virtue is important. And even when circumstances appear dark, dreary and difficult, hope remains and help will come. I often think of these stories during my sad rounds on the Bugando hospital wards. Sickness will be healed and brokenness will be made whole!
It's so easy to forget these ultimate realities in the midst of "real life." Fairy tails help us, as adults, to remember and can teach our children not to forget. And, as MacDonald concludes at the end of one of his stories, "the loftiest of hopes is the surest of being fulfilled."
Pick this book up when you get a chance. As MacDonald, "I write not only for children but for the childlike." Now I just need to find Volume 1. I'm pretty sure that it's buried on my shelf somewhere. I distinctly recollect pilfering both from David O'Leary's library.
George MacDonald is a master of fairy tales and allegory. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien attribute much of their inspiration to MacDonald's examples. Lewis said that, "MacDonald baptized my imagination." This book of short stories is MacDonald at his best. The first story is one of my favorite Christmas stories, "The Gifts of the Christ Child." Sad and sweet.
The rest of the short stories in this book are classic fairy tales. Through fantasy, they capture the hearts and minds of readers with the ultimate reality behind the penultimate reality that we see around us every day. In MacDonald's fairy tales, good does triumph over evil. Virtue matters. There is meaning in the menial. Crime will be punished. Justice will rule. Virtue is important. And even when circumstances appear dark, dreary and difficult, hope remains and help will come. I often think of these stories during my sad rounds on the Bugando hospital wards. Sickness will be healed and brokenness will be made whole!
It's so easy to forget these ultimate realities in the midst of "real life." Fairy tails help us, as adults, to remember and can teach our children not to forget. And, as MacDonald concludes at the end of one of his stories, "the loftiest of hopes is the surest of being fulfilled."
Pick this book up when you get a chance. As MacDonald, "I write not only for children but for the childlike." Now I just need to find Volume 1. I'm pretty sure that it's buried on my shelf somewhere. I distinctly recollect pilfering both from David O'Leary's library.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews