Synopses & Reviews
George MacDonald occupied a major position in the intellectual life of his Victorian contemporaries. The Complete Fairy Tales brings together all eleven of his shorter fairy stories as well as his essay "The Fantastic Imagination." The subjects are those of traditional fantasy: fairies good and wicked, and children journeying into unsettling dreamworlds or undertaking life-risking labours. But though they allude to familiar tales such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Jack the Giant-Killer," MacDonalds stories are profoundly experimental and subversive. By questioning the concept that a childhood associated with purity innocence, and fairy-tale "wonder" ought to be segregated from adult skepticism and disbelief, they invite adult readers to adopt the same elasticity and open-mindedness that come so naturally to a child. Enlisting paradox, play, and nonsense much like Lewis Carrolls Alice books, these fictions challenge us to question and rethink our assumptions, and offer an elusive yet meaningful alternative order to dubious certitudes of everyday life.
Synopsis
George MacDonald occupied a major position in the intellectual life of his Victorian contemporaries. This volume brings together all eleven of his shorter fairy stories as well as his essay The Fantastic Imagination. The subjects are those of traditional fantasy: good and wicked fairies, children embarking on elaborate quests, and journeys into unsettling dreamworlds. Within this familiar imaginative landscape, his children's stories were profoundly experimental, questioning the association of childhood with purity and innocence, and the need to separate fairy tale wonder from adult scepticism and disbelief.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. xxi-xxiii).
Table of Contents
Introduction
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Texts
The Fantastic Imagination From ADELA CATHCART The Light Princess
The Shadows
The Giant's Heart
From DEALINGS WITH THE FAIRIES Cross Purposes
The Golden Key
From AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND Little Daylight
Nanny's Dream
Diamond's Dream
LATER TALES The Carasoyn
The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess: A Double Story
The History of Photogen and Nycteris: A Day and Night Mährchen
Explanatory Notes