George MacDonald

George MacDonald was born in 1824 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of a farmer, and studied at King's College, Aberdeen. He trained for the ministry at a Congregational college in London and became pastor of a church in Arundel, Sussex, but some of the congregation disliked his theology and he left. He then supported his large family by lecturing, preaching and writing. In 1851 he married Louisa Powell, and they had eleven children. His fantasy Phantastes (1858) was followed by many novels of Scottish life and by fairy tales for children, including At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin (1872), about Princess Irene and the miner boy Curdie, its sequel The Princess and Curdie, and The Wise Woman. His friends included Lewis Carroll and John Ruskin. In poor health, he spent many winters in Bordighera, Italy. His writings greatly influenced later writers, including C. S. Lewis, who called MacDonald his master, and J. R. R. Tolkien. He died in Surrey in 1905.

George MacDonald is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Raised under the influence of the Congregational Church in a Calvinist atmosphere; his books broadened spiritual ideals. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911) (via Wikisource)