George MacDonald

Novelist, Author

1824 – 1905

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Who was George MacDonald?

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. His writings have been cited as a major literary influence by many notable authors including W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Walter de la Mare, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master": "Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew that I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence".

Elizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie, "It moved me the way books did when, as a child, the great gates of literature began to open and first encounters with noble thoughts and utterances were unspeakably thrilling."

Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.

Famous Quotes:

  • You can't live on amusement. It is the froth on water -- an inch deep and then the mud.
  • Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of all men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken.
  • Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.
  • It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet.
  • But for money and the need of it, there would not be half the friendship in the world. It is powerful for good if divinely used. Give it plenty of air and it is sweet as the hawthorn; shut it up and it cankers and breeds worms.
  • The principal part of faith is patience.
  • To have what we want is riches; but to be able to do without is power.
  • Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each other.
  • Nothing makes one feel so strong as a call for help.
  • I find that doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.

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Born
Dec 10, 1824
Huntly
Also known as
  • George Donald
Spouses
Children
Nationality
  • Scotland
Profession
Education
  • University of Aberdeen
Died
Sep 18, 1905
Ashtead

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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"George MacDonald." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/george_macdonald>.

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