George MacDonald

George MacDonald ( born December 10, 1824 in Huntly, Scotland, † September 18, 1905 ) was a Scottish writer, poet and priest.

Life

George MacDonald was a son of George MacDonald and Helen MacKay. His father, a farmer, belonged to the MacDonald clan of Glencoe and was a direct descendant of one of those families who had suffered in the massacre of Glencoe (1692 ). MacDonald was coined by Scottish Calvinism. But even from an early time, he stands with the main teachings in conflict. As the doctrine of predestination he was told for the first time, it should be broken out into tears ( although it made ​​clear to him that he was one of the " chosen one "). MacDonald studied at the University of Aberdeen and then moved to London to be trained at Highbury College as a Presbyterian minister.

In 1850 he was appointed pastor at Arundel. He preached God's universal love and the possibility that no one would ultimately doomed. These sermons met with little favor and one halved his wages. Later he performed the ministry in Manchester. There, however, he had no fixed pastorate, but had to feed through preaching, teaching, and writing activities. Was very much influenced this time by the contact with the Principal of Owen College (now the University of Manchester ) AJ Scott. During this time he published his first major work of fiction Within and Without, which earned him contacts among other things, to Frederick Denison Maurice and Charles Kingsley.

For health reasons he had to leave Manchester and moved - after a short stay in Algeria ( which was by Lady Byron, widow of Lord Byron, allows ) - first to Hastings, where he was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known under the name Lewis Carroll met. Dodgson was the MacDonalds, the unpublished manuscript of Alice in Wonderland. In particular, the enthusiasm of MacDonald's son Greville was so great that Dodgson was persuaded to publish it.

Then MacDonald moved to London. There he taught first at Bedford College for Women, then at King 's College. Under the influence of Frederick Denison Maurice, he was a member of the Church of England. With the novel David Elginbrod he achieved his literary breakthrough. From now on he could feed his books mainly.

MacDonald was temporarily editor of Good Words for the Young ( Good words for the youth ) and held from 1872 to 1873 a long lecture tour in the U.S. and Canada. A few years later, he spent more and more at least the winter in Italy. In Bordighera even a house was built, which gradually became a spiritual center of the English colony there.

Position

In novels such as Robert Falconer and also in his written sermons MacDonald sat repeatedly dealt with the doctrine of predestination. He was able to develop its own theology, which also receives quite positive elements of Calvinism, even if they are just clear delimiting of double predestination. A central role is played by the understanding of man as a child of God who is always already accepted by God, but also has to grow itself. This makes it possible MacDonald to call people without discourage him. The divine sonship of man provides a basis for the universal love of God for all people. MacDonald's theology runs through all his work, including the novels and children's books. Today, his theology is increasingly being rediscovered and reintroduced into the theological discourse.

MacDonald's most famous works are the fantasy novels Phantastes ( German: Phantastus or Phantastes ( edition with pictures of Friedrich Hechelmann ) ), The Princess and the Goblin ( German: The Princess and the Goblins ), The Princess and Curdie ( German: The Princess and Curdie ), At the Back of the North Wind ( German: Behind the North Wind ) and Lilith. MacDonald also wrote numerous short stories - eg The Golden Key ( German: The golden key ) - and published several volumes of sermons. He was known in his time but most of all through his many novels. These are slowly being rediscovered in recent years. One can think about even Alec Forbes of Howglen, David Elginbrod, Sir Gibbie, Donald Grant and Robert Falconer.

Reception

MacDonald's works, especially the fairy tales and fantasy novels, as inspired authors such as WH Auden, JRR Tolkien, GK Chesterton and Madeleine L' Engle. C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his teacher and called himself The Great Divorce: A Dream as a tribute to George MacDonald. So it is hardly a work of Lewis', in which he did not cite MacDonald. Even Mark Twain, who despised MacDonald initially belonged after a meeting in America to his circle of friends, and there is evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald. So proud Twain sent a copy of his The Prince and the Pauper (1881 ) to MacDonald. A former reviewer recognized in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer parallels to MacDonald's Alec Forbes of Howglen.

Works

Prose

  • Phantastes; a faerie romance, 1858 German edition: Phantastus. A fairy tale. Robinson, Frankfurt am Main 1984
  • German edition: David Elginbrod. Heyder & Room 1873
  • His first love. Francke, Marburg 1991
  • German edition: The Orphan of Glamerton. Francke, Marburg 1988
  • German edition: Shadows over Oldcastle Hall. Francke, Marburg 1986
  • German edition: The Laughing Princess. Translated from English by Hildegard Krahé. Diogenes, Zurich 1976
  • German edition: The golden key. Translated from English by Hildegard Krahé. Diogenes, Zurich 1976
  • German edition: storms over Kilkhaven. Francke, Marburg 1987
  • German edition: Behind the North Wind. Free spiritual life, Stuttgart 1993
  • German edition: A childhood in Scotland. Francke, Marburg 1990
  • German edition: The pastor's daughter. Francke, Marburg 1989
  • German edition: The Princess and the Goblin. Free spiritual life, Stuttgart 1996
  • German edition: Lady Florimel and fishermen '. Francke, Marburg 1986
  • German edition: To love and mercy. Francke, Marburg 1992
  • German edition: The Secret of the Marquis. Francke, Marburg 1986
  • German edition: Lady Juliet. Francke, Marburg 1995
  • German edition: The Song of the baronet. Francke, Marburg 1987
  • German edition: The Princess and Curdie. Free spiritual life, Stuttgart 1997
  • German edition: The mysterious room. Francke, Marburg 1989
  • German edition: The Light Princess and The Heart of giants. Robinson, Frankfurt am Main 1984
  • German edition: Lilith. Translated from English by Uwe Herms. Klett- Cotta, Stuttgart 1977

Poetry

  • Within and Without: a dramatic poem, 1855
  • Poems, 1857
  • A Hidden Life and Other Poems, 1864 (poetry )
  • England 's Antiphon, 1868 ( History of the English religious poetry)
  • The Disciple and Other Poems, 1867
  • Violin songs and Other Poems, 1874 ( poems and songs )
  • A Book of Strife, in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul, 1880 (poetry )
  • A Threefold Cord: Poems by three friends, 1883
  • Poems, 1887 ( poems)
  • A Cabinet of Gems, 1891 (selected collection of English Renaissance poet )
  • Poetical Works (2 volumes - contains previously unpublished poems), 1893
  • Scotch Songs and Ballads, 1893

Sermons

  • Unspoken Sermons. First Series, 1867
  • The Miracles of Our Lord, 1870
  • Unspoken Sermons. Second Series, 1885
  • Unspoken Sermons. Third Series, 1889
  • The Hope of the Gospel, 1892

Translations

  • Exotics, 1876 ( Translation German poems by Novalis, Matthias Claudius, Goethe, Heine, Luther, Salis - Buchen, Uhland and Schiller, Italian poems of Petrarch and Milton )

Posthumously

  • An Expression of Character: The Letters of GM, 1994 ( compiled letters )
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