Originally published in 1868, Robert Falconer is both a coming of age story (tracing its hero’s journey from boyhood, to youth, to manhood) and a compelling spiritual odyssey. The major theme of the novel, widely considered one of MacDonald’s best, is a twin-search on the part of young Robert: one after his prodigal earthly father, whom he barely remembers to have seen, the other in pursuit of a Heavenly Father, through the densest of theological fogs engendered by the well-meaning religious instruction of his strict Calvinist grannie. In Robert’s faith-journey there are also to be found conspicuous aspects of autobiography, which will be of interest to any who know MacDonald for his Unspoken Sermons, and for his profound influence upon the writings of his most famous disciple, C. S. Lewis.
“Robert Falconer…was first recommended to me by my stepfather C. S. Lewis, when we lived at the Kilns in Headington Quarry. And it took me a long time to finish the book. Largely because it was full of Scottish dialogue and it is also a fairly long story. But this version adapted by David Jack…makes the book much more easy to read and comprehend…by having English right at hand alongside the Scots.” -Douglas Gresham, Stepson of C. S. Lewis & Series Producer, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Extensive Scots dialogue
“What man can manage without a father? Human being can’t win at the heart of things, can’t know all the outs and ins, all the sides of love, except he has a father among the rest to love; and I have had none, grannie. And that God knows. ”
Recommended Editions and Adaptations
Scots-English Edition, full original text, plus for all passages in the Scots tongue, the original Scots is shown with a side-by-side translation into English by David Jack
The Cullen Collection Edition (abridged): paperback and kindle
Hardcover Editions (unabridged):
From WisePath Books
From Johannesen Printing & Publishing
Articles about Robert Falconer
Various Sources
“George MacDonald and Victorian Society”, by Jeffrey Wayne Smith
“God and Gender in Robert Falconer: Deifying the Feminine”, by Philip Hickok
Article within Rethinking George MacDonald: Contexts and Contemporaries, edited by Christopher MacLachlan, John Patrick Pazdziora and Ginger Stelle
NORTH WIND ARCHIVE
The home page of the North Wind Archive can be accessed here.
“George MacDonald and the Anthropology of Love”, by Robin Phillips
“The Strengths and Weaknesses of Robert Falconer”, by Peter Butter
“Truth and Appearances: Aspects of Illusion and Reality in Robert Falconer”, by Deirdre Hayward
“George MacDonald’s Boyhood in Huntly”, by Sir Edward Troup
WINGFOLD
Wingfold is a quarterly magazine that restores material by and about George MacDonald, in print since 1993. To subscribe, click here. To request any of the following articles that appear in back issues of Wingfold, contact Barbara Amell at b_amell@q.com.
Spring 1999
“1868 Review”
Spring 2002
Letter to Athenaeum; Letter to Huntly Express by George MacDonald, John Atkinson
Fall 2005
“1868 Review”
Fall 2010
“Lost Tragedies: Discovering Shakespearean Influence in Two Novels by George MacDonald”, by Barbara Amell
Blog: Robert Falconer
Wish you could read MacDonald's novels with Scots dialogue without having to consult a dictionary or wonder if you were missing something? You are going to love our unique two-column format, with the original Scots on the left and an English translation on the right!