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George
MacDonald (1824-1905)
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George
MacDonald was born in Huntly, Scotland in 1824. Known primarily
for two of his novels, Phantastes (1858) and Lilith
(1895), his fairy tales have remained popular since his
death with new editions published as recently as 1989.
Nick
Harrison, writing in Publisher's Weekly notes that
Macdonald was admired by Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll,
Thackeray, Emerson and Mark Twain among others. Of MacDonald's
writing, C. S. Lewis once wrote, "...I fancy I have
never written a book in which I did not quote from him."
The
de Grummond Collection owns 90
editions of MacDonald's works, more than half of which
were donated by George MacDonald scholar, Hal Broome, including
this rare 1899 edition of At the Back of the North Wind
illustrated by Arthur Hughes.
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1899
edition donated to the Collection by Hal Broome
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"Although
many artists have illustrated MacDonald's works," writes
Raphael Shaberman, "Arthur Hughes comes nearest to being
his ideal illustrator, standing in relation to MacDonald as
Tenniel did to Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' books."
Other
collaborations between Hughes and MacDonald include Gutta
Percha Willie, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood, The
Princess and the Goblin and various items in Good Words
for the Young, a children's magazine in which many of
his children's books were first published as serials. MacDonald
was also its editor from 1869-73.
Other
well-known illustrators of MacDonald's works include E. H.
Shepard, famous for his illustrations of Winnie the Pooh,
Dorothy Lathrop, Nora S. Unwin and Jessie Willcox Smith. Her
cover for the 1920 David McKay edition of The Princess
and the Goblin (1920) is shown below next to the bibliography.
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Arthur
Hughes' illustration from
At the Back of the North Wind
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Bibliography
"Bringing
Back George MacDonald," by Nick Harrison, Publisher's
Weekly, September 1985, pp. 50-51.
"George
MacDonald and His Books," by Raphael Shaberman, Antiquarian
Book Monthly Review, December 1990, pp.538-541.
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