Beautifully written. More of a story about grace than a love story.

The middle section pertaining to hypnosis and the occult were not to my liking so I skipped most of that section.

I enjoyed this but it took me some time to get into reading it. Since it was written many years ago, there was much more prose, and much less dialogue then the current reader is used to. Once I got past this, I began appreciating the book more. I enjoyed it from the perspective that the author focused on the good in people, (much different from modern day authors), and pointed out these good, godly qualities.

Not one of my favorite novels by George MacDonald, but worth the time reading it. I was sorry the title character disappeared from the novel so early, but his influence is felt throughout the book. I was put off a bit by the belief in mesmerism and the influence the villain had over one of the characters, but if one overlooks that, the story is readable enough.

The main character, Hugh Sutherland, accepts a position as tutor to the heir of a Scottish estate. In his hikes on the land, he encounter the steward, David Elginbrod. Drawn to the goodness of the man, he spends much of his free time with the family. He tutors the man and his beautiful young daughter Margaret.

His pupil Harry is drawn to Hugh, as is a young woman of the house, Lady Euphra, cousin to Hugh's pupil. There is something not quite right about Euphra, though. Hugh comes to neglect his responsibilities to Harry to spend more time with Euphra. Eventually Hugh comes to learn that she is under the hypnotic control of the evil Herr von Funkelstein.

The book has a happy ending, though, with everything coming out right by the end. Good triumps over evil and all is well.

George MacDonald is so rich and thought-provoking! Written long ago, but so applicable to today...

I would love to get hold of George MacDonald's original stories. I have to say this version edited by Michael Philips for "today's reader" had me feeling gipped the whole time. I didn't not enjoy the story and a few of the characters I really liked, but it felt contrived and definitely like something was missing. Some really good theological nuggets and descriptions held true, though, so that was good.

The more I read George MacDonald, the more I find in his writing the soul of a contemplative. Here a few of my favourite quotes from this book.

This quote challenged my view of God, which is still in need of further refining: "My father used to say that God was always finding every excuse for us that could be found; every true one, you know; not one false one."

One of the reasons I have found much of conservative evangelicalism so unsatisfying is because of the proud certainty with which so many cling to their personal theological preferences. I have been taken recently by the concept of "learned ignorance" and see this idea reflected by MacDonald in the following quote: "She was not by any means remarkably quick, but she knew when she did not understand; and that is a sure and indispensable step towards understanding. It is indeed a rarer gift than the power of understanding itself".

And on the value we attach in our society to achievement and productivity, to the detriment of the development of our true selves: "It is true, we are rich or poor according to what we are, not what we have. But what a man has produced, is not what he is. He may even impoverish his true self by production.

YA Mac

I loved the insights that he brought to motivations of why people do the things they do. I love his writing style and his very amusing, subtle humor. A love story with depth and wise spiritual insights that leave a person wanting to rise to the level of stellar characters exhibiting the highest form of demonstrative love.

I understand why this is not one of George MacDonald's better known works. It's flaws prevent it from being regarded on the same level as "The Princess and the Goblin" or "At the Back of the North Wind." But I have to admit in spite of its flaws I really enjoyed it.

One of the most enjoyable elements of reading the book actually came from the fact that I knew nothing about when I started except the title. There's something rare and delicious in reading a story with no hint of where it is going until you get there. Especially when the book takes as many narrative turns as this one does.

A lot of the elements of the book that would probably turn off the modern reader are the things I like the best about it. I love the language and occasional editorializing by the narrator. For a book filled with both sentiment and sincerity there is a strong streak of snark employed when George is exploring Church conventions of his time, or characters that he means to critique. I laughed out loud every time he made a jab at Calvinism! Some things never change.

Having religious themes in works of classic literature isn't unusual, but the level at with George explores not only the faith of his characters, but the spiritual (one might say supernatural) realities around them from a Christian worldview is unique to my reading experience. It felt brave and different and had that streak of spiritual unconventionality that I've come to expect from this man. (brave for his context I mean, not ours. This thing was written like....150 years ago.)

I liked Hugh, the hero tutor and protagonist of the story. He's my type lol. I appreciated how much time the story gave his journey, and how he was never overly romanticized as a hero.

I can't say the same thing for Margaret. I liked her much better in the first part of the book when she was a dirty uneducated Scottish wench. Once she grew up George fell into that trap of making her an angel, something common in this era of literature, but not something that is interesting, human or relate-able. Then again, we never get the story from her perspective. There are hints that she has more going on than Hugh or Euphra (I'll get to her) are aware of, but its only their worshipful gaze that we get most of the time. Too bad.

Euphra I have mixed feelings about. George does not approve of flirtation LOL! So many of the narrators harsh critiques of her "powers of fascinating" made me laugh. I felt let down by the ending George gave her.

There is a tendency of religious writers in this era to glorify 'sainted death' in two cases (both of which George occasionally uses in his books): the angelic child who's soul is to great for this world (Diamond in "At the Back of the North Wind") and in redeemed sinners (frequently women) whom now that they have cast off their demonic chains can die of the effort as peaceful saints. You wouldn't know it reading stories like this, but the Bible doesn't actually glorify death. Quite the opposite. It's a book about life, and death is a sacrifice made so that others might live. But death is never the goal or the object.

I would have loved Euphra to have, after breaking away from the influence of her abuser, gone on to live a full and vibrant life. That's an ending I can celebrate and call a spiritual victory. But George was a man of his time, and we can't expect people writing 200 years ago to care about the kinds of endings we like now.

I did enjoy the love story, but I wanted more of it. There was something quietly beautiful about the growing feeling between Margaret and Hugh in the beginning, and then seeing them finally reunited was wonderful. Then it just ended lol. I mean yeah they go together in the end, which we wanted, but was all done very abruptly!

Overall, it's the kind of book I like, and one that I'm not sure most other people will LOL!

See Kilian's review for the plot.

A CHRISTIAN book -- not my favorite. Originally published in 1863, and retold by Michael Phillips, Old Scottish values, complete with some very readable / understandable dialect.

Yes, the ending was satisfying, and Mr. MacDonald is an excellent writer, but, I'm not so ready to take the Bible as the only collection of books to look to for inspiration, as the characters do, although I do consider myself Christian. What about the Koran? What about the teachings of the Dali Lama? What about Mother Teresa? The greatest propensity of the world population is NOT Christian for Heaven's(!) sake.

Still one of my favorite books.