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This is a biography of MacDonald, interlarded with fictional "what his life must have been like" snippets, and drawing heavily on MacDonald's characters to draw conclusions about his own thoughts and feelings, especially for his early years, when his letters are not available. For the historical facts, Phillips draws upon biographies by two of MacDonald's sons, and MacDonald's voluminous correspondence. (Considering how many times MacDonald moved house, it's amazing that any of his papers survived.)

This book paints MacDonald in glowing terms, painting him as a paragon of all virtues (except, perhaps, thrift.) Phillips springs to MacDonald's defence against charges of unorthodox doctrine, but the snippets of MacDonald's writing which he cites in his defence actually make the situation worse, as they make MacDonald's thought out to be a kind of Pelagianism. Still, the picture of a gentle and loving man is quite clear. The appendices list MacDonald's complete works, as well as recent reprints and collections, and works about MacDonald. For those interested in George MacDonald, this resource provides a good starting point for further study. (January, 2004)