Spiritual Sight
The Story of George MacDonald
Joyce McPherson
A Review
By Frank A. Mills
Spiritual Sight, The Story of George MacDonald, Joyce McPherson (1923). ISBN: 979836167220. 169 pages, including, forward & bibliography.
When I was a child, I read (or had read to me) The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Uncle Peter. As I got older, I read Sir Gibbie and Phantastes. Perhaps it was then when I began my journey toward the idea of the ultimate reconciliation of all with God.
When I suggested Phantastes to my seventeen-year-old granddaughter who had read C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Tales and J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, telling her that Phantastes influenced those books; she asked who was Geoge MacDonald?
Today’s children may know of Lewis, Tolkien and Le Guin, but unfortunately, the “Granddaddy” of fantasy writing goes mostly unknown. Sad, because McDonald has influenced countless writers, not only those writing fantasy, and continues to do so today.
Joyce McPherson has set out to change with her delightfully written book, Spiritual Sight: The Story of George MacDonald. The story flows from the birth (December 10, 1824) of MacDonald to his death September 18,1905). We get to know him as a George, the child and young boy, a university student, a husband a father, as well as a minister and writer. His wife (Louisa) and his children play a part in the story. Through their interactions with MacDonald as wife and child, we learn about him and his spiritual sight.
We learn too that this spiritual sight, unusual for ministers of the day, not only guided him, but also caused him problems in his ministry. And we are fortunate for that. It caused MacDonald to turn to writing to support his family.
Even though Spiritual Sight is primarily written for youth, I was reminded of MacDonald and his children’s connection with “Uncle Charles” (Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll”) who shared stories of Alice in Wonderland with the children. I also learned about MacDonald’s friendship with George Ruskin and Mark Twain. The latter at first, didn’t cotton to MacDonald, nevertheless, in time a friendship developed. Throughout Spiritual Insight, the McPherson shares several such stories.
Not only is the book a delightful rendering of MacDonald’s life, throughout the book McPherson remains true to the title, Spiritual Sight, giving us a glimpse of the depth of MacDonald’s spiritual insight.
Each of the twenty-two chapters begins with a fitting quote from one of MacDonald’s works. Please don’t skip over these quotes. They are rich with insight about the man, as well as with spiritual insight.
While Spiritual Sight is a biography of George MacDonald, the Epilogue reminds us of how wide-ranging his influence was, and still is. I am hoping this book will introduce countless youth (and even some of us older folk to George MacDonald, his spiritual sight, and his belief in universal reconciliation.
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With Spiritual Sight McPherson hopes to instill this and future generations with a love of the works of George MacDonald. Not only a love, but a desire to explore. To that end, she provides a brief bibliography and a timeline of his life and career.
I will be sending Spiritual Sigh to my granddaughter, along with a copy ofPhantastes.
The book begins with a brief forward, written by George MacDonalds great, great grandson, Christopher MacDonald.
Joyce McPherson (PhD, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) is an author of biographies and fiction for young people. She is the author of the Camp Hawthorne series. Her works seek to show the impact of the Christian worldview within Western Culture. She is the mother of nine children. In her spare time, she enjoys directing Shakespeare plays. She believes that the plays need to be read out loud by groups of people. She lives in Chattanooga, TN. Her website can be found at: http://joycw-mcpherson.blogspot.com.
