This new edition of George MacDonald's 1886 classic is updated and introduced as Volume 28 in The Cullen Collection by Michael Phillips.
This Scottish masterpiece contains wonderfully descriptive passages of the Scottish highlands. The story centers around two families—the English Palmers and that of clan chief Alister Macruadh—and Mr. Palmer’s cruel removal of Clan Ruadh from its traditional lands. This portrait of the Highland Clearances poignantly captures how and why the clan way of life disappeared from the highlands in the 18th and 19th centuries.
One of MacDonald’s signature tunes, God’s revelation in nature, is woven throughout the narrative. Along with Robert Falconer, What's Mine's Mine also offers insight into MacDonald’s controversial views on the afterlife. The pointed discussions between Calvinist Mrs. Macruadh and her sons Alister and Ian are memorable indeed. In spite of its highland flavor, this intensely Scottish tale did not employ the local dialect, which at the time was primarily Gaelic.
Uniting spiritual themes and plot in MacDonald’s usually skillful fashion, Alister Macruadh must face the agonizing personal pain of relinquishment, laying all he holds dear on the altar of sacrifice even as he sees the land he loves so passionately slipping from his grasp.
363 pages
