The Forgotten Forefather: George MacDonald

Faith and Fiction

George MacDonald

Some Context

Though largely forgotten or overlooked today, George MacDonald had a wide range of influence, not just on the lives of Lewis and Tolkien’s day, but within his own. He was a friend and mentor to Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) author of Alice In Wonderland. He was well acquainted and almost collaborated with Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). His books were read by the queen of England. It’s said Phantastes was read and enjoyed by Charles Dickens.

But MacDonald did not have auspicious beginnings. He was born in 1824 to a middle class family in Scotland. After his mother’s death around age eight, he was raised by his father and grandmother.

His grandmother especially was a staunch Calvinist, a set of Christian beliefs which emphasized God’s total sovereignty in all things. However, as he grew older, MacDonald began to struggle with part of it.

Calvinism talks about “God’s Elect,” the ones that God has chosen before the creation of the world. As he grew older, MacDonald began to struggle with the implication that it meant God did not love everyone in the world.

This crisis of faith came to a head as a college student in Aberdeen, where MacDonald began to form his own understanding of God’s love and justice. (For those of you interested, he was studying Chemistry and Physics). He came to the conclusion that God must love everyone, and decided to dedicate his life to preaching such.

Therefore, at 27 years old, he accepted a minister’s position at a small church in England. He married his wife, Louisa, and began his tenure. It did not last long.

As MacDonald formed his ideas of God’s love, his stance became too strange for the orthodox of the church. Some called his ideas unitarianism, the belief that God would save everyone. Others say his statements hinted that he thought non-believers could be saved after death. Whichever way you take it, the church found it too much like heresy and began to pressure MacDonald to resign. After two years of resisting, MacDonald finally did so.

He did not return to the ministry.

A Change in Career

This is the MacDonald that turns wholeheartedly to write – a former pastor with a love for imagination and the wonder of the universe, with a large family to feed. He begins with two collections of poetry, which enjoy decent success. Following this, he publishes Phantastes: A Faerie Romance.

It is this book that, almost 60 years later, is picked up by a young man called Jack, and changes his life forever. Apparently, it was also picked up by Charles Dickens. You tell me which was more culturally significant.

While Phantastes was well-liked, fantasy was not a line of genre during this time, besides for children’s stories. In fact, according to Wikipedia, Phantastes is the first adult fantasy novel published. Regardless, MacDonald had realistic stories to tell, and so, eight years after his first book, he published David Elginbrod. This, a more mainstream marketable novel, begins his rise to the heights of Victorian novelists.

Throughout his career, he wrote 31 realistic fiction novels, four fantasy books for children and two for adults, five books of theology, and various collections of poetry. He took tours across England and America. He was friends with famed authors, like Longfellow, Whittier, Emerson and many more.

So Why Don’t I Know Him?

Even if you don’t recognize the name or story of George MacDonald, you may recognize some of his works. At the Back of the North Wind is one that comes to mind. I, personally, was raised with The Princess and the Goblins and The Princess and Curdie. There is also Robert Falconer, Lilith, Sir Gibbie, and others.

If you don’t recognize many or any of these stories, there is probably a reason.

George MacDonald was not an easy author to read. Like many Victorian authors, he would often go into lengthy paragraphs of description. This, however, was often more about the spiritual journey of his characters, rather than the entire history of Waterloo (See Les Miserables).

This is the effect of MacDonald’s faith – a dual thread of the plot and action, contrasted with the inward change of his characters. This way, he could address his own thoughts and ideas through the words of his characters, or through the words of the narrator about the characters.

Along with this, MacDonald wrote about the Scots – which in and of itself is not an issue – except that he used Scottish spelling and dialect to write it. After some time, I can only assume people got tired of trying to decipher the brogue and turned to the at-least legible words of other authors.

It should be added that I have not read (or I cannot remember reading) MacDonald’s adult fiction, so I may be pleasantly surprised when I do get the chance!

Fortunately for MacDonald, he did not see this decline, passing away in 1905. In his obituary, G.K. Chesterton writes, “If we test the matter by strict originality of outlook, George MacDonald was one of the three or four greatest men of 19th century Britain.”

MacDonald’s influence on faith and writing continues through Chesterton, who likewise grows into a figure almost larger than life. And though Chesterton is never shy about his reverence and respect for MacDonald, most people do not associate the two.

Instead, it is C.S. Lewis, who writes about MacDonald in his spiritual autobiography Surprised by Joy that seems to reawaken the interest in the forgotten forefather.

How this happens will have to be saved for another post, but in the meantime, here’s a quote to emphasize the impact MacDonald had.

“I dare not say that he is never in error, but to speak plainly I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer…to the Spirit of Christ himself. … I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him.” 

MacDonald: Living the Sermon

While MacDonald’s passion was writing and teaching through that medium, he also lectured (when he was healthy enough) and cared about people personally. It is said that his door was open and would often host and provide a place of rest for people.

They remained in the church, though MacDonald refused offers of becoming a pastor again. He was a loving father, and his wife was often seen as a mother to people outside of their family.

Conclusion

The legacy of George MacDonald, though often overlooked, still reaches to this day. Echoes of his work ring out in G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis and others. They, in their turn, likewise influenced a new generation, and still influence us today.

A forerunner of the fantasy genre, he paved the way for Tolkien and those that followed to succeed in writing novels that would have been overlooked otherwise.

It is a pity that the Scotsman has been left to the wayside for so long. Hopefully, I’ve garnered him some interest.

If you are interested in any of his book, check out Alibris.com for cheap and thrifted copies!

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George MacDonald on Alibris!

Come back next time for a study on how two friends took their diff