In the realm of Fantasy Fiction, there is no one that can doubt the importance George MacDonald’s writings have had on the genre. Before the mid-1800’s, there was essentially no such thing as what we would refer to as Fantasy literature. However, the immensely inspiring writer George MacDonald offered the public a taste of a style of writing he himself defined as being not necessarily for “the child but for the child-like.� His captivating prose would later enchant the minds of such great authors as C. S. Lewis, who stated that he had never written anything without quoting MacDonald, and J. R. R. Tolkien, who wrote arguably the best novel (the Lord of the Rings) of the twentieth-century. In response to the great fairy tales of old, poetry about such epoch stories and the legends retold by nineteenth century fire light, a magical stream of stories flowed from his heart and trickled down through the years surviving many subsequent literary trends.

Born in Aberdeen Scotland in 1824 the son of a farmer, MacDonald spent most of his early years in his local Congregational church, listening to passionate sermons with an immeasurable fervor. With a firm devotion to his Lord and a love for people, he felt called to become a preacher himself. After studying at his local college, he moved to London to further his education in the seminary at Highbury College. In 1850, he received a pastoralship at Trinity Congregational Church. However, in that MacDonald was theologically opposed to many Calvinist doctrines, even adopting a limited form of Universalism, his salary was cut in half and later he would find himself out of the ministry due to health issues.

Most Christians may initially be ‘put off’ by the term Universalism when used to describe MacDonald’s theology. In respect to his views on salvation, he did not believe that one was merely ‘given’ grace without even accepting it. The first step towards redemption, according to MacDonald, is one’s choosing God’s love. It is true that he felt it was unlikely one would not choose to accept His favor and affection. Perhaps MacDonald was being naïve, yet he still believed in one having to choose between God and their own will, to where the scriptural doctrine of Hell was still a piercing reality. This would remove him from a firm commitment to Universalism. Furthermore, in reaction against the Calvinist doctrine of God’s wrath being poured out on all those who do not accept His love, MacDonald found this unacceptable. In the event one experienced the rejection of a personal God and His fiery justice, this was more the result of ‘stepping into God’s shadow’, not ‘His shadow purposely being cast’ upon the degenerate soul. This implies that, at least to MacDonald, God’s anger was an indirect result of being out of line with His will, not a direct assault against the rebellious soul.

It was chiefly during this time after leaving the ministry when MacDonald began his successful writing career. In 1858, he wrote probably his most memorable novel, Phantastes, followed by many others; including The Golden Key in 1867 and At the back of the North Wind, in 1871. His style of prose was an expression of a natural flow of words that fell off the page like tender meat off the bone. Indeed, after reading MacDonald, one is struck by a sense of actually having sensed something other worldly and completely ecstatic. At least, this was the impression Lewis had when, upon reading Phantastes for the first time, he felt he ‘knew he had crossed a great frontier.’ George MacDonald died September 18, 1905, in Ashstead, but not before producing a healthy number of works that would establish his reputation as not only a great writer, but one that incorporated the love of God as expressed in the lives of ordinary people put in extraordinary situations.

Some of his more popular works include the Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind and The Princess and the Goblin. Phantastes is the story of a young man who is transported to the magical realm of fairyland. While there, he travels through its borders from one end to the other, being transformed by trials and experiences each of which symbolize God’s providence and sanctification. At the Back of the North Wind chronicles the adventures of a boy named Diamond, who befriends the North Wind, a beautiful woman that is literally the persona of all of the winds that blow out of the north. And The Princess and the Goblin tells the old-fashioned tale of a young princess’ ordeal with an underground horde of goblins whose escape is due to a most unlikely savior.

If you haven’t read any of George MacDonald’s works, I suggest that, if you are a fan of fiction that incorporates Christian themes, you soak in as much of his magical stories as possible. Not only are they inspiring, but they shed light on many Biblical mysteries in a way like no other. Borrowing from the style of myth, whose stories are so fantastical they must possess some truth to them, so to are MacDonald’s tales. I guarantee that you will see God’s love in a way you may never have seen it before; as a beautiful, spell-binding passion that is spread upon the pages like sweet butter on toast.

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