Books

London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1858 . First edition. Leather. Near Fine. 8" by 5.5". None. A wonderful copy of the first edition of George MacDonald's most well known work, about a young man who is pulled into a dreamlike world and there hunts for the 'Marble Lady'. A beautifully bound first edition of this celebrated fantasy novel.Retaining the original half title. Lacking the publisher's advertisements to the rear of the work, which determine issue.MacDonald was best known for his fantasy novels, including 'The Princess and the Goblin', and also wrote poetry, literary criticism and sermons, and was a popular lecturer.C. S. Lewis wrote about reading the work for the first time at the age of sixteen 'that night my imagination was, in a certain sense, baptized; the rest of me[,] not unnaturally, took longer'. He credited it with setting him on the road to his eventual conversion to Christianity.In his first work of prose fiction, MacDonald presents a stunning tale about a young man…

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women is a fantasy novel by Scottish writer George MacDonald, first published in London in 1858. The story revolves around the character Anodos and his dream-like adventures in fairyland which serve as an allegory to the inner spiritual journey of self-discovery. This work had a profound influence on later authors, including C.S. Lewis.

First editions of 'Phantastes' published by Smith, Elder & Co. in 1858 would likely be bound in the original publisher's cloth, feature the date on the title page, and have no mention of later print runs or editions.