BY G. CONNOR SALTER

Dr. Joyce McPherson writes many things. As a scholar, she has contributed essays to the Victorian Institute Journal, the Journal of Global Literacies, Technologies, and Emerging Pedagogies, and to the book Containing Childhood: Space and Identity in Children’s Literature edited by Danielle Russell. Her work for popular audiences includes homeschooling material, abridged Shakespeare plays, and the award-winning Camp Hawthorne mysteries. She has also published (for young people) multiple short biographies of notable figures, from Albrecht Dürer to Isaac Newton. Her most recent biography took on a special subject for her. Spiritual Sight: The Story of George MacDonald tells the story of the preacher, novelist, and fairytale author whose works inspired the likes of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

McPherson was kind enough to answer a few questions and provide a guide for MacDonald researchers.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

When did you first hear about George MacDonald?

 I read The Princess and the Goblin as a child and promptly read as many of MacDonald’s books as I could find.  The Princess and Curdie is still one of my favorite books after over 50 years of reading.

Back in 2011, you wrote Beyond the Land of Narnia: The Story of C.S. Lewis. Did you know then that you would explore MacDonald as well?

Back in 2011, I only knew that George MacDonald was a major influence for C.S. Lewis, who considered him his “master” and wrote, “Indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him.” It wasn’t until I started researching MacDonald that I realized how true this was! You may notice that in The Great Divorce, George MacDonald is the mentor who guides the narrator, similar to Virgil in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Both authors created a type of fiction with a spiritual core that emphasized the goodness of God.

Was this your first published work on MacDonald, or have you written earlier scholarship on him?

I teach English at Covenant College, and as an academic I presented on MacDonald at Oxford and at the C.S. Lewis conference in Iasi, Romania in 2023. Both papers may be published this year. At Oxford I shared how Scottish Christianity impacted MacDonald’s writing, and in Romania I presented how the idea of “nobility” worked throughout MacDonald’s and Lewis’s writing. Both authors understood every person to be royal by virtue of descent from Adam and Eve, with our lives as a journey toward nobility of character as we come to know the King better and better.

As a scholar who’s written about classic children’s literature, what are some things you find distinct about MacDonald’s stories?

Victorian literature for children could be didactic—pausing from the story to preach to children. However, MacDonald’s children’s literature communicates a loving narrator, who tells the story because he cares about his readers. Just as C.S. Lewis has his professor ask, “I wonder what they do teach them at these schools,” MacDonald inserts comments as in The Wise Women, where he tells the story about a princess who “as she grew, she grew worse, for she never tried to grow better.” He appeals to his child readers through the clever humor in situations like this one:

Her papa called for the wise woman to help…

“How very badly you have treated her!” the wise woman said. “Poor child!”

“Treated her badly?” gasped the king. “Haven’t we given her every mortal thing she wanted?”

“Surely,” said the wise woman. “What else could have all but killed her? You should have given her a few things of the other sort.”

Are there things you personally appreciate about his work as someone who writes books for children yourself?

First, I appreciate how MacDonald sees a Father at the core of all his stories—a Father who gave his own Son to bring us home. Second, I appreciate how he brings his child readers into his stories. They often see children like themselves, who seek adventure but need to grow, whether in their perception of reality or their ideas about faith.

Your book opens with a foreword by Christopher, MacDonald’s great-great-grandson. How did you come to connect with the MacDonald family?

One of my favorite parts of this research project has been meeting many wonderful people who appreciate the works of George MacDonald. I have joined the George MacDonald Society and through them met Christopher MacDonald. We began a correspondence that resulted in his help with sharing family pictures for the children’s book and his writing the foreword.

How long was your research journey for writing the book?

It took about two years, partly because I wanted to read all of MacDonald’s books. Once I started meeting MacDonald scholars, like Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, the research accelerated. I’m helping host a regional “Conference on Christianity and Literature” at Covenant College in October 2024 to celebrate George MacDonald’s 200th birthday. If anyone is interested, the call for papers is here: https://www.christianityandliterature.com/Conferences.

With many writing projects, the hardest part is leaving out material there isn’t room for. What were some of the hardest things for you to leave out of the book?

Since I was writing for children, I glossed over some of the crushing loss that George MacDonald experienced in his life (though some of it is included.) He lost his mother and younger brother while he was still a child, and this deepened his understanding of Heaven. He lost two children at the ages of 15 and 25, and another daughter at 39. Then a young married daughter died at 30 and her only daughter a year later. MacDonald and his wife Louisa kept a strong faith through these trials, and their children considered this the best corroboration for MacDonald’s books and message.

One of the tougher subjects when discussing MacDonald is his ministry career. Looking at the timeline in your book, I realized that it’s only three years between when he’s accepted to pastor a church in Arundel and his resignation. From your perspective, how did that affect him?

MacDonald considered his entire career as his pastoral ministry. When he left his church in Arundel, he had the idea for teaching humanities with a spiritual viewpoint, and this led to a busy lecture and teaching career as well as over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He was offered ministry positions later, but declined them because he considered his lecture and writing career to be his ministry. Interestingly, he continued to volunteer to preach at churches throughout his life and would not accept an honorarium because it was his gift to the Lord.

There’s been some great discussion over the last few years about helping pastors heal after ministry burnout or church conflicts. Do you think MacDonald’s unexpected ministry journey has lessons for us today?

MacDonald corresponded with his father during this period of serving the church at Arundel and transitioning to other ministry. His father was consistently his champion, as was his wife Louisa, and I think their love and support made the difference for him to pivot to a new kind of ministry. For years, his work was published in Good Words for the Young, a Sunday School magazine for children. He reached thousands of children in the UK and North America through this popular medium. It could not have happened if he was a full-time minister in a church.

Recently, at an Inkling Folk Fellowship event, you noted that At the Back of the North Wind may feel dark today because it addresses child mortality, but was written at a time when that was all too common. Do you find it a morbid book, or a book that faces a sad subject in a caring way?

MacDonald’s story At the Back of the North Wind was first published in the children’s magazine and then as a book. In those days, authors like Charles Dickens made readers weep when a child died in their books, but MacDonald had a different view. He wanted to give his readers hope that death was not the end. In fact, it was the doorway to the loving Heavenly Father’s home. As children read about the adventures of the child Diamond with the beautiful woman known as the North Wind, they realize that there is more to this world than they might think. Mark Twain was a friend of George MacDonald and later wrote about fond memories of reading the book in the nursery and how his daughter loved it. She died young, but it meant a lot to the family that they shared this book.

I understand you’re going to present at the George MacDonald Bicentenary Conference in Wheaton in May. What are you going to present on?

I’m presenting on how MacDonald was influenced by the work of Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish Presbyterian minister in a time of revival. Chalmers wrote as a natural theologian and had a profound effect on MacDonald’s prophetic imagination, especially in the integration of reason and faith with an evangelical purpose. Though MacDonald as an adult joined the Church of England and criticized some exaggerated views common in Scottish churches, the legacy of Chalmers remained. Fans of MacDonald will be interested in quotes from Chalmers like this one: “He has no pleasure in our death, and manifests towards us the longings of a bereaved parent, and even humbles Himself to a suppliant in the cause of our return, and sends a gospel of peace into the world, and bids His messengers to bear throughout all its habitations, the tidings of His good-will to the children of men.”[1] MacDonald’s writings bear the imprint of this purpose.

We seem to be entering a new period of increased interest in MacDonald: several graphic novels have been made about his work, the documentary The Fantasy Makers highlighted him, and there’s talk of a movie being made about his life. What are some MacDonald topics you’d like to see more people research as we enter this new phase?

I would love to see more research on MacDonald’s concept that the spiritual core of a story is integral to creating lasting literature. I am seeing more authors like Andrew Peterson addressing these issues.

Readers seeking to learn about McPherson’s work more can check out her website or Facebook page.

Guide for MacDonald Researchers by Joyce McPherson:

George MacDonald’s son, Greville, published a biography of his father, which is the basis for my biography, along with letters and other accounts that have become available since that time. Thanks to the further research and work of Michael R. Phillips and other scholars, you can read thoughtful analysis of his writing and life.

To learn more:

  • George MacDonald by C.S. Lewis. This book is a collection of excerpts from MacDonald’s writing and is devotional in nature.
  • George MacDonald and His Wife by Greville MacDonald with an introduction by G.K. Chesterton
  • George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller by Michael R. Phillips
  • From a Northern Window: A Personal Reminiscence of George MacDonald by his Son by Ronald MacDonald.
  • Far Above Rubies: The Life of Louisa MacDonald by Jolyn Canty

Children’s Stories and Short Stories by George MacDonald

  • The Princess and the Goblin
  • The Princess and Curdie
  • At the Back of the North Wind
  • The Wise Woman
  • The Light Princess
  • Uncle Peter (A Christmas Story)
  • The Golden Key

MacDonald’s fiction that young adults might enjoy:

  • Adela Cathcart: This novel contains many of his short stories and translated poetry within the larger story.
  • Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood and sequels: The Seaboard Parish and The Vicar’s Daughter
  • Ranald Bannerman’s Boyhood
  • Gutta Percha Willie
  • St. George and St. Michael
  • Mary Marston
  • Guild Court

MacDonald’s Books: The originals are still available as well as editions that were edited by Michael Phillips for modern readers. The edited titles are in parentheses.

  • Malcolm (The Fisherman’s Lady)
  • The Marquis of Lossie (The Marquis’ Secret)
  • Sir Gibbie (The Baronet’s Song)
  • Donal Grant (The Shepherd’s Castle)
  • David Elginbrod (The Tutor’s First Love)
  • Robert Falconer (The Musician’s Quest)
  • Alec Forbes of Howglen (The Maiden’s Bequest)
  • Thomas Wingfold, Curate (The Curate’s Awakening)
  • Paul Faber, Surgeon (The Lady’s Confession)
  • What’s Mine’s Mine (The Highlander’s Last Song)
  • There and Back (The Baron’s Apprenticeship)
  • Weighed and Wanting (The Gentlewoman’s Choice)
  • Warlock O’Glenwarlock (The Laird’s Inheritance)—Note that “Warlock” is just a family name.

Non-fiction for those who love literature:

  • England’s Antiphon

Essays:

  • “The Imagination: Its Functions and Its Culture” (1867) and “The Fantastic Imagination” (1893) found in A Dish of Orts

For those who would like to understand how a scholar works with primary documents, see Dr. Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson’s work.

George MacDonald books can be found at…

  • George MacDonald Books at The Room to Roam: Beautiful hardcover and paperback editions with translations of Scots dialogue by David Jack.
  • Wise Path Books: Wonderful resource for original editions and edited editions by Michael Phillips.
  • The Rabbit Room: Many fun resources including a graphic novel of The Golden Key!

[1] Thomas Chalmers. Congregational Sermons, vol. 1. Glasgow, Collins, 1836 reprint. p. 232