This new edition of George MacDonald's final novella, published in 1898, is updated and introduced by Michael Phillips as Volume 37 in The Cullen Collection.

Written literally but months before the stroke that finally stilled MacDonald’s pen, Far Above Rubies, a short “novella” of a scant 22,000 words was viewed as so insignificant at the time of its release in 1898 that it never appeared in book form in the U.K and is omitted from many lists of MacDonald’s books. Though appearing in magazine form in Britain, its only book edition was published in the United States.

For those with eyes to see, however, it reads as an autobiographical retrospective of the beginning of MacDonald’s own writing life. Though revealing a poignant final glimpse of MacDonald's waning energy and craft, the significance of its portrait of a struggling youthful author is delightful. Shortly after its writing, what appeared to be a stroke brought an end to the remarkable writing career of this literary genius and man of God.

Included in this new edition of Far Above Rubies is Ronald MacDonald’s memorable portrait of his father included in the 1910 compendium of Scottish essays, From a Northern Window.

 

137 pages