George MacDonald, the master story-teller whose spiritual insight and myth-making artistry garnered the devotion of greats such as CS Lewis and GK Chesterton, places the reader in the grip of his revealing parables found in his short stories for the childlike. In this, among his best short stories, a young man finds himself lost on a northern Scottish Isle in a storm, taken in by the hospitality of a young woman and her mother. But he soon discovers there are more dangers on this island than rain and wind.
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.
Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence."
Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.
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.
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