Clare, the hero of the story, is a boy whose mother is killed at his side by the fall of a church during an earthquake. The kindly clergyman and his wife, who adopt him, die while he is still very young, and he is thrown upon the world a second time. The narrative of his wanderings is full of interest and novelty, the boy’s unswerving honesty and his passion for children and animals leading him into all sorts of adventures. He works on a farm, supports a baby in an old deserted house, finds employment in a menagerie, becomes a bank clerk, is kidnapped, and ultimately discovers his father on board the ship to which he has been conveyed.
At the Back of the North Wind. With 75 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes, and a Frontispiece by Laurence Housman. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.
“In At the Back of the North Wind we stand with one foot in fairyland and one on common earth. The story is thoroughly original, full of fancy and pathos.”—The Times.
Ranald Bannerman’s Boyhood. With 36 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.
“Dr. Mac Donald has a real understanding of boy nature, and he has in consequence written a capital story, judged from their stand-point, with a true ring all through which ensures its success.”—The Spectator.
The Princess and the Goblin. With 30 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes, and a Frontispiece by Laurence Housman. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.
In the sphere of fantasy George Mac Donald has very few equals, and his rare touch of many aspects of life invariably gives to his stories a deeper meaning of the highest value. His Princess and Goblin exemplifies both gifts. A fine thread of allegory runs through the narrative of the adventures of the young miner, who, amongst other marvellous experiences, finds his way into the caverns of the gnomes, and achieves a final victory over them.
The Princess and Curdie. With Frontispiece and 30 Illustrations by Helen Stratton. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.
A sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, tracing the history of the young miner and the princess after the return of the latter to her father’s court, where more terrible foes have to be encountered than the grotesque earth-dwellers.