George MacDonald

Author George MacDonald was born December 10, 1824 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and died September 18, 1905 in Surrey, England. His father (who was a farmer) was part of the MacDonalds of Glen Coe and comes from a family that suffered in the massacre of 1692. Both of his parents were readers and his mother, in particular, got a classical education and was taught many different languages.

The best place to start is The Marshmallows Trilogy series, the earliest of George MacDonald's multi-book series: it opens with Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood (1867) and runs to 3 books across 1867–1872, ending with The Vicar's Daughter (1872). George MacDonald's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

George MacDonald has 109 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1858 and 2026. 61 of them belong to 7 named series — the largest being the Religious Collections series with 8 books — and 48 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. George MacDonald's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are The Marshmallows Trilogy (1867–1872, 3 books), Princess Irene and Curdie (1872–1883, 2 books) and Malcolm (1875–1877, 2 books), plus 3 more.

This guide splits George MacDonald's 109 books into 7 named series and 48 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Religious Collections (8 books, 1980–2023); The Curate's Awakening (3 books, 1876–1891); The Marshmallows Trilogy (3 books, 1867–1872); Malcolm (2 books, 1875–1877); Princess Irene and Curdie (2 books, 1872–1883), plus 2 further series.