George MacDonald

[Lora]

I just started exploring more of George MacDonald and wanted to ask if folks had their favorites. For me, it has to be The Princess and the Goblin or The Princess and Curdie- I can't decide which of those two. Right now I have just started Phantastes.

[Christa VG]

I have to say I haven't read anything by him, but I did one time almost check out the "Princess and the Goblin" and the library a while back, was it any good?

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

I read Princess and Curdie!!! I LOVE that book!!!! I also read At the Back of the North Wind by him....but it is so hard to find stuff by him. :( Which is a shame, cause he is a very good writer.

[Christa VG]

Well then I will just have to add some of his books to me "to-read" list.

[Lora]

The Princess and the Goblin is the book that begins the Princess story that later spins out to end in The Princess and Curdie. Both are excellent. I love how each has its unique flavor- how about that description of mountains in the beginning of 'Curdie'? That alone lets you know that this book is going to make even more demands on the reader than 'the Goblin' did.
Our library has a few of his books, but with our kindle we can get lots of free lit of his.
Now, I could never make it through The Gold Key.
So far, Phantastesis holding up, tho it lacks some of the flow of 'Goblin' and 'Curdie'.

[Brenda]

MacDonald wrote a boatload of sermons, and many novels for adults. They are all pretty much unavailable now. Some religious publisher got hold of some of his novels, which are now in the public domain, and rewrote them extensively for the modern taste -- dropping out lots of stuff. As a result it is hard to recognize MacDonald in them at all.

[Brenda]

Both "Curdie" stories are relatively short (those adult novels were huge fat things) so you should enjoy it.

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

Yes! I would most definitely recommend reading 'Curdie'. I LOVE that book!!!!

[Lora]

I haven't checked, but both should have free versions for the kindle.
I think 'Curdie' does expect an older reader. Whether or not that means the same thing to you and me, well, I confess I read a certain amount of YA and I consider the layers of religious meaning in these books to be interesting demands. 'Curdie' had more and different characters, a new level of violence, and subtlties of political power that most childrens' lit doesn't expect kids to keep up with. Yet it works, for me, for my kids, and we have grown into the stories as we heard them over and over. Neither book is particularly long, so hopefully if a reader dislikes them, they will not be a serious waste of time. I recomend them because the potential for reward is so great.
I have one friend who dislikes the books because of the female god figure. I found that worked for me in different, poetical ways. It was an interesting difference of opinion.