An Expression of Character: The Letters of George MacDonald

As a poet and novelist in nineteenth-century Scotland, George MacDonald became an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer whose work has inspired such prominent writers and artists as C. S. Lewis and Maurice Sendak. This extensive collection of MacDonald's personal correspondence offers privileged insights into the inner thoughts and visionary ideas of one of Scotland's greatest storytellers.
An Expression of Character draws from more than 3,000 of MacDonald's letters to friends and family members, many not previously published. Highly regarded as a MacDonald scholar, Glenn Edward Sadler has arranged the most significant of MacDonald's letters chronologically, dividing his life into significant stages: his boyhood in Huntly and student days at Aberdeen University; his marriage and fatherhood; his career as a novelist; his lecture tour in America in 1872; and his later days in Bordighera, Italy. Sadler skillfully introduces each section, summarizing the significant milestones in MacDonald's life. Sixteen pages of photographs, including many of the MacDonald family, also help capture this intriguing literary figure.
Fascinating, at times lyrical, and often moving, these letters provide a window into MacDonald's personal and spiritual life. Most of his letters are earthy and practical, showing his concern for the events of everyday life, his warm attachment to friends, and the importance of his role as husband and father. Other letters reveal MacDonald's spiritual approach to life and the develop ment of his religious views. Especially significant was his firm belief in what C. S. Lewis defined as "good Death" and in the glorious life hereafter.
Readers of MacDonald will find in these letters penetrating glimpses of a deeply religious and sensitive man. To the specialist and general reader alike the letters speak with heartfelt sincerity and warmth. Those familiar with MacDonald's fiction and poetry will find the best portrait yet of the man himself.

Glenn Edward Sadler is professor of English at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.