The Wise Woman and Other Stories

by George MacDonald

Book Overview

George MacDonald (1824-1905), the great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, influenced not only C. S. Lewis but also such literary masters as Charles Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien. Though... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802818609
• ISBN13: 9780802818607
• Release Date: October 1980
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

A charming tale with lessons for children of all ages.

The 'Wise Woman' is my favorite fairy tale of all time. George MacDonald is wonderfully creative, pulls in just enough 'magic' to be interesting but not confusing, and builds strong characters. The tale has a very strong moral content which goes almost unnoticed by the strength of the story and its characters. I certainly recommend this for young people but I am a 'Senior Citizen' and still find it delightful and a bit thought provoking. Richard Pendleton

Parenting Guidelines

I loved this story about the Wise Woman. In a fairytale format, it depicted the consequences of bad behavior while at the same time, showed the positive side of doing the right thing. Great story for kids and parents.

CLASSIC--SUPERB

The standout of this collection is the title story, "The Wise Woman, or, The Obstinate Princess." The princess in question is Rosamund, whose royal parents have spoiled her absolutely rotten. In fact, they are sick of her, she's so disgustingly violent and selfish (thanks largely to their 'care'). Enter the Wise Woman, who steals Rosamund away underneath her voluminous cloak and takes Rosamund to her cottage, which is miles away from nowhere--and bigger on the inside than the outside. Here, for the first time, Rosamund begins to learn that her wishes are not what the world revolves around. Very slowly. Before that happens, however, she enters another world through a picture and takes the place of another spoiled brat, Agnes, daughter of a shepherd and shepherdess. Agnes takes Rosamund's place. The Wise Woman does her best to save both girls, whose (to paraphrase Burke) intemperate minds mean that they cannot be free; their passions have forged their fetters. I can't tell you how the story ends, however. You'll have to find out for yourself. MacDonald writes in an elegant, leisurely style (he takes three pages to describe a rainstorm at the beginning), and the story is rather long for a story--a 100 pages, give or take a few. But these are not really drawbacks. To adult readers, the story is a rather obvious, but effective, allegory of God's offer of redemption to humanity. To child readers, it is simply a good story; they will probably miss the parallel, but get the message. The story is filled with memorable scenes and images: the little cottage, the Wise Woman's eerie song, Agnes in her bubble (in more ways than one), Rosamund losing her temper with the little child in the boat. These make as much of an impression as the ideas, especially the recurring one that it is not enough to good; that's easily done when one's in a good mood. The goodness that counts is that done against one's inclinations--a hard doctrine that negates most of my good deeds, if nobody else's. In short, this is a haunting book. It is well-written, it is thoughtful, it stands up both as a strong story and as a sermon, it entertains, it rebukes; it rewards repeated reading with additional meaning.

The Wise Woman is a profound and superb allegory

Next to the Bible, this book has impacted my life more than any other. If one would truly enjoy taking a good, honest look at one's character, this is the book! It is a frightening mirror of our own humanity, yet one that will inspire change!

Something for everyone, the cream of the crop of fairy tales

The Wise Woman, while being a wonderful story also shows amazing insights that the child care specilists seem to just be getting, and it helps parents and the child themselves see cause and effects of different parenting! If you don't have the money to buy it, borrow it from someone!