Here are five incredible tales of fairies and fantasy by George MacDonald, the 19th century Scottish author whose works influenced and were admired by such literary greats as C.S. Lewis, W.H. Auden, C.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien. Reprinted from a rare 1867 edition, this work contains stories that are not only wonderful tales on their own, but ones that also convey important messages and lessons to the reader -- be it through the gravity defying princess in The Light Princess; or by way of Tricksey-Wee and Buffy-Bob in The Giant s Heart; or through the mysterious creatures and their king in The Shadows; or from the tale of Alice and Richard and their journey in fairyland in Cross Purposes; or, finally, by way of the magic and mystery of Tangle and Mossy s journey in The Golden Key. While most fairy tales are written specifically for children, these were not. Instead, wrote the author, they were written for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five. For this edition there are six new illustrations drawn by Kathy Harestad -- one full-color illustration, which you see on the cover and five wonderful black and white drawings, each drawn specifically for a chapter in the book.
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About the Author
George MacDonald (December 10, 1824 September 18, 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. Though no longer a household name, his works (particularly his fairy tales and fantasy novels) have inspired deep admiration in such notables as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master". Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day in a train station, he began to read; "a few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew 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 that "[i]t moved me the way books did when as a child ... Now and then a book is read as a friend, and after it life is not the same ... Sir Gibbie did this to me." Even Mark Twain, who initially despised MacDonald, became friends with him upon their meeting for the first time, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald (see links below for an article on the subject).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful collection of fairy tales for young and old alike..,
By Steve Mason (Mt. Pleasant, SC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dealings with the Fairies (Paperback)
This book is a reprint of Dealings with the Fairies, which was published in England in 1867. There are five fairy tales and fantasy stories in the collection - The Light Princess, The Giant's Heart, The Shadows, Cross Purposes, and The Golden Key. All of these works have been reprinted before in other editions and/or collections. However, Dealings with the Fairies has not been been seen in print for a very, very long time. And original editions of the work can be seen on the rare book market for more than $1,000 dollars. So, I was very pleased when I recently found that this work had been brought back into print.
The works themselves are wonderful fairy tale stories that also contain important lessons and/or morals to the reader. The most well-known of the stories are probably The Light Princess and The Golden Key. However, having read each, I can say with certainty that they are all well worth reading. Briefly, the stories are: The Light Princess - a wonderful tale of a princess who is lighter than air! And can't stop floating. Her parents, the King and Queen, do all they can to keep her grounded but nothing works until she meets the Prince. I'll leave the summary at that so you can enjoy how the story all works out. The Giant's Heart - a tale of a girl and her brother who venture into giant land and encounter a giant that has an appetite for young children in his stew. As the tale moves along, the reader sees what the children must do to escape the clutches of the giant, and maybe even defeat him with the the help of eagles and spiders. The Shadows - is the tale of an old man who is ill but suddenly one night is made "King" of the Shadows by the Shadow people, who inhabit his and all of our homes. On different occasions the King from his bed and home by the Shadow people, who take him to Shadow land. And there he learns all about these people...and about himself too. Cross Purposes - the tale of the Queen of Fairyland who has two children brought to fairyland and the adventures they encounter while there (meeting such characters as Peaseblossom and Toadstool) and what they must do to find their way home. The Golden Key - is a tale of a young girl and boy who who venture into fairy land - the boy in search of a golden key, which he finds at the end of a rainbow and the girl who follows after him, but has a separate and wonderful adventure of her own, meeting such wonderful characters as the the air-fish. They eventually meet up again and find the doorway with the keyhole for the golden key. I leave the story at that so as not to spoil the ending. While many fairy tales are suitable for youngsters to read, the starting age for readers of this collection is probably about eighth grade level. Of course, children much younger than that would enjoy having the stories read to them. And adults of any age with find them worth reading too and may well profit from them. The original work contained a number of woodcut illustrations drawn by Arthur Hughes. The publisher has omitted them from this reprint edition and, having seen those original drawings, think nothing was lost by their ommission. Instead, you will find illustrations from a contemporary artist, which I think, overall, work quite well with the stories. The full-color cover illustration was created from The Golden Key story. Inside, you will find one black and white illustration for each story. Its important to remember that the text comes from the 1867 edition, which was published in England. So, the english used in this work is that which the English used over 100 years ago. It can take a bit getting used but once that is done, I found the reading to be generally quite easy to go through. In any case, and as noted above, its a wonderful collection of fairy and fantasy tales for young and old alike and I highly recommend it.
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