Alec Forbes of Howglen

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Pages: 552

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About this book

Annie finds comfort beside a favourite cow while the adults around her attend a funeral and argue over duty, grief and religion. This Scottish novel begins with a sunlit farmyard that feels strangely empty, then moves indoors to the awkward conversation of neighbours gathered for a burial. The young child receives more tenderness from a servant than from the stern woman who sends the servant to find her.

George MacDonald gives these scenes their local character through Broad Scots dialogue and closely observed household details. In another passage, Annie sits with Tibbie Dyster, a blind woman whose conversation with Thomas Crann turns from light and flowing water to anger, punishment and Christian belief. The exchanges let ordinary people challenge one another’s assumptions. Readers interested in Scottish fiction can find here a portrait of community life in which kindness and religious certainty do not always agree.

About the author

George MacDonald

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons.