Michael Phillips is the author of at least 60 novels and 20 non-fiction books. A California native, he and his wife Judy raised three sons. They also ran their own press and bookshop, motivated largely by a desire to bring the works of the Scottish Victorian writer George MacDonald, the “Father of the Inklings,” back...

Welcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most important and meaningful novels ofGeorge MacDonald which are Phantastes and The Princess and the Goblin. George MacDonald 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. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works on Christian apologetics. Novels selected for this book: - Phantastes - The Princess and the GoblinThis is one of many books in the series Essential Novelists. If you liked this book, look for the other titles in the series, we are sure you will like some of the authors.

Highlights The great Victorian Christian author George MacDonald is the wellspring of the modern fantasy genre. About the Author: Colin Manlove taught at the University of Edinburgh until his retirement in 1993. 148 Pages Literary Criticism, Science Fiction + Fantasy Description About the Book "The great Victorian Christian author George MacDonald is the wellspring of the modern fantasy genre. In this book, Colin Manlove offers explorations of MacDonald's eight shorter fairy tales and his longer stories At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, The Wise Woman, and The Princess and Curdie"-- Book Synopsis The great Victorian Christian author George MacDonald is the wellspring of the modern fantasy genre. In this book Colin Manlove offers explorations of MacDonald's eight shorter fairy tales and his longer stories At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, The Wise Woman, and The Princess and Curdie. MacDonald saw the imagination as the source of fairy tales and of divine truth together. For he believed that God lives in the depths of the human mind and ""sends up from thence wonderful gifts into the light of the understanding."" This makes MacDonald that very rare thing: a writer of mystical fiction whose work can give us experience of the divine. Throughout his children's fantasy stories MacDonald is describing the human and divine imagination. In the shorter tales he shows how the imagination has different regions and depths, each able to shift into the other. With the longer stories we see the imagination in relation to other aspects of the self and to its position in the world. Here the imagination is portrayed as often embattled in relation to empiricism, egotism, and greed. Review Quotes "Manlove reveals the imaginative logic underlying MacDonald's children's fantasies. With his broad knowledge of children's literature, the stories are contrasted with those by other Victorian writers, highlighting MacDonald's keen understanding of psychology and human nature. Readers will find unique insights to better appreciate the genius of all MacDonald's works that, in various ways, explore the divine imagination within each of us, especially the childlike." --Robert Trexler, Writer, Editor, and Publisher "Arguing that MacDonald's children's fairy tales meld fantasy with realism, Manlove suggests that this union invites 'us to see our world as continually penetrated by divine forces.' This 'divine imagination' reflects MacDonald's belief that 'God lived in the roots of the imagination.' Manlove's thorough reading of the children's fantasies illuminates how MacDonald was able to create a unified, harmonious worldview 'that mirrors the nature of the divine universe.' --John Pennington, Professor of English, St. Norbert College "Colin Manlove's George MacDonald's Children's Fantasies and the Divine Imagination is the most thorough and creative exploration of MacDonald's conception of the imagination that we have. . . . This work is comprehensive, and quite simply the best critical study of MacDonald's most enduring fiction. Manlove brings formidable erudition to his exploration, and he delivers brilliant readings of MacDonald's work. This is an indispensable study of MacDonald." --Roderick McGillis, Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary "This book is a major contribution to MacDonald scholarship." --Lesley Willis Smith, author of The Downstretched Hand: Individual Development in George Macdonald's Major Fantasies for Children About the Author Colin Manlove taught at the University of Edinburgh until his retirement in 1993. His books include Modern Fantasy (1975), The Impulse of Fantasy Literature (1983), and Christian Fantasy: From 1200 to the Present (1992). In 2016 he published Scotland's Forgotten Treasure: The Visionary Romances of George MacDonald.

Scotland's beloved storyteller George MacDonald, nineteenth-century Scottish novelist and poet, was reintroduced to twentieth century Christians by C.S. Lewis, whose reading of MacDonald’s Phantastes triggered his own spiritual awakening and conversion. Other renowned writers have voiced similar acknowledgements. G.K. Chesterton said of MacDonald, “If we test the matter of originality of attitude, George MacDonald was one of the three or four greatest men of the nineteenth century.” W.H. Auden adds, “In his power . . . to project his inner life into images . . . which are valid for all, he is one of the most remarkable writers of the nineteenth century.” Despite acclaim by his peers, historians, Christian statesmen, and literary giants of the past 100 years, MacDonald’s life and writings continue to be a source of controversy. Challenging the traditional religious views of his day, MacDonald was continually stretching, reaching, probing, questioning, and searching for truth. Author Michael R. Phillips leads the listener through those controversies to bring a fresh and insightful look at the man, his times, and his work.

“…let us have grace to serve the Consuming Fire, our God, with divine fear; not with the fear that cringes and craves, but with the bowing down of all thoughts, all delights, all loves before Him who is the life of them all, and will have them all pure.” Unspoken Sermons by George MacDonald...

| Author: George Macdonald | Publisher: Suzeteo Enterprises | Publication Date: Jul 17, 2020 | Number of Pages: 262 pages | Language: English | Binding: Hardcover | ISBN-10: 1645940721 | ISBN-13: 9781645940722

“I like preaching best, then writing poetry, then writing stories… I would not write novels if I could not preach in them.”