Huntly author George MacDonald joins illustrious group on new BBC digital platform
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THE work of Victorian Huntly author George MacDonald, described as the “forgotten father of fantasy fiction”, is being remembered in the digital age.
Live Life Aberdeenshire has created a digital canvas on the Huntly author as part of the BBC’s “Novels that shaped our world” project.
There are also plans to promote George MacDonald in Aberdeenshire libraries and to create an exhibition space within Huntly Library to celebrate his local links.
Live Life Aberdeenshire’s libraries and museums teams collaborated on the project - the museums service holds a large collection of family papers and artefacts and a collection of original manuscripts can be accessed online: http://bit.ly/38VZt9V
A collection of original manuscripts and artefacts, including costumes from the family’s production of Pilgrims Progress, family photographs and drawings is also in the care of the museums service.
The canvas tells the story of the author’s life, his works and some of the criticism and scepticism which he came, and continues to come up against.
A panel of authors, literary critics and experts created a list of 100 novels published in the English language in the last 300 years for the project which coincides with the 300th anniversary of the publication of Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe.
Many people have not heard of George MacDonald, who is regarded as one of the most influential authors from the local area and whose work has influenced at least two of the authors included in the list.
He was born in Huntly in 1824 and returned to visit the local area whenever he could with his wife and their 11 children.
An eloquent speaker, he trained as a minister whilst writing many works which were and still are held in high regard by many.
The canvas produced with BBC Arts focuses on his fantasy work, though he wrote sermons, poetry and novels, often with religious undertones.
He was friends with Mark Twain, whose novel Huckleberry Finn is thought to be based on MacDonald’s “Sir Gibbie”.
Twain also read MacDonald’s book “At the Back of the North Wind” to his children so often the book needed to be replaced.
Lady Byron, the widow of Lord Byron, was a family benefactor and we can thank the children of George MacDonald for “Alice in Wonderland”, as Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was a family friend.
His position as an influential author was cemented when CS Lewis said he considered him his master and quoted him often in his work.
The canvas can be seen online: http://bit.ly/SHIREgmd
