1. At the Back of the North Wind JeannE Dresser LIS 719 Book Discussion
George MacDonald
At the Back of the North Wind JeannE Dresser LIS 719 Book Discussion

2. Biographical Information
Born December 10th, 1824 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to parents George MacDonald, Sr. and Helen MacKay MacDonald
Attended King’s College & Highbury Theological College
Married Louisa Powell in 1851
He & Louisa had eleven children
Died on September 18th, 1905

3. Theology MacDonald had a strict Calvinist upbringing
Pastored a Congregational church for a time
MacDonald believed that “Jesus is present to each believer in that believer’s time and place”.
He also stated that he “didn’t believe in Jesus because he’s in the Bible, but believed in the Bible, because Jesus is in it”.
He believed in a type of purgatory where we stay until we’re accepted into heaven.

4. Interesting Facts MacDonald wrote over 50 books
George & Louisa MacDonald encouraged their friend Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) to publish his book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
C.S. Lewis once said, “I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him."
The Marion Wade Center at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL holds an extensive collection of works by MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, among others.

5. Other Children’s Books by macdonald
Images from

6. At the Back of the north wind
First appeared in the magazine, Good Works for the Young, in 1868.
Published as a book in the U.K. in 1871
Illustrated by Arthur Hughes

7. Reception
The fairy tale, Little Daylight, which is contained within At the Back of the North Wind, received critical acclaim and has been published on it’s own.
Queen Victoria gave MacDonald’s books to her grandchildren.
Mark Twain asked MacDonald for a new copy of At the Back of the North Wind because his children had “read and re-read their own copy so many times that it looks as if it had been through the wars”.
MacDonald was well received on an author tour to the U.S. in

8. Legacy Numerous editions of the book Librovox Audio Recording
Stage musical based on book
Radio Theatre version on CD published by Tyndale House

9. Sources
Ankeny, Rebecca Thomas. The Story, the Teller, and the Audience in George MacDonald's Fiction. Vol. 44. Studies in British Literature. Lewiston, England: Edwin Mellen Press, 2000.
"At the Back of the North Wind." LibriVox: acoustical liberation of books in the public domain. at_the_back_of_the_north_wind_librivox (accessed February 23, 2010).
Hunt, Peter, ed. Children's Literature: An illustrated history. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
MacDonald, Greville, M.D. George MacDonald and His Wife. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1924.
March, Eric. At the Back of the North Wind: A new musical. (accessed February 23, 2010).
The Marion E. Wade Center. "George MacDonald." Wheaton College. (accessed February 20, 2010).
Trafton, Jennifer, ed. "George MacDonald." Special issue, Christian History & Biography, no. 86 (Spring 2005).