The Golden Key and Other Fairy Tales

by George MacDonald, Anastasia Nesterova (Illustrator)

Overview

Enter what G.K. Chesterton called “the glorious fairyland of George MacDonald”! This delightful collection of classic stories will introduce the reader to the “forgotten father of fantasy fiction.” According to C.S. Lewis, there is “hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continuously close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself,” and MacDonald deeply influenced the Christian fantasy writers who followed him, including J.R.R. Tolkien and Madeleine L’Engle.   

This beautiful collection includes MacDonald’s stories “The Golden Key,” “The Light Princess,” and “Little Daylight,” as well as stunning full-color illustrations by Anastasia Nesterova and an introduction for the young reader by children’s book author and Editor of Word on Fire Spark Haley Stewart. It is sure to spark the imagination of any reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685780470
Publisher:	Word on Fire
Publication date:	11/16/2023
Series:	Spark Classics
Pages:	200
Sales rank:	579,592
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.84(d)
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish writer and Christian minister. He wrote over fifty books, including Phantastes, Lilith, and The Princess and the Goblin. He and his wife, Louisa Powell, were the parents of eleven children. He is considered the “grandfather” of the Oxford Inklings and had enormous influence on the fantasy genre.

Table of Contents

Introduction for the Young Reader

The Golden Key

The Light Princess

Little Daylight

Editorial Reviews

Bring the best books into your home and read them to your children and grandchildren. George MacDonald’s The Golden Key and Other Fairy Tales is one of these books. MacDonald not only influenced C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, but his stories will also impact and shape the moral imagination of a new generation in need of the good, beautiful, and true. Thank you, Word on Fire, for bringing this exceptionally beautiful version of a children’s classic into print for all of us.

Marcie Stokman

"Once in a great while a writer comes along who is so original and so wise that every writer after can't escape his influence. George MacDonald's pioneering work opened paths we didn’t know were there. At last, we have a beautifully bound and thoughtfully arrayed edition of these boldly original stories."

Tyler Blanski

Readers of this beautiful book will encounter the strangeness and wonder of George MacDonald’s imaginary worlds—places where fish and princesses fly. They are also places where quests can’t be achieved without virtues like courage, love, and sacrifice. Anastasia Nesterova’s illustrations combine the childlike and enchanting in much the same way as MacDonald’s stories.

Marianne Wright