George MacDonald

[Sven]

[Guest]

I was in a bookshop a while ago and was much suprised / pleased to see a book called 'Malcolm' by George MacDonald. It turned out to be a two volume novel. More details on Amazon. co.uk

Malcolm

[Zan]

For those of you who love C.S. Lewis, as I am sure most of us do here, then I strongly recommend picking up some of MacDonald's work. It becomes apparent rather quickly when reading MacDonald's work that C.S. Lewis wasn't kidding when he said the quote above.

First, it becomes rather obvious in The Great Divorce when Lewis uses MacDonald as one of the central characters. Also I believe its in Suprised By Joy that he mentions MacDonald as his mentor as well. I read Phantastes a few months ago, which is one of MacDonald's more popular ones (I loved it), the premise for Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet really seems to come out of this one, I personally saw a lot of similarities.

I am currently reading Lilith by MacDonald and will be sure to let you all know how it turns out. Thus far, its been fantastic!

[larry gilman]

[nomad]

Thanks for the tip larry. I'll have to check that out.

I haven't read any of Gearge MacDonald's novels, but I read a sizeable collection of his short stories and absolutely fell in love with them. They range from fairy tale to fairly realistic, but they are all marvelous.

[Cymru]

Lilith is also rife with things that inspired the Wardrobe/Narnian adventures - the doorway into another world, creatures crawling from the ground, a witch who is very like Lewis' Charn witch, and many more. I think this must be why Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the Pevensies that the White Witch is descended from Lilith. Lewis was owning up to the source of his ideas rather than strictly referencing the legendary myth of Lilith.

MacDonald's Lilith stems from that old legend but he gives it some unusual twists of his own.