At the Back of the North Wind
1871
At the Back of the North Wind
1871
This is the book that essentially invented modern children's fantasy. Written in 1871 by George MacDonald, it became the template that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien would follow for decades. Diamond is a coachman's son who sleeps in a hayloft above the horses, and one stormy night, he meets the North Wind - a mysterious, beautiful woman who speaks with the voice of the wind itself. She takes him on journeys through the night, to "the back of the North Wind" - a realm of impossible beauty and quiet sorrow. These aren't simple adventures. Diamond encounters children who are ill, animals who are suffering, the grief of the natural world. The book has real darkness in it, and real sadness. But it also has wonder - the kind that stays with you. It's a book about loss and comfort, about seeing the world as it is and finding it still beautiful. If you love Narnia or The Hobbit, you're reading grandchildren of this book.
