George MacDonald occupied a major position in the intellectual life of his Victorian contemporaries. This volume brings together all eleven of his shorter fairy stories as well as his essay "The Fantastic Imagination". The subjects are those of traditional fantasy: good and wicked fairies, children embarking on elaborate quests, and journeys into unsettling dreamworlds. Within this familiar imaginative landscape, his children's stories were profoundly experimental, questioning the association of childhood with purity and innocence, and the need to separate fairy tale wonder from adult scepticism and disbelief.
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About the Author
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a minister who was rejected by his congregation, and struggled thereafter to support his family of eleven children by writing. In his own day he was celebrated as poet, preacher, and lecturer, and as the author of numerous novels. He is best known today for his vivid children's stories.
U. C. Knoepflmacher has published widely on children's literature and the Victorian period.
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First Sentence
That we have no English word corresponding to the German Mahrchen, drives us to use the word Fairytale, regardless of the fact that the tale may have nothing to do with any sort of fairy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
That we have no English word corresponding to the German Mahrchen, drives us to use the word Fairytale, regardless of the fact that the tale may have nothing to do with any sort of fairy. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This new edition of MacDonald's fairytales is the first I've come across which aims to offer an accessible yet scholarly detailed edition of MacDonald's fairytales. Given that McGillis' editions of the children's novels are now out of print, I was delighted to discover that someone still sees the value of publishing his work in an affordable and student-friendly format. Knoepflmacher's introduction is excellent, and serves to locate MacDonald's fairytales within his own corpus as well as indicating their place with the tradition interest in the fairytales in the nineteenth-century, stemming from the Grimm Brother's first publication in 1812 and gaining ground throughout the intellectual revival via MacDonald, Ruskin and a number of other Victorian notables in the mid-century. Knoepflmacher's notes are also most intelligent, and he has a keen awareness of MacDonald's slightly uneasily innovative strain; I am particularly fond of the story of Ruskin's reaction to the swimming scenes in `The Light Princess'! This is a long-awaited addition to the growing MacDonald library, and I hope that perhaps in the not too distant future some of MacDonald's other writing `for the childlike' might be returned to us in a similar form.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Intrigued by this interesting book, which I was completely unaware of until recently. It is certainly worth reading, because it has a charm of its own. It is equally interesting to read as an adult or for sharing with grandchildren I am really pleased that I found it.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Enrique
Format:Paperback
I discovered George McDonald with Phantastes, an allegory about a young man's journey through Faerie, which is still my favourite book . However, many of his fairy tales still touch my heart and he'll always be amongst the writers I like most. He was a great influence to writers such as C.S. Lewis. It was time a good recopilation of his fairy tales appeared. If you're fond of fairy tales, this is a book you will surely enjoy regardless of your age.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Do not buy this edition.
This review is of "The Light Princess, and Other Fairy Tales"
which is NOT "The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics)", despite Amazon conflating the two. Read more
which is NOT "The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics)", despite Amazon conflating the two. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rev. D
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Stories
Great Stories for adults and children. Would be great if list of all stories in the book was included in description.
Published 1 month ago by Brian A. Sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars
teeny tiny writing to match delightfully inscrutable text
i read two of these stories as a child and just recently tracked down the author by remembering the Maurice Sendak illustrations. (this isn't an illustrated edition). Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Zoll
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