ww, I second the motion for The Princess and the Goblin.

At the Back of the North Wind, especially illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith, is quite good, IMO. Has anyone heard the Radio Theatre production of it?

There was also an interesting picture book made of that story, adapted by Robin McKinley with illustrations by Katie Thamer Treherne (names to conjure with!).

Need. To. Find.

In total, I've read The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, "The Light Princess," "The Golden Key," "The Wise Woman," "The Grey Wolf," and, most recently, Phantastes. I wasn't overly enamored with the latter—it was heavy on imagery but short on plot—but I loved all the stories I read when I was younger, particularly The Princess and the Goblin. These were favorites of my childhood, and I'd like to take the time out to rediscover them sometime. I'm also interested in giving Lilith a shot, although I hear it's much like Phantastes.

Lysander,
I personally think Lilith and Phantastes are both a little weird a somewhat hard to follow. I liked Lilith, even if I didn't understand a bunch of it. It draws you right into the book, so that you're experiencing it, not reading it.

I've read quite a few of his short stories also, including "The Grey Wolf". One of my very favorites is "The History of Photogen and Nycteris (The Day Boy and the Night Girl)".
The book, "The Gifts of the Child Christ and Other Stories and Fairytales" is a compilation by Glenn Edward Sadler. It's not in print anymore I don't think, but I ordered it at Barnes and Noble and got it in great condition. It was a little pricey, but it's totally worth it for this book.

Anyway, I liked The Princess and Curdie better than The Princess and the Goblin, probably since the main character is a boy.

I have read George MacDonald's adult books also and love The Laird's Inheritance, Alec Forbes and His Friend Annie, The Adventures of Ronald Bannerman, Wee Sir Gibbie of the Highlands, etc.

One of my very favorite books is At the Back of the North Wind, illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith!

Also, The Lost Princess (Alternate title: Wise Woman?) retold and illustrated by Karen Mezek is fantastic. I haven't fully read the unabridged of this story, just parts of it.

Needless to say, George MacDonald is one of my favorite authors and I'm collecting his books.

Let me know if you want any recommendations or opinions!

The Princess and the Goblin it is. I've added it to the collection known as "Hovering High on the To-Read List" in my LT catalog, and that makes it official . Thanks for the recommendation!

Maybe if I hurry with my Collins book, I can squeeze it in before this SF is over. The SFs are keeping me busy lately. But I don't think I have time to squeeze in Dickens

SF is Science Fiction?

Charles Dickens has written some good ones too! "Bleak House", "Our Mutual Friend"...

But we're not talking about him, are we?

SF, in the NWeb world, is short for Special Feature. The Dickens Special Feature is here. For more on how SFs work, see the Spare Oom Bylaws (especially number 1)

Oh! I wonder why I hadn't noticed this earlier. I love George MacDonald's books!

Although, I've only read 3 books by him, if I remember correctly. Those being The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, and The Lost Princess. I enjoyed all of those immensly.

I think my favourite is Goblin, perhaps because the story seems to me, more magical and sweet than the rest. (I liked Curdie alot, though. )

Sadly, the only version of Curdie I read was abridged, I had gotten the right one but didn't get around to reading it. I should read it, though. (Does anyone else but me have a strong disliking for abridged books that don't indicate that they are abridged?!)

The Lost Princess was a nice one! It was an easy read, but I still really liked it. The version that I put on hold had really neat illustrations, which made it more enjoyable.

There was another book by him I was going to read, I forgot what it was called. I think it's The Light Princess. I was going to put that on hold, but the only copy of it had wierd illustrations in it, so. I really need to read more books by George MacDonald!

By all means, read The Light Princess. It is one of my favorites.

Okay, I read The Princess and the Goblin over the weekend and here are my thoughts. Apologies to anyone who adores the book; I just couldn't get into it . Perhaps if I had been much younger when I read it...

I can understand where you're coming from. His theology is flawed, there's no way around that. The Princess and Curdie weirded me out the first time I read it and it was awhile before I picked it up again. Though it did remind me of the part in Prince Caspian with the wild bear. You might have an easier time with some of his short stories. Gifts of the Christ Child was excellent(it's been a few years since I read it, so I don't remember much except I thought it was very bittersweet). Don't feel obliged though, I think George MacDonald is the sort of author that readers either love or hate and there isn't much of in between.

I do plan on reading more of MacDonald eventually. Maybe I'll like his other stuff better

I'm sorry you did not love The Princess and the Goblin as much as some of us do, ww. Your review made sense, though-and the title has always bothered me as well! I agree that you would probably have liked it more if you had read it when you were younger. I practically grew up with the Curdie books. I wonder how you would like At the Back of the North Wind? That's a very queer, one-of-a-kind book.

I like George MacDonald a great deal. I read some of his historical fiction/romance/whatcha-may-call-them, but was not all that impressed. In the first place, they were edited/abridged (which I found out afterwards), and that explains to me why they weren't really satisfying. I found a lot lacking in them.
I love his fantasy best.
I've read:
The Princess and the Goblin
The Princess and Curdie
At the Back of the North Wind
Phantastes
The Golden Key
And a few of his historical fiction books, whose names are too alike for me to remember.

I grew up with the first 3, and love them a lot. I read Phantastes 2 or 3 years ago, and it astounded, amazed, and dazzled me. I gave it the highest rating possible in my record book, along with some exclamation points. Since then I've heard a lot of people call it disjointed, insensible, or boring-so I want to read it again, and see if I fall in love all over again. I also read The Golden Key several years ago, and didn't understand it very well.
I would like to read Lilith soon, as it's been compared to Phantastes.

Have there been any movies made of MacDonald books?

I've seen a rumour that there's an animated version of The Princess and the Goblin...

Ah-ha. Ye olde rumour faileth not. The Princess and the Goblin (1992)

And then, if I do a search on George McDonald, I come up with the fact that there was a made for TV movie in the 70's of The Light Princess and another version of The Princess and the Goblin from Jackanory.

All of which means very little to me, but it's kind of interesting.

I think my favorite MacDonald book (of the ones I've read) is definitely What's Mine's Mine; though "At the Back Of the North Wind" and the "Princess and the Goblin" and the "Princess and Curdie" are favorites as well.
We've read several of MacDonald's books as a family, and he is definitely a favorite. My Mom and both my older sisters have a nice set of most of his books. Someday....................

~Ata

Has anyone else read C.S. Lewis' anthology on George MacDonald?

I read Phantastes 2 or 3 years ago, and it astounded, amazed, and dazzled me.... Since then I've heard a lot of people call it disjointed, insensible, or boring

Oh dear, you make me (and those of my ilk) sound so villainous here. I admit it - guilty as charged. In my defense, though, your gushing about it has made me want to give it another try as well, although it's not anywhere near the top of my list of MacDonald titles to read/reread.

I'm not sure if I saw the Jackanory version, Mel, but I did watch the newer Princess and the Goblin and I recall thinking it a bad adaptation. (Picture me, at about the age of six, sitting in front of the television and making mental lists of all the things that were changed from the book. Oh, yes. ) I also saw The Light Princess, which I posted about on the last page. The sorceress scared me to death, and what with the mixture of live action and animation it all felt a little trippy, but I think it was closer to the original story than the P&tG cartoon.