Genre: historical fiction; Inspirational; classic
Plot Summary: A year has elapsed since the Lord of Lossie passed away and still Malcolm has not claimed his identity as rightful heir. Lady Florimel has been spending her time in London with friends, but their bad influence is rubbing off on her and it has Malcolm worried. How can he best protect her while in her employ as groom? Meanwhile, will the steward of the House of Lossie succeed in ruining the fisherfolk’s village?
My Book Review: I enjoyed reading the first in this series by George Macdonald, The Fisherman’s Lady (see book review here). I loved the Gothic atmosphere set in Scotland– full of ghosts, superstition, crackling fires, and fresh landscapes. I was looking forward to more of that.
This book had its strengths and weaknesses. I appreciate short chapters, so that was a plus. But I definitely did not find it on a par with TFL. Probably the thing I missed most was the above mentioned atmosphere. Half the book is set in London and the south of England. While the rest does take place in Scotland, it just didn’t have the same gothic appeal.
However, the book did contain some of its own sweetness.
It takes a lot for me to label a book “preachy”. I would love to write a post later on this topic if I ever get around to it! I don’t fall into the same camp as a lot of folks who eschew spiritual conversations in books as though that made for a literary downfall. However, when the characters themselves seek to turn every spare moment into an opportunity for a sermon… yes, I take issue with that just as I would if they were real life characters. I admired Malcolm for his honest living before God and others, and he had intentions for good all along. But one can easily turn a person away from the Gospel when they’re a one-note johnny. There’s no room for the Holy Spirit to do His work. This was an irksome element for me.
But as I said, I respected Malcolm and he was hard not to like. I loved his looking at a situation straight on and shining God’s light on all around him.
“Malcolm was one of the few who understood the shelter of light, the protection to be gained by the open presentation of the truth.”
He lived out the Book of Proverbs in a refreshing way. He believed that if you’re right with God and man, there’s no need to fear anything. He is a novelty in the world around him, and to us living in our world today. “But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.” (Isa. 32:8) Because of this, I would recommend George Macdonald’s books especially for young people. They’re entirely safe, wholesome stories that I would have enjoyed reading growing up.
An example of Malcolm’s good character qualities is his showing his sister some tough love. SPOILER ALERT: He held out hope that he would not have to go to extremes to protect her but as she kept pushing him away, he eventually came to the decision that claiming his authority, dealing her an intervention and giving her an alternative was the best thing to do for her, even if she completely rejected his love. On the flip side, Macdonald wraps everything up too quickly and neatly all in the same chapter, and Florimel does a complete 180 in about a second and a half which was not believable (unfortunately, one of the book’s weaknesses). END OF SPOILER.
Another one of the book’s downsides is Macdonald frequently skipping over essential plot parts that seemed to bore him or that he forgot to write about so he went back and stuck it in quickly by saying, “I’ll just mention here that Malcolm did xyz…” End of Chapter. Felt a bit lame and lazy to me.
There were quite a few good quotes out of this one, popping up in those spiritual conversations Malcolm has with Lady Florimel, Lady Clementina and other characters. But my favorite thing about the story was the unsaid parable that wove itself throughout and culminated in a fairytale-like ending, which is maybe what Macdonald is best at. I’ve been reading in the book of Isaiah lately for my devotions and came across this verse. With what’s been going on in the news, I’ve been longing for Jesus to come back and put things right. When every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and “the Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy by His righteousness.” (Isa. 5:16) He will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line (Isa. 28:17). “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there… Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Isa. 35) Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Even so, come Lord Jesus!
How does that apply to us living in today? As God’s children, we are to be carriers of justice and beautiful holiness as well. And that is just what Malcolm illustrates when he comes back to Portlossie. He fellowships with even the humblest of his tenants; the faithful are rewarded; fairness is set in order; the wicked are castigated and the repentant are encouraged. Although—a bone to pick here: SPOILER ALERT: As the “ruler” of Lossie, I don’t believe the punishment Malcolm meted out to Mrs. Catanach and Caley was a just example to other citizens of law and order; I believe he let them off too lightly. I know the point was his trying to demonstrate mercy but the biblical illustration of the kingdom of heaven falls short here. This is because of one of Macdonald’s fundamental beliefs (see below) END OF SPOILER.
As much as I enjoyed the scriptural truths played out in this fiction, there were some holes from Macdonald’s own faulty theology also present. I could have written them down but honestly I don’t have time for that and don’t feel like being more of a watchdog here than what I am already. So I’ll spare you the point by point analysis. Besides, I can’t remember what they all were anyway. 🙂 I did find it interesting that Master Graham was ousted by the church for being ‘heretical’ but we are not told what his unorthodox teachings were. George Macdonald didn’t believe in the concept of hell; he believed it was not in God’s nature. Yet the justice of God (as already described, a major theme in The Marquis’ Secret) demands a dealing with unrepentant sin. There is also quite an emphasis on being good, yet not exactly receiving Christ’s work on the cross for us. The reason for this is because Macdonald also didn’t accept the orthodox view of Christ’s atonement for sin. To him, salvation was only a process of evolution toward Christ-likeness. I believe it is both and am disappointed Macdonald erred on such major points of doctrine.
However, one of the things Macdonald did well was teach the concept of “God as Father, and sought to encourage an intuitive response to God and Christ through quickening his readers’ spirits in their reading of the Bible and their perception of nature.”
This probably wasn’t George Macdonald’s best, but it did fully demonstrate his core beliefs. And that won’t keep me from enjoying more of his books in the future.
A closing quote from the book:
“…in the kingdom of heaven to rule is to raise; a man’s rank is in his power to uplift.”
I also recommend…
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one but He Himself knows…. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ …And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever…. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…. ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ …He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’ …No longer will there be any curse… Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 19:11 – 22:20)
I am going to try something new. I don’t know how this will go or if I will keep it up, but I thought I’d share a fun reading habit I’ve been doing lately.
Actually, Violet Withers was my favorite character from the book. She easily balances a personality of modesty and mystery. I loved a couple of quotes surrounding her sensibility:
There are many who abhor this film because they say it takes too many liberties with the book. Apparently the story of the little girl trying to live the expected life of an adult is not in the original. Since I’ve never read it, I don’t even know if the part of the Little Prince is told faithfully. But I know I loved the film and that it has inspired me to pick up a book I never knew I needed to read before. I would say that is the effect of a well-told, don’t you?
I have met older adults, even Christians in their 60’s, behave like juveniles. I have met adults who have completely forgotten what is childhood, instead exuding joylessness, hyper-practicality, and busyness. But I have also met other adults who have retained their openness to life, wonder at the world, and quest to learn and grow- the mark of a true ‘child at heart.’ That is what God means for us to be, I think. And for us believers, we are all to be trusting children in relation to Him.
booklearned 
2. Bears
3. Beef ~ For those readers who are old enough, think of the Wendy’s commercial from the eighties in which the elderly ladies asked “Where’s the beef?” as they looked at a tiny hamburger patty dwarfed by a massive bun. [TPFfLS]
4. Big ~ Walking out into the rain as though it were not there, she moved through the downpour with a monumental and unhurried measure, her big head lifted. [Gormenghast]
5. Boys ~ Yet for all that, Titus was conscious of always being watched: of a discrepancy in the attitude of the officials and even at times of the boys. [G…]
6. Bulls ~ Of a sudden the dusk, knocking as it were a certain hollow note to which their sweet ribs echoed, they were in the air– a group of herons, their necks arched back, their ample and rounded wings rising and falling in leisurely flight: and then another and then another: and then a night heron with a ghastly and hair-raising croak, more terrible than the unearthly booming note of a pair of bitterns, who soaring and spiralling upwards and through the clouds to great heights above Gormenghast, boomed like bulls as they ascended. [G…]
7. City ~ The arrow flies continuously around the city at breakneck speed without landing on a specific target. [Rhythms of Rest]
8. Cloud ~ Lost in the flying clouds the craggy summits of Gormenghast were wild with straining hair– the hanks of the drenched rock-weed. [G…]
9. Comedy ~ In tragedy and comedy and satire and farce– in anything that is worthy of the stage,– conflict is at the root. [Respect for Acting]
11. Crown ~ Now he was climbing a slope of reddish sandstone; now he was skirting a rock-face whose crown overhung its base and whose extensive surface was knuckly with the clay nests of innumerable martins; now the walnut-covered slopes from where, each evening, with hideous regularity a horde of owls set sail on bloody missions. [G…]
12. Cubs
13. Deep ~ “I would like to show you what I have found, away to the south, your Ladyship, where the granite domes are elbow-deep in moss.” [G…]
14. Dibs
15. Dish ~ And then one day, while drying the dishes, of all things, God stripped away my greatest illusion. [RofR]
16. Fields ~ But, dark as was the day, it had no power to suppress the craving which had been mounting for weeks– the craving to ride and ride when the rest of the world lay in bed: to drink the spring air in giant gulps as his horse galloped beneath him over the April fields, beyond the Outer Dwellings. [G…]
17. Food ~ A mingling of wet, scrubbed floors, unaired rooms, and food for a hundred people always steaming on the stove. [Dear Enemy]
18. Fountain ~ An impromptu theatrical gathering of young children splash in the nearby fountain, hiking their pants above their knees until it becomes a nuisance. [RofR]
19. Friendly ~ But there was nothing on fire except the tobacco in his pipe and as he lay supine, the white wreaths billowing from his wide, muscular and lipless mouth (rather like the mouth of a huge and friendly lizard), he evinced so brutal a disregard for his own and other people’s windpipes as made one wonder how this man could share the selfsame world with hyacinths and damsels. [G…]
20. Gate
21. Grow ~ And so, at her funeral, the majority of the mourners were gathered there, to pay their respects to the memory not so much of Mrs. Slagg, as to the legend which the tiny creature had, all unwittingly, allowed to grow about her. [G…]
22. Gym Shoes
23. Hotdog
24. Jewels ~ Their peurile ambition and vanity– and their only too obvious longing to assume, one day, the roles in which they were always seeing themselves, the roles of ladies, great and splendid, bedecked with jewels, precluded any such idea as suicide. [G…]
25. Lake ~ It is seven years since he watched from the attic window the procession far below him wind back from Gormenghast lake, where Titus had come into his Earldom, but nothing has happened to him during the long years apart from the annual arrival of fresh works to be added to the coloured carvings in the long room. [G…]
26. Lincoln
27. Loop ~ Steerpike uncoiled himself of the rope and looped it over a nail in the wall. [G…]
28. Mother-in-Law ~ It’s the third week of Advent, and my mother-in-law, Geri, left Phoenix and is flying on windwings heading east. [RofR]
29. Museum ~ Instead of wandering through a museum or sightseeing somewhere different, I lose myself in watching people give themselves permission to playfully rest. [RofR]
30. Navy ~ One boy wades unabashedly in his underwear and a striped navy sweater. [RofR]
32. Pier
33. Pioneer
34. Pizza ~ We cook every night except Fridays when we eat pizza (and it’s amazing), and we don’t really do processed snack food. [Slow]
35. Pop ~ Now consider that you are surrounded by cracked and peeling walls and ceilings, have wrinkled pop posters pasted to the walls, walk on bare floorboards, and sit on a rickety stool at an oilcloth-covered table in front of a lumpy burlap-covered studio couch, drinking beer from a can to the accompaniment of the Beatles and a leaky faucet, while you look out of the streaked window at a fire escape against a blackened brick wall. [RforA]
36. Props
37. Ribbon ~ Their curls bounce beneath felt hats trimmed in dark satin ribbon [RofR]
38. Sears
39. Second ~ (Bought them second-hand from Doctor Brice in the village, who is putting in, for the gratification of his own patients, white enamel and nickel-plate.) [DE]
40. Shore ~ From the high-rise hotel, I stare over the vastness of sky meeting water and wonder over what God is planning for us beyond the horizon, on the shores of England. [RofR]
41. Shoulders ~ It was more like the shadow of a young man, a shadow with high shoulders, that moved across whiteness, than an actual body moving in space. [G…]
42. Slider
43. Sports
44. Style ~ What she lacked was the power to combine and make a harmony out of the various parts that, though exquisite in themselves, bore no relationship either in style, period, grain, colour or fabric to one another. [G…]
45. Taste ~ But he tasted the sharp fruits of the quick bridle-wrench which had freed him from the ostler. [G…]
46. Tower ~ It played with sere flags, dodged through arches, spiralled with impish whistles up hollow towers and chimneys until, diving down a saw-toothed fissure in a pentagonal roof, it found itself surrounded by stern portraits– a hundred sepia faces cracked with spiders’ webs; found itself being drawn towards a grid in the stone floor and, giving way it sang its way past seven storeys and was, all at once, in a hall of dove-grey light and was clasping Titus in a noose of air. [G…]
47. Town ~ “I am so glad you were able tos pend a little time with our ladies while you were in town.” [RofR]
48. Washroom
49. Wet ~ The face was wet. [G…]
50. Windy