Starting a new series of posts I’m going to call THE BOOKS THAT MADE ME, to share some of the books I read as a child and teen that had the biggest influence on me as a reader and writer. . Let’s take C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as a given — I won’t go into them here, because their influence is huge and there’s been plenty written about both. But less well known is an author who came before and strongly inspired both of them, GEORGE MACDONALD. . These four books pictured were a boxed set I received one Christmas as a child, and I’ve re-read all of them many times since. THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN and THE PRINCESS AND CURDIE especially were a big influence on my understanding of fantasy in general and Christian fantasy in particular, and while their style is flowery and old-fashioned, the characters are charming and the spiritual imagery in the books is fantastic. . Who could forget Irene’s magic thread, or the strange “doggy” Lina, or the old queen’s fire of burning roses? Not me, that’s for sure. But neither can I forget the hard lessons taught by the Wise Woman of THE LOST PRINCESS, or the airy fishes of THE GOLDEN KEY. . MacDonald had a phenomenal imagination, as well as a keen appreciation and respect for the value of women (in fact nearly all the spiritual mentors and Christ-like figures in his books are female, which was extraordinary for his time) that still resonates powerfully with me as a reader today. . If you haven’t read these books, I recommend them! . . . . . #bookstagram #bookish #BookRecommendations #books #reading #booksthatmademe #writinginspirations #rjandersonwriter #georgemacdonald #theprincessandthegoblin #theprincessandcurdie #thelostprincess #thegoldenkeyandothershortstories https://www.instagram.com/p/B9dSD7vAOO9/?igshid=9i8fezn18de4
