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Far Above Rubies
Proverbs 31:10-11 says, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." (KJV) With this in mind, George MacDonald gives us the short story of a young and aspiring Scottish poet named Hector. - Summary by HannahMary
2 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 1898
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About the author
George MacDonald
1,748 books2,506 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.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 6, 2016
A dear little romance novella about Hector and Annie, a young couple who fall in love despite their different stations (he the son of a banker, she a maid who works for his household). Their good hearts are drawn to each other, and the story follows their meeting through the first years of their marriage. Hector is an idealist and a poet, and Annie is a woman who, though not highly educated, has the mind and soul to understand, critique, and inspire his work. Their life together is far from easy. They struggle in poverty as Hector's writing is rejected and, despite his willingness to take other work, he can't find any. Yet, as one would expect from George MacDonald (and from any love story written at the time), they endure together and are strengthened. Given the story's length, it can't be all that deep, doesn't contain layers of sermon-within-fiction the way MacDonald's longer works do. Many character qualities are stated in the beginning rather than shown gradually. Still, I loved the book.
MacDonald has a way of forming characters who are simultaneously true, noble, yet genuine. Hector and Annie are no exception. The most moving story element, for me, is Hector's struggle with his self-worth as a failed writer and as a man failing to provide for his wife. The emotional honesty is surely autobiographical given that MacDonald himself experienced poverty throughout his life.
I'm a bit despondent that no attractive paperback edition exists. The only options are CreateSpace and the like, with covers that don't represent the book (most of which are random designs and plain ugly), and the editions I've been able to "see inside" are formatted atrociously, tiny Times font and all. I wish a publisher like Forgotten Books would take this one on.
MacDonald has a way of forming characters who are simultaneously true, noble, yet genuine. Hector and Annie are no exception. The most moving story element, for me, is Hector's struggle with his self-worth as a failed writer and as a man failing to provide for his wife. The emotional honesty is surely autobiographical given that MacDonald himself experienced poverty throughout his life.
I'm a bit despondent that no attractive paperback edition exists. The only options are CreateSpace and the like, with covers that don't represent the book (most of which are random designs and plain ugly), and the editions I've been able to "see inside" are formatted atrociously, tiny Times font and all. I wish a publisher like Forgotten Books would take this one on.
September 23, 2019
This afternoon I finished reading George MacDonald's Far Above Rubies, which was originally published in 1898. In this book, he incorporated his great love of literature and writing.
Far Above Rubies is a moving story, set in Scotland and in England, about a young writer and banker named Hector Macintosh that falls in love with a Scottish lass named Annie Melville who is also very literary. They get married, make it through dire poverty, their struggle strengthens their faith in a good and loving Creator, their bond of devotion and love strengthens, and through Annie's encouragement, Hector has some of his work published in book form, and he comes to have a community of enthusiastic readers that greatly admire his work. The story was very moving, inspiring, and spiritually nourishing, as all of MacDonald's work is.
Far Above Rubies is a moving story, set in Scotland and in England, about a young writer and banker named Hector Macintosh that falls in love with a Scottish lass named Annie Melville who is also very literary. They get married, make it through dire poverty, their struggle strengthens their faith in a good and loving Creator, their bond of devotion and love strengthens, and through Annie's encouragement, Hector has some of his work published in book form, and he comes to have a community of enthusiastic readers that greatly admire his work. The story was very moving, inspiring, and spiritually nourishing, as all of MacDonald's work is.
December 10, 2022
Reading this short novel made me feel like I was coming home. . . home to a father waiting before a warm fireplace on a cold and rainy day with a book in hand to read to me aloud.
It is uncanny how this Scottish author has found a special place in my heart. His writing flourishes in a style far removed from our post modern era. Some would claim, and perhaps with justification, that MacDonald’s unique style is overly simplistic, even syrupy. I cannot deny it. And yet I have become so fond of his way of articulating the ways of the heart and of common everyday mystical experience - there is no doubt in my mind that MacDonald is a true mystic - that his writings never fail to penetrate beneath my intellect to strike a resonant chord in my heart.
This short novel was written in the twilight of his writing career. Indeed, shortly after its writing he suffered a stroke which would forever silence the flourish of his pen. It would appear that his last book may represent an autobiographical account of the struggles he endured as a young man to establish himself as a legitimate writer.
But mostly this is a love story. And who better to wax eloquent and to delineate the formative life choices and experiences that reliably open the heart to receive and to give love, than George MacDonald.
It is uncanny how this Scottish author has found a special place in my heart. His writing flourishes in a style far removed from our post modern era. Some would claim, and perhaps with justification, that MacDonald’s unique style is overly simplistic, even syrupy. I cannot deny it. And yet I have become so fond of his way of articulating the ways of the heart and of common everyday mystical experience - there is no doubt in my mind that MacDonald is a true mystic - that his writings never fail to penetrate beneath my intellect to strike a resonant chord in my heart.
This short novel was written in the twilight of his writing career. Indeed, shortly after its writing he suffered a stroke which would forever silence the flourish of his pen. It would appear that his last book may represent an autobiographical account of the struggles he endured as a young man to establish himself as a legitimate writer.
But mostly this is a love story. And who better to wax eloquent and to delineate the formative life choices and experiences that reliably open the heart to receive and to give love, than George MacDonald.
March 20, 2017
The story is simple but very sweet. It is a short story, and as such the plot is quick and rather limited in scope. MacDonald writes a story of a young couple gently falling in love and of their struggles during their first few years of marriage. The story is intended to show the importance of faith in life and marriage. I thought this was a very sweet story, but it does not stand alone as a great work of fiction. It does make me want to read more by MacDonald, other than the Princess and the Goblin!
June 7, 2022
Really good sweet clean romance.
Hector and Annie were of different classes, but that could not separate them.
Hector had no time for women until he met Annie, his first love.
Together they struggled to make ends meet.
No content concerns.
Hector and Annie were of different classes, but that could not separate them.
Hector had no time for women until he met Annie, his first love.
Together they struggled to make ends meet.
No content concerns.
September 12, 2013
This is a very short, simple read. It is a pleasant story, but doesn't quite have the substance or life or impact of George MacDonald's full length novels. It would make a good, gentle introduction for those uninitiated to his work.
March 23, 2012
Nice, saccharine little Victorian vignette.
January 18, 2024
I’ve heard it said that if you want to understand how great minds think, you need to read the great minds that they took inspiration from. In this case, one of C.S. Lewis’s inspirations was George MacDonald, a 19th century author, poet, and minister. This novella, written by MacDonald in the late 1800s, has several well-written analogies about not only the walk of faith, but persevering through hardship and a powerful scene that showcases perfectly the mercy of the Father. Reading some of Lewis’s speculative works, I certainly see where Lewis enlightened himself on his work.
“For what good is there in creation but the possibility of being yet further created? And what else is growth but more of the will of God?”
8.7/10
“For what good is there in creation but the possibility of being yet further created? And what else is growth but more of the will of God?”
8.7/10
September 6, 2024
Enjoyable, if somewhat sad tale of two young lovers in a time of unjust class distinctions, even if some were self-imposed. I liked the morals pf the two main characters, and how they managed life’s challenges.
January 3, 2020
The 19th century English and French poverty tropes were a damper but I loved the awkwardness of how Hector and Annie hit it off.
June 19, 2020
A novella.
March 29, 2021
Quick read, but uninteresting. Read it if you want to up your "read" count.
September 11, 2017
Short and sweet. A little overly simplistic and sweet if you ask me. I prefer MacDonald's longer novels.
August 18, 2024
Read for the GMD reading group on December 4, 2023. Note the potentially intradiegetic narrator, “I must mention” “insights I have had” “and, I believe” “I cannot tell” “I imagine” “I would be as far from saying” etc. But do we get to know him, or is he just an arbitrary but omniscient and picky story-teller?
Heres a suggestion: “she said—and I think she meant—" “What then passed between them I cannot narrate precisely.” p. 25 trying to leave his character with some objective agency.
Sometimes the narrator is very helpful, e.g., p. 9.
Sometimes he’s weird: omniscient and knows what she thinks, yet injects himself personally as a knowledgeable observer p. 14
When and where is the setting?
THEMES:
Poverty
Improvident marriages
Class prejudices - “degrading” p. 14
True love
Love at first sight
Duty, true vs. false
ERROR: Macbeth p. 10
No wages for 6 months! How long to get wages as a teacher? Which pays better?
Weird - thinks what she did is a crime; thinks the banker knows of her “guilt” p. 13
Hector falls in love in one sentence instead of 15 or 20 chapters. p. 14 and she with him, p. 25 (the moment he addressed her, she knew in her heart that she had been loving him for a long time).
An unsparing satire, almost bitter. In such a short compass, he has no time to soften the blows. E.g., “not even a hymn” p. 15; Annie’s insistence in having committed a crime; “not a little lazy” p. 14;
Particularly scathing of Hector’s mom: 4, 16, 18 (her abominable condescension), p. 30 (Mrs. Macintosh's natural vulgarity had been so pampered by what she regarded as wealth …. a very little above the beasts that perish—if, indeed, she was in any respect equal to a good, conscientious dog!),
And dad too: 20 (He was not a man of quick apprehension),
After the declarations, hilarity ensues:
"I am not afraid of him, Hector. I, too, am ready to defy him. But is it right to defy your mother?" p. 26
Kindred spirit, companion, “his friend,” e.g., p. 33
Heres a suggestion: “she said—and I think she meant—" “What then passed between them I cannot narrate precisely.” p. 25 trying to leave his character with some objective agency.
Sometimes the narrator is very helpful, e.g., p. 9.
Sometimes he’s weird: omniscient and knows what she thinks, yet injects himself personally as a knowledgeable observer p. 14
When and where is the setting?
THEMES:
Poverty
Improvident marriages
Class prejudices - “degrading” p. 14
True love
Love at first sight
Duty, true vs. false
ERROR: Macbeth p. 10
No wages for 6 months! How long to get wages as a teacher? Which pays better?
Weird - thinks what she did is a crime; thinks the banker knows of her “guilt” p. 13
Hector falls in love in one sentence instead of 15 or 20 chapters. p. 14 and she with him, p. 25 (the moment he addressed her, she knew in her heart that she had been loving him for a long time).
An unsparing satire, almost bitter. In such a short compass, he has no time to soften the blows. E.g., “not even a hymn” p. 15; Annie’s insistence in having committed a crime; “not a little lazy” p. 14;
Particularly scathing of Hector’s mom: 4, 16, 18 (her abominable condescension), p. 30 (Mrs. Macintosh's natural vulgarity had been so pampered by what she regarded as wealth …. a very little above the beasts that perish—if, indeed, she was in any respect equal to a good, conscientious dog!),
And dad too: 20 (He was not a man of quick apprehension),
After the declarations, hilarity ensues:
"I am not afraid of him, Hector. I, too, am ready to defy him. But is it right to defy your mother?" p. 26
Kindred spirit, companion, “his friend,” e.g., p. 33
January 1, 2011
"*Originally written in 1898* Hector is a young Scotsman of 25, son of a banker, and a poet consumed by the ideal. But his verse is strictly private: "His mind would dwell much upon love and friendship in the imaginary abstract but of neither had he had the smallest immediate experience." That is, until he meets Annie Melville,who takes service as a parlor maid in his household to help support herself and her mother. Annie is beneath his station --but Hector is oblivious to such concerns. Under Annie's influence, he blossoms as a writer. But will he blossom into a man with the courage to let her know his feelings for her? And what might occur if he does? A lovely story of innocence, love, hard times and God. I'm a huge fan of George MacDonald and this was a sweet little story yet not without it's sadness too. It's a quick read and a must read!
April 9, 2025
✒️ Gentle short story about a couple who marry and start a family, despite their social class differences. We follow Hector Macintosh, a young and idealistic man whose introspective nature contrasts sharply with the more practical world around him. Annie Melville is facing her own struggles after the death of her father. Hector is deeply engrossed in his poetic pursuits but has yet to experience real love or friendship. He lacks meaningful connections with his family and remains withdrawn from society. Annie is confronted by her friend's dire circumstances, which evoke her compassionate instincts.
📕 Published— 1898. In the public domain.
જ⁀🟢Read e-book on ρ𝕣ꪮ𝕛ꫀᥴ𝕥 ᧁꪊ𝕥ꫀꪀ᥇ꫀ𝕣ᧁ.
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📕 Published— 1898. In the public domain.
જ⁀🟢Read e-book on ρ𝕣ꪮ𝕛ꫀᥴ𝕥 ᧁꪊ𝕥ꫀꪀ᥇ꫀ𝕣ᧁ.
༺༅ ✬ ༅ ༻༺༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺༅ ✬ ༅ ༻༺༅ ✬ ༅ ༻
January 3, 2015
I love George MacDonald. He is right up there with Grace Livingston Hill. His writing is from a simpler time and his stories always end well and include faith in God as part of the solution. Good clean themes. I can recommend for all ages though some of the language will not be familiar to younger readers. I give it four stars.
October 10, 2010
ENjoyed the story...kind of disappointed with the ending.
October 7, 2011
Wonderful, the best thing I've read from MacDonald so far.
August 28, 2013
Brilliant novel about the relationship between a man and his wife, well worth a read!
January 7, 2014
Sweet and inspiring story about a true romance between persons of differing social classes. The meaning of the last line evaded my understanding, though it must color the whole tale.
December 31, 2015
Slow-Paced Story
This short story seemed to start off very slowly. By the middle, it did not hold my attention, but I kept on until the end. I may reread it again later.
This short story seemed to start off very slowly. By the middle, it did not hold my attention, but I kept on until the end. I may reread it again later.
December 16, 2016
A peculiar little book.
May 29, 2014
Sweet love story.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews