More on George MacDonald

I'm nearly finished reading George MacDonald's book, The Shepherd's Castle.  The characters are wonderful and the writing is rich.  I keep sneaking away to read snatches of the book and find myself enchanted by the wisdom and power of MacDonald's writing.

Speaking of another of MacDonald's books, Sir Gibbie, Michael Phillips asks, "Is Sir Gibbie myth?  Is it poetry?  Is it fantasy?  Is it music?  Or does Gibbie's magic spring from MacDonald's having simultaneously captured the essence of all four?  The story tugs at us, the myth calls forth eternity in our spirits, the poetry moves us, the fantasy delights our imaginations, while all along the music makes our hearts sing."

You can read the unedited versions of these books (called Sir Gibbie and Donal Grant) or you can read the version edited for today's readers by Michael Phillips.  The books titles were changed to The Baronet's Song and The Shepherd's Castle, and they were published together in a volume called The Poet and the Pauper.

With that as background, here are just a couple of examples of the truth and the good writing you will find in The Sheperd's Castle:

Every pain and every fear, yes, every doubt is a cry after God.  What mother refuses to go to her child because he is only crying, not calling her name?

The thing that's true when the light shines is just as true in the dark.