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George MacDonald
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Lilith (The Cullen Collection) Kindle Edition

by George MacDonald (Author), Michael Phillips (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 757 ratings
The 19th-century British author’s fantastical masterpiece, “the first text to employ the idea of going through a mirror into another world” (The List, “100 Best Scottish Books of All Time”).
 
Subtitled, a little oddly, “A Romance,” which assuredly it is not, eight distinct manuscript versions of Lilith exist, chronicling the book’s fitful development under MacDonald’s pen until its release in 1895. Some view Lilith as the otherworldly climax of MacDonald’s literary career. As in Phantastes, with which Lilith is usually linked, the narrator finds himself embarking on a quest. But unlike the earlier journey into the land of faerie, that of Lilith is an inward journey that leads to the world of death, exploring what new self-awarenesses, even repentance, may be possible in that realm. Lilith is decidedly dark and difficult to grasp and is not for all readers. MacDonald himself felt that it had been inspired by God as his “final message,” though his wife Louisa was troubled by it and counseled her husband not to publish it. This edition for The Cullen Collection is unedited in any way.
 
“An extremely Freudian book, with sexualized old testament type lusty biblical images, and feelings, which is very surprising, as it was written in Victorian times, by a minister, as that was what MacDonald was . . . This is all spun out in an engrossing prose, with beautiful poetic descriptives, and with much passion and Art. The World of the book seems to me to be much more real, and more terrible, then Tolkien, and more anguished. The writing . . . is both extremely literate, and lavish.”—Daily Kos
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  1. Print length
    129 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    RosettaBooks
  4. Publication date
    October 31, 2018
  5. File size
    1.9 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08KH11RCK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ RosettaBooks (October 31, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 31, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 129 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 757 ratings

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George MacDonald

George MacDonald

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
757 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story engaging and thought-provoking. They appreciate the spiritual content as meaningful and uplifting. The book is described as imaginative and bringing awe to the reader. Readers enjoy the imagery, which depicts truths masterfully. However, some feel the philosophy is unorthodox and dense, with fuzzy mystical ideas. There are mixed opinions on the print size, with some finding it small and awkward, while others say it's much larger than expected.

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Story qualitySpiritual contentImaginationImageryWriting styleCharacter developmentPhilosophyPrint size
61 customers mention "Story quality"50 positive11 negative

Customers enjoy the story. They find the plot engaging and thought-provoking, with levels of meaning beyond the surface story. The book is described as a classic fantasy tale that is an important precursor to contemporary fantasy.

"...It is at once disheartening and yet uplifting, full of dark underpinnings and at the same time it is full of light, exhausting and inspirational...." Read more

"...Despite deeper meanings, there's still an intriguing story going on, one that's not hard to follow, and exciting to read...." Read more

"...A dedicated fantasy reader may find great enjoyment and interesting thoughts in Lilith, but a reader with a modern mindset may get frustrated...." Read more

"...At that time my reaction to the book was that it was very strange and weird and I was entranced by it, and I knew that I would read it again when I..." Read more

36 customers mention "Spiritual content"36 positive0 negative

Customers find the spiritual content in the book captivating and thought-provoking. They describe the stories as meaningful and enjoyable, with lofty themes and complex imagery. The book is described as uplifting and a mind-twisting read for anyone interested in spirituality.

"...It is at once disheartening and yet uplifting, full of dark underpinnings and at the same time it is full of light, exhausting and inspirational...." Read more

"...There's a lot of very complex imagery and symbolism-- most of which I'm sure I can't even comprehend...." Read more

"...The novel explores themes of life and death, good and evil, divine and mortal love, sin, free will and redemption, and the nature of consciousness..." Read more

"...way as the first time, but realized that there was a greater metaphor behind the story and the characters themselves...." Read more

16 customers mention "Imagination"16 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's imaginative writing style. They find it interesting and unique, inspiring many artists and writers. The author is described as a genius in presenting truths that guide us.

"...I would love to see it on film! I think it is frankly the most interesting fantasy by him. I love his kids books, but this one is just incredible...." Read more

"This is not a Romance, but the most imagitive book I have ever read. The creativity just goes on & on. I like it & can't wait to see how it ends...." Read more

"...I love Dickens, Thackeray, and Austen they were great novelists and should be read today. This book without even the intent is a soul searcher." Read more

"...George Macdonald is a true artist. Perhaps the guardian of life's dream shared with many deep within." Read more

14 customers mention "Imagery"14 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's imagery. They find the depictions of truths masterfully and gently constructed. The cover art is odd, grotesquely Victorian-surreal, and glossy. It reflects the detailed and flowery writing style. The story is entertaining and thought-provoking, making you see everything differently.

"...There's a lot of very complex imagery and symbolism-- most of which I'm sure I can't even comprehend...." Read more

"...This novel was written in 1895 and definitely reflects the extremely detailed and flowery writing style of the time...." Read more

"...The print is biggish, in a clear, easy-to-read font. The cover art is odd, grotesquely Victorian-surreal and glossy–quite attractive...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery of this book, in spite of its un-orthodox theology...." Read more

50 customers mention "Writing style"28 positive22 negative

Customers have different views on the writing style. Some find it beautiful and engaging, like a fantasy tale set in King James Bible prose. Others feel the book is unscriptural, difficult to understand due to its dreamscape, and lacks subtlety in realizing personal developments. The writing style is described as archaic and similar to Tolkien's LOTR books.

"...It also stands as functional poetry. I once had a chance to see the movie but declined...." Read more

"...Although the writing's a bit archaic, in a style more akin to Tolkien's LOTR books, it's not an exceptionally..." Read more

"...of the bizarre dark wonderland in which Mr. Vane finds himself are vivid and fully realized, and the description of Lilith's palace is borderline..." Read more

"...It was easier to understand the story knowing more of the background of the characters...." Read more

6 customers mention "Character development"3 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the character development. Some appreciate the well-developed characters and morals, while others feel the protagonist is lost in a riddle and the book lacks character depth.

"...somewhat wandering and psychedelic, but has more plot and better developed characters than I feared it would after the first few chapters...." Read more

"...Nevertheless, what the book lacks in characters it makes up for in a well-paced plot that makes for comfortable reading on any lazy, rainy day." Read more

"...I did not like the ending. I enjoyed reading about the different worlds and characters...." Read more

"...Same style, but I just never connected with the allegory...or metaphor...I guess I never really connected with the difference between an allegory..." Read more

12 customers mention "Philosophy"3 positive9 negative

Customers find the book's philosophy unorthodox and mystical. They describe it as dense and not biblical, with an allegory-based approach that is not appropriate for Christians. The book is described as a spiritual journey rather than a direct theological text, and it is based loosely on Genesis legends.

"...who felt the worldview was "clearly Universalistic" and not appropriate for Christians...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery of this book, in spite of its un-orthodox theology...." Read more

"I have read this classic over and over. It has amazing insight, philosophy, and theology...." Read more

"...short fantasy novel from the late 1800's, it is based very loosely on the Genesis legends of Adam, Eve and Lilith in the Garden of Eden, along..." Read more

9 customers mention "Print size"2 positive7 negative

Customers find the print size awkward and small. They mention the font is too small and there are errors. However, some customers found the book much larger than expected with ample space.

"This paper back has the print size of 1-2mm tall! Even family members with perfect eye sight found this to be an eye strain when attempted to read!..." Read more

"...It's large-ish print with lots of space. I would have gotten a different version had I realized that." Read more

"...The print is biggish, in a clear, easy-to-read font. The cover art is odd, grotesquely Victorian-surreal and glossy–quite attractive...." Read more

"For the paperback printing the font is so small, and spacing of lines too tight; it is almost illegible without a ruler and magnifying glass...." Read more

TINY FONT!
1 out of 5 stars
TINY FONT!
The font in this book is equivalent to a size 6, (most standard paperbacks are a 10 or 11). I cannot comment to the subject of the book as I cannot even read it with my glasses. Give a little consideration to the 60% of Americans that are far-sighted and need glasses to read. Even glasses are not helpful in this book and I find it uncomfortable to use a magnifying glass just to read..
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Top reviews from the United States

  • S. C. Dixon Photography
    5.0 out of 5 stars An American Magnum Opus...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    "Lilith"

    Simply put, this is one of the finest novels I have ever read and I have wondered, as have others before me, why this book is not recognized as superlative, right up there with any other novel (by any novelist) that one cares to name.

    I first read it is a teenager in the 1960's. It has stayed with me ever since and from time to time I come back to it. As an artist I've drawn much inspiration from this work. It is at once disheartening and yet uplifting, full of dark underpinnings and at the same time it is full of light, exhausting and inspirational. It also stands as functional poetry.

    I once had a chance to see the movie but declined. I could see no point to trying to capture such perfection of prose and such insight to emotion via the medium of film. The book is one of those rare works where, indeed, the words are worth more than pictures.

    It was out of print for a while and during that time I scrounged around used book stores and at garage sales, and periodically I would find a copy. These I presented to several friends over the years. I have been thanked repeatedly ever since by those who received the book and, to the very person, each claims it to be indispensable.

    Spread the word. Then or now, this work deserves far more recognition than it receives.
    30 people found this helpful
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  • Julie Brennan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting story, influence on Lewis and Tolkein is obvious
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I would give 5 stars, but for the fact that MacDonald's writing can get a bit hard to follow - others have said this better than I. But the story has stuck with me long after I finished the book. I have read C.S. Lewis' Pilgrim's Regress many times, and I can see the influence of MacDonald on his writings. The Madeline L'Engle quote on the back cover says it beautifully: "Surely, George MacDonald is the grandfather of us all - all of us who struggle to come to terms with truth through fantasy."

    I want to address comments by the reviewer who felt the worldview was "clearly Universalistic" and not appropriate for Christians. I almost didn't finish the book based on his comments, but I am glad now that I did and could form my own impressions.

    His statement is pure projection from my observation. Up until the end, free will determines whether a person is "good" - and that is the free will to be willing to die - completely - before one can became "changed" by God. I even re-read the ending to see if I could find out why this reviewer posted this, and I cannot.

    He also felt Lilith's repentance was forced. Was Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus voluntary, or forced? Was Jonah's repentance forced? The repentance of Lilith was not forced any more than these examples. But (I am putting my impressions of what the allegory means) God was fed up with the damage she was causing, and intervened to stop her evil. She had a choice to either repent, or to be destroyed. It was the end of the line, so to speak. She very nearly chose destruction.

    Finally, he states that MacDonald believes Satan will eventually repent. I believe he refers to Chapter XL in the scene where Lilith is afraid to lie down and sleep the sleep of death - which is really living (dying to self - and it takes time to perfect us to life) - she fears the return of the Shadow. From [...]

    "When the Shadow comes here, it will be to lie down and sleep also.--His hour will come, and he knows it will."

    "How long shall I sleep?"

    "You and he will be the last to wake in the morning of the universe."

    And a bit later, as the sun rises and the Shadow is forced to depart: "It is the great Shadow stirring to depart. Wretched creature, he has himself within him, and cannot rest!"

    "But is there not in him something deeper yet?" I asked.

    "Without a substance," he answered, "a shadow cannot be -yea, or without a light behind the substance!"

    I feel the reviewer has placed a negative theological interpretation that may or may not be what was in MacDonald's mind. There is no mention of how the Shadow will come to his hour, or what will happen when his hour comes. One would have to infer that.

    At the end, Mr. Vane does wake up from his dream, and realizes it was a vision. This WAS a vision, not direct theological text.

    I completely agree with him that the most important theme to a Christian is that true life is reached through death to self. About two thirds of the way through the book, I almost quit. Mr. Vane's repeated pig-headed refusal to "die" to his self, his headstrong following of his own will in spite of disastrous results, reminded me of how hard it is to die to our selves, even as we know we MUST, that we cannot enter into life without that self death. The point where I stopped was a point where Vane was metaphorically saying, "Okay, I know now that I am Yours, and I will need to face this death to self, but let me exercise MY will and do what my nature wants to do just this one more time before I give in." My discomfort with this may very well be the fact that Christians face this choice all their lives.

    The theme of whether we are predestined to salvation / repentance or exercise free will is a huge theological issue that is about as understandable as how God can be three but one or how he could be timeless, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. I believe it is one of those issues we must take on faith, that our human understanding cannot fully comprehend this aspect of God, so it is fruitless to argue. MacDonald's allegory, I feel, beautifully represented both of these spiritual principles in comfortable proximity to each other. People who feel strongly polarized to one or the other may be uncomfortable with and criticize this proximity.

    I agree one should not read this *for* theology (get that straight from your Bible), but I disagree that it is "unbiblical."

    I hope that helps anyone else interested in MacDonald's writings and their influence on generations of writers after him.
    101 people found this helpful
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  • Jollyollyoxenfree
    5.0 out of 5 stars Can't get any better than George MacDonald
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    If you're a CS Lewis fan, you need to read this book. I had this book in paperback form some years ago, and lent it to somebody and never got it back. It's just that good. :)

    Although the writing's a bit archaic, in a style more akin to Tolkien's LOTR books, it's not an exceptionally hard nor long book to read. MacDonald was a much more solid writer in general than Tolkien (in his early days), and the style lends itself well to the story. Like Lewis, MacDonald used allegory in most, if not all, of his fantasy stories, and this is a great example of that. There's a lot of very complex imagery and symbolism-- most of which I'm sure I can't even comprehend.

    Despite deeper meanings, there's still an intriguing story going on, one that's not hard to follow, and exciting to read. It feels like a folktale in some ways, but like deep myth in others. If you're a fan of older myth and folk tales, then you'll really enjoy this.
    15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Jo Ambruz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dreams
    Reviewed in Australia on July 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    What is being a live means.? Can we enjoy all of it, maybe we can. Even the painful experiences to teach us that both light and darkness is but the same. Like a piano and the octaves played. Fantastically addictive. Thank you
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  • BF
    1.0 out of 5 stars Producto equivocado
    Reviewed in Spain on January 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    El producto estaba equivocado y no he podido devolverlo.
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  • Richard Abbott
    5.0 out of 5 stars A book by one of the early fantasy authors
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I was reminded of George MacDonald's writing by a friend on Google+, and he has been a great find. I already knew that CS Lewis acknowledged him as a major inspiration, but had not expected to find out just how large an influence he has been on modern fantasy as an entire genre.

    I devoured two of his works in rapid succession - Phantastes and Lilith - and found them to have substantial differences as well as similarities. In both cases, MacDonald felt the need to devise a means for his protagonist to make the transition from the world we live in, into the particular fantasy world of the title in question. This is definitely a feature of the era, also seen in some equally inventive traveller's tales stories of the 19th century which never aspire to magic or the land of Faerie. Many modern authors would probably begin his or her story directly in the other realm, but Lewis used various devices such as the well-known Wardrobe, or the `Wood between the Worlds' to this end. For MacDonald and his contemporaries, the transition, and the relationship between the worlds, was an important ingredient.

    Some of MacDonald's ideas have become so commonplace that some readers may think there is little originality in the books. Tolkien's ents are here, along with Lewis's courtly culture and virtues, and just about everyone's goblins and elves. In common with a great many other writers, the societies are basically medieval in outlook. People ride horses, fight with bladed weapons, and communicate face to face. Limited magical abilities are present, but not as learned talents for just anyone - they are an innate faculty of some beings and inaccessible to others.

    Of the two books, Lilith is much more overtly concerned with Christian themes, building on the tradition that the woman of that name was Adam's first wife. Some familiarity with Christian elaboration of this idea helps, but is not essential, since the tradition MacDonald is using comes from outside the written text of the Bible. His profound commitment to principles of eternal hope and redemption drives the conflicts and resolutions of the book's characters. Themes of life and death fill the book, together with the Christian duty to lay aside the everyday life in order to put on a new kind of life. It is a duty which comes no more easily to the book's main character than to any of the rest of us.

    Phantastes, subtitled `A Faerie Romance for Men and Women`, is, perhaps, a more conventional fantasy tale. It describes a quest and trial of passage in which the central character has to identify and master his shadow side - just as Ged has to in Ursula LeGuin's EarthSea books. There are mysterious beings, often women, locked inside wood or stone and waiting to be released by the right individual. There are warnings about particular actions or pathways, most of which are ignored by the protagonist who has a rather exaggerated sense not only of his own safety, but also the ability of the wider world to survive his rash deeds unscathed. The theme reaches back to Greek mythology (if not earlier), and forward to our own ecological travails. And finally there is the necessary noble deed which cannot be accomplished except through the gates of death.

    The books, especially Phantastes, will not just appeal to fantasy fans, but are also of interest to students of psychology. Some passages anticipate the later formal development of psychotherapeutic understanding. Students of the life and work of, say, Freud and Jung will already know just how much of their thinking rested on earlier foundations laid by artists, philosophers, and authors. Here in 1858 we already have MacDonald writing about the "forgotten life, which lies behind the consciousness", and the mutual dependence of external objects with the "hidden things of a man's soul".

    Having said all that, some people will, no doubt, be impatient with these works. For me they were definitely both five star books, not least because many of my favourite authors have so obviously been influenced by them. They have survived over 150 years of literary development remarkably well, but inevitably use some constructions and habits of thought which will seem dated to the modern reader. If you are keen on exploring one of the foundational authors of modern fantasy, and willing to work with the conventions of the 19th century, these books are for you.
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  • Decano
    5.0 out of 5 stars read this
    Reviewed in Canada on March 24, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Superb. To enter this is to taste the Christian imagination that fired CS Lewis. This is mysticism taking literary flight. The ineffable strains for words and finds MacDonald audaciously humble to glean them as the Another slips by.
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  • csk
    3.0 out of 5 stars Sympathisch...
    Reviewed in Germany on April 22, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    aber ein bisschen konfus. Wer Freude an der zwar antiquierten aber dennoch charmanten Ausdrucksweise hat, wird auf ihre/seine Kosten kommen.
    Report

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