The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories and Fairy Tales [Paperback]

George MacDonald (Author), Glenn Edward Sadler (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

This new one-volume edition of The Gifts of he Child Christ gathers all the best shorter fairy tales and stories that George Macdonald wrote. Also included are the illustrations of MacDonald's stories by Arthur Hughes and others.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

McDonald made his name as a writer through his fairy tales, and this title, originally published as a two-volume set in 1973, contains all his best stories plus illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Rev Sub edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802841651
• ISBN-13: 978-0802841650
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Scottish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very apt intro, February 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories and Fairy Tales (Paperback)

My wife gave me this book for Christmas; she new I liked C.S. Lewis and that he counted Geo MacD as his mentor. I can heartily recommend this volume to anyone. The variety of style is what struck me the most: some of these I will read aloud to my children, some made me laugh out loud, and others left me scratching my head as to what the author was alluding to. Geo MacD has great insight into human nature, revealing our innermost thoughts so we can see we are not so different from the next guy. If you have heard of the author but aren't quite sure you would like him, try this one --- you'll know instantly!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great shorter tales by one of the best 19th Century fantasists, June 20, 2006

By 

Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories and Fairy Tales (Paperback)

George MacDonald was one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, 19th Century fantasist, and a key influence on C. S. Lewis. He was a Unitarian minister, and much of his fiction was essentially religious. I am particularly fond of his children's novels, At the Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, and The Princess and Curdie. He also wrote adult novels, most importantly Phantastes and Lilith.

He also wrote a lot of shorter fiction. Much of the best is collected in The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories, selected by Glenn Edward Sadler. Two of the very best are "The Light Princess", a very funny story about a princess with no gravity, either of spirit or physically; and "The Golden Key", a lovely symbolic story about a boy and a girl and their long journey together. Other highlights are "The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess", a long story (35,000 words or so) about a spoiled princess and a spoiled shepherd's child and the efforts of an old wise woman to reform them; the title story, about how the daughter of a too serious man and his neglected young wife brings them together after their younger child is stillborn; "The Carasoyn" (or "The Fairy Fleet"), about a young man and his less than enjoyable involvement with a group of fairies and their queen; "The History of Photogen and Nycteris" (or "The Day Boy and the Night Girl"), about two babies kidnapped by an evil fairy, the boy brought up only in daylight, the girl only in darkness; and "The Cruel Painter" is a fine story about a painter who insisted on distorting his scenes to bring out the worst in their subjects, and the young man who falls in love with his daughter and comes to work as his apprentice.

There are quite a few more stories, most quite interesting, roughly evenly divided between fairy tales or fantasies and contemporary tales. Only very rarely does MacDonald moralize to the detriment of his stories, though his stories do quite often make moral points. (And quite explicitly Christian points.) Sadler has also selected quite a few period illustrations, many by Arthur Hughes, many from the original publications of the stories.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little known gem by a master storyteller, June 19, 2005

By 

Mei L. Po (Sherborn, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories and Fairy Tales (Paperback)

I too was first introduced to George MacDonald by way of CS. Lewis. A friend gave me this book, "for recreation" during my busy final term in college- and it has become one of the most highly prized works in my collection. This series of short stories and fairy tales will enchant anyone who already loves Hans Christian Anderson or delights in "wonder" tales, and anyone looking for fresh parables and expressions of Christian faith.

Highly recommended!