Tales of Light and Shadow: The Radiant World of George MacDonald’s Forgotten Fairy Tales

Discover the fantasist who inspired C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

This new illustrated edition of George MacDonald’s classic fairy tales features carefully edited, read-aloud text, 38 original hand-drawn illustrations, and an original afterword, all created for today’s readers and families.

Long before Narnia and Middle-earth, Victorian author George MacDonald dreamed up fairy tales full of wonder, danger, humor, and hope. C. S. Lewis called him his master. Now five of MacDonald’s most luminous short stories are gathered in one collection, perfect for fantasy readers, lovers of classic literature, and anyone who enjoys a story read aloud.

Inside Tales of Light and Shadow

• The History of Photogen and Nycteris: A witch raises a boy who has never seen the dark and a girl who has never seen the sun. When they meet by moonlight, each must learn courage from the other.
• Cross Purposes: When the fairy queen grows bored with her well-behaved court, a fairy and a goblin set out to bring home two mortals. Umbrellas turn into geese, and the way home is anything but straight.
• The Shadows: On Christmas Eve, an ailing fairy king is carried across the snow to the Church of the Shadows, where strange and tender stories are told.
• The Castle: A Parable: A family of brothers and sisters locks away their stern eldest brother to throw a grand party. Then the storm arrives.
• Little Daylight: A princess cursed to sleep by day and fade with the moon dances in a moonlit glade, until a wandering prince discovers her secret.

What’s New in This Edition

• Newly edited, gently updated text.
  Victorian phrasing, long sentences, and dense paragraphs are smoothed for modern readers, with a priority for reading aloud.
• MacDonald’s voice preserved.
  Openings, closing lines, and poems remain in his words.
• Hand-drawn illustrations and lettering.
  38 original hand-drawn illustrations, flourishes, and cover art by Sarah Geesey.
  Hand-drawn lettering for the cover and every story title, lettered by Hannah Chan.
• An original afterword.
  This book contains an original introduction and extensive afterword by editor Mandy Pallock.
• Short, satisfying tales for bedtime, classroom, family devotion, or fireside reading.
  These five stories glow with themes of courage, love, forgiveness, and the way light and dark exist together.

A Gateway to George MacDonald

New to MacDonald? Begin here. These tales introduce the author of Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, and At the Back of the North Wind, whose moral imagination shaped C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and more.

Perfect for readers who love:
Narnia and Middle-earth, classic fairy tales, Victorian fantasy, timeless children’s literature, family read-alouds, and Christmas-season stories.

Tales of Light and Shadow is part of The George MacDonald Library, an annual series of updated classics with original illustrations and original afterwords. Begin with Book 1, The Gifts of the Child Christ, a perfect companion for the Christmas season. New volumes release each fall.

In Tales of Light and Shadow, you’ll find five classic tales, carefully edited in today’s language. Discover the radiant world of George MacDonald’s forgotten fairy tales.