about the nature of good and evil and the effects of
temptation.
His second adult fantasy novel, Lilith(1895),
follows the adventures of Mr. Vane, who finds him-
self in a magical world where Adam and Eve watch
over legions of the dead. Although more unified
than Phantastes,it is also an episodic adventure as
Vane explores, encountering a variety of characters
and creatures, including one who is essentially a
vampire. Much of this is also allegorical and reflec-
tive of the author’s religious beliefs, but the sub-
text is in this case much less intrusive.
MacDonald also wrote three fantasy novels for
young readers, At the Back of the North Wind
(1870), The Princess and the Goblin(1871), and
The Princess and Curdie(1882), of which the first is
the best, the story of a young boy who makes
friends with the north wind and is taken on a series
of adventures. The other two involve Princess
Lootie, who is kidnapped by a goblin and rescued
by a boy of humble origin. The last title is a story of
personal redemption and religious duty.
MacDonald’s short fantasies are in much the
same vein as his novels. “The Golden Key” (1867)
is another story of travel through dreams, and “The
Giant’s Heart” (1863) is a fairy tale with a particu-
larly nasty giant. “The History of Photogen and
Nycteris” and “The Light Princess” are among his
best. His short tales have been collected in The
Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonald(1961),
Evenor(1972), The Gifts of the Child Christ(1973),
and The Golden Key and Other Stories(1980). There
is some slight fantastic content in The Portent
(1885, also published as The Lady of the Mansion).
Machen, Arthur (1863–1947)
The Welsh writer Arthur Machen produced a large
body of fiction during a writing career that lasted
more than 50 years. His nonfantastic work is not
particularly distinguished. Much of his fantasy and
horror fiction has fared no better with the passage
of time, but a relatively small portion of his work
has remained popular and influential. His best
known fantastic book is The Three Impostors(1895,
also published as The Black Crusade), a series of
tall tales related by members of a club, most of
which involve manifestations of legends, the sur-
vival of magic in the modern world, and other low-
key fantasy. The collection is not typical of his su-
pernatural fiction, which tends to be darker and
brooding.
Several of his shorter pieces are surprisingly
original and modern in tone, including “THE
GREAT GOD PAN” (1890), in which an operation on
a woman’s brain has unforeseen consequences
years later. “The Inmost Light” (1894), which has a
very similar theme, was mildly controversial at the
time of its original publication but is now largely
forgotten. “The Novel of the Black Seal” (1895) is
one of a handful of stories that suggest that fairies
may not be the amusing, mischievous folk as usu-
ally portrayed in fairy tales but are actually much
darker of spirit and dangerous to cross. A scholar
convinced that they exist in physical form in cav-
erns beneath England disappears in pursuit of
them and never returns. It is part of a loose series
of stories that also includes “The Novel of the
White Powder” (1895), one of Machen’s best hor-
ror tales, in which a drug is inadvertently altered,
resulting in the physical transformation of a man
into a hideous monster. “The Bowmen” (1914) is
particularly effective because of its timing, the
story of ghostly intervention on the side of the
British during the Great War.
Machen’s later work is generally inferior. The
Great Return(1915) is a story of miracles and the
Holy Grail, an interesting treatment but marred by
long sections in which very little happens. The Ter-
ror(1917) is a story of animals in revolt, attacking
humanity because of the excesses of the war. It is
smoothly narrated, but with very little suspense
and a tendency to preach. The best collection of
Machen’s short horror fiction is Tales of Horror and
the Supernatural(1948), sometimes published in
two volumes.The Magician’s NephewC. S. Lewis(1955)
The sixth installment in the CHRONICLES OF NAR-
NIAby C. S. LEWISis substantially different in set-
ting and tone from the earlier novels, and the
Christian theological symbolism is much more ob-
vious. The story takes place long before the earlier
continuing characters were born, initially in Lon-
don. Narnia itself does not exist, for Aslan has yetThe Magician’s Nephew 227