Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (1980), Paperback, 176 pages
Description
George MacDonald (1824-1905), the great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, influenced not only C. S. Lewis but also such literary masters as Charles Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien. Though his longer fairy tales Lilith and Phantastes are particularly famous, much of MacDonald?s best fantasy writing is found in his shorter stories. In this volume editor Glenn Sadler has compiled some of MacDonald?s finest short works?marvelous fairy tales and stories certain to delight readers familiar with MacDonald and those about to meet him for the first time.
User reviews
LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
Eerdmans has done the modern world a fine service by collecting the short fantasy stories of George MacDonald into four volumes.
This volume was a bit more of a mixed bag. The good stories were very good while the weak stories simply had to be endured. Here are the stories:
- "The Golden Key" (1867
- "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" (1879 from Graphic)
- "The Shadows" (1864 from Adela Cathcart)
- "The Gifts of the Child Christ" (1882 from The Gifts of the Child Christ, and Other Tales)
The title story is strong. It's as a classic quest tale that evokes that sense of otherness MacDonald is so good at. "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" is another fine story. What happens when a young woman who has only ever known night meets a young man who has only ever known daylight? I can't help but think that some of MacDonald's descriptions of the woman encountering daylight for the first time informed C. S. Lewis' short story, "The Man Born Blind".
"The Shadows," while interesting in concept, failed to sustain my interest. The last story is not even a work of fantasy, but a morality tale about an irritating servant.
All that said, I would re-buy this book in a heartbeat on the strength of either of the first two longer stories.
This volume was a bit more of a mixed bag. The good stories were very good while the weak stories simply had to be endured. Here are the stories:
- "The Golden Key" (1867
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from Dealings With Fairies)- "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" (1879 from Graphic)
- "The Shadows" (1864 from Adela Cathcart)
- "The Gifts of the Child Christ" (1882 from The Gifts of the Child Christ, and Other Tales)
The title story is strong. It's as a classic quest tale that evokes that sense of otherness MacDonald is so good at. "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" is another fine story. What happens when a young woman who has only ever known night meets a young man who has only ever known daylight? I can't help but think that some of MacDonald's descriptions of the woman encountering daylight for the first time informed C. S. Lewis' short story, "The Man Born Blind".
"The Shadows," while interesting in concept, failed to sustain my interest. The last story is not even a work of fantasy, but a morality tale about an irritating servant.
All that said, I would re-buy this book in a heartbeat on the strength of either of the first two longer stories.
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Original publication date
1980
Physical description
176 p.; 8.8 inches
ISBN
0802818595 / 9780802818591
Local notes
The title story chronicles the adventurous wanderings of a boy and girl to find the keyhole which fits the rainbow's golden key. Also includes 'The Gifts of the Child Christ'.
[In George Macdonald boxed set]
[In George Macdonald boxed set]