The man who was to inspire such feeling was born on
December 10, 1824 at
Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His father, a farmer, was one of the
MacDonalds of
Glen Coe, and a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the
massacre of 1692. The
Doric dialect of the area frequently appears in the dialogue of some of his non-fantasy novels.
MacDonald grew up influenced by his
Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of
Calvinism. But MacDonald never felt comfortable with some aspects of Calvinist doctrine; indeed, legend has it that when the doctrine of
predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as
Robert Falconer and
Lilith, show a distaste for the idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others. Especially in his
Unspoken Sermons he shows a highly developed theology.
He took his degree at the
University of Aberdeen, and then went to
London, studying at
Highbury College for the Congregational ministry.
In
1850 he was appointed pastor of Trinity Congregational Church,
Arundel, but his sermons (preaching God's universal love and the possibility that none would, ultimately, fail to unite with God) met with little favour and his salary was cut in half. Later he was engaged in ministerial work in
Manchester. He left that because of poor health, and after a short sojourn in
Algiers he settled in London and taught for some time at the University of London. MacDonald was also for a time editor of
Good Words for the Young, and lectured successfully in the
United States during
1872-1873.
His best-known works are
Phantastes,
The Princess and the Goblin,
At the Back of the North Wind, and
Lilith, all fantasy novels, and fairy tales such as — "
The Light Princess", "
The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". "I write, not for children," he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald also published some volumes of sermons, the pulpit not having proved an unreservedly successful venue.
MacDonald also served as a mentor to
Lewis Carroll (the pen-name of Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson); it was MacDonald's advice, and the enthusiastic reception of
Alice by MacDonald's three young daughters, that convinced Carroll to submit
Alice for publication. Carroll, one of the finest Victorian photographers, also created photographic portraits of the girls and their brother Greville.
MacDonald was also friends with
John Ruskin and served as a go-between in Ruskin's long courtship with
Rose la Touche.
MacDonald was acquainted with most of the literary luminaries of the day; a surviving group photograph shows him with
Tennyson, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Trollope, Ruskin, Lewes, and
Thackeray. While in America he was a friend of
Longfellow and
Walt Whitman.
In 1877 he was given a
civil list pension. He died on
September 18, 1905 in Ashstead (Surrey). He was cremated and buried in
Bordighera.
As hinted above, MacDonald's use of
fantasy as a literary medium for exploring the human condition greatly influenced a generation of such notable authors as
C. S. Lewis (who featured him as a character in his
The Great Divorce),
J. R. R. Tolkien, and
Madeleine L'Engle. MacDonald's non-fantasy novels, such as
Alec Forbes, had their influence as well; they were among the first realistic Scottish novels, and as such MacDonald has been credited with founding the "
kailyard school" of Scottish writing.
His son
Greville MacDonald became a noted medical specialist, and also wrote numerous novels for children. Greville ensured that new editions of his father's works were published. Another son, Ronald MacDonald, was also a novelist.
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