David Elginbrod (1863), the first full-length novel by Scottish author and theologian George MacDonald, is a complex work that integrates spiritual, psychological, and metaphysical themes within the framework of Victorian realism. It marks the beginning of MacDonald's career as a novelist and anticipates many of the motifs that would dominate his later fiction, especially the synthesis of Scottish Calvinism and Romantic individualism. A scholar analyzing this novel would situate it within the context of 19th-century religious thought, the Scottish literary tradition, and MacDonald's own theological trajectory.
The novel is nominally a bildungsroman and a spiritual narrative, told through the first-person perspective of Hugh Sutherland, a young university graduate who becomes a tutor in the rural household of David Elginbrod, a devout and humble Scottish peasant. Set in Aberdeenshire, the novel unfolds against a vividly realized Scottish landscape, which MacDonald renders in rich dialect and with a painterly eye, reflecting his poetic sensibilities. The eponymous David Elginbrod emerges as a moral and spiritual ideal—a man of profound piety, wisdom, and integrity—whose influence quietly permeates the novel, even after his death.
MacDonald's prose is marked by didacticism, a tendency reflective of his vocational calling as both preacher and teacher. Yet this is counterbalanced by deep psychological insight and a Romantic reverence for nature and the individual soul. The central thematic preoccupations of the novel include the tension between scientific rationalism and religious faith, the nature of good and evil, the reality of the spiritual world, and the quest for personal transformation. The philosophical depth of David Elginbrod is frequently conveyed through dialogic exploration, echoing both Platonic discourse and Carlylean moralism.
A key subplot of the novel involves mesmeric and occult practices—a narrative device that brings the novel into conversation with contemporary Victorian interests in mesmerism, spiritualism, and the unseen realms of human experience. The inclusion of mesmerism functions not merely as sensationalism but as a symbol of distorted power, set against the true spiritual authority represented by David Elginbrod and his daughter, Margaret. Margaret, a central character in her own right, is portrayed as spiritually sensitive and intellectually strong, embodying an ideal of Christian femininity that resists both secular modernity and patriarchal repression.
The use of the Scots dialect in David's speech has a dual function: it roots the character in the authenticity of place and culture, while also reinforcing the notion that divine wisdom can be articulated through rustic, unpolished human vessels. In this, MacDonald aligns himself with the literary lineage of Robert Burns and James Hogg, celebrating the moral clarity and emotional richness of Scottish peasant life.
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The novel is nominally a bildungsroman and a spiritual narrative, told through the first-person perspective of Hugh Sutherland, a young university graduate who becomes a tutor in the rural household of David Elginbrod, a devout and humble Scottish peasant. Set in Aberdeenshire, the novel unfolds against a vividly realized Scottish landscape, which MacDonald renders in rich dialect and with a painterly eye, reflecting his poetic sensibilities. The eponymous David Elginbrod emerges as a moral and spiritual ideal—a man of profound piety, wisdom, and integrity—whose influence quietly permeates the novel, even after his death.
MacDonald's prose is marked by didacticism, a tendency reflective of his vocational calling as both preacher and teacher. Yet this is counterbalanced by deep psychological insight and a Romantic reverence for nature and the individual soul. The central thematic preoccupations of the novel include the tension between scientific rationalism and religious faith, the nature of good and evil, the reality of the spiritual world, and the quest for personal transformation. The philosophical depth of David Elginbrod is frequently conveyed through dialogic exploration, echoing both Platonic discourse and Carlylean moralism.
A key subplot of the novel involves mesmeric and occult practices—a narrative device that brings the novel into conversation with contemporary Victorian interests in mesmerism, spiritualism, and the unseen realms of human experience. The inclusion of mesmerism functions not merely as sensationalism but as a symbol of distorted power, set against the true spiritual authority represented by David Elginbrod and his daughter, Margaret. Margaret, a central character in her own right, is portrayed as spiritually sensitive and intellectually strong, embodying an ideal of Christian femininity that resists both secular modernity and patriarchal repression.
The use of the Scots dialect in David's speech has a dual function: it roots the character in the authenticity of place and culture, while also reinforcing the notion that divine wisdom can be articulated through rustic, unpolished human vessels. In this, MacDonald aligns himself with the literary lineage of Robert Burns and James Hogg, celebrating the moral clarity and emotional richness of Scottish peasant life.
David Elginbrod
David Elginbrod (1863), the first full-length novel by Scottish author and theologian George MacDonald, is a complex work that integrates spiritual, psychological, and metaphysical themes within the framework of Victorian realism. It marks the beginning of MacDonald's career as a novelist and anticipates many of the motifs that would dominate his later fiction, especially the synthesis of Scottish Calvinism and Romantic individualism. A scholar analyzing this novel would situate it within the context of 19th-century religious thought, the Scottish literary tradition, and MacDonald's own theological trajectory.
The novel is nominally a bildungsroman and a spiritual narrative, told through the first-person perspective of Hugh Sutherland, a young university graduate who becomes a tutor in the rural household of David Elginbrod, a devout and humble Scottish peasant. Set in Aberdeenshire, the novel unfolds against a vividly realized Scottish landscape, which MacDonald renders in rich dialect and with a painterly eye, reflecting his poetic sensibilities. The eponymous David Elginbrod emerges as a moral and spiritual ideal—a man of profound piety, wisdom, and integrity—whose influence quietly permeates the novel, even after his death.
MacDonald's prose is marked by didacticism, a tendency reflective of his vocational calling as both preacher and teacher. Yet this is counterbalanced by deep psychological insight and a Romantic reverence for nature and the individual soul. The central thematic preoccupations of the novel include the tension between scientific rationalism and religious faith, the nature of good and evil, the reality of the spiritual world, and the quest for personal transformation. The philosophical depth of David Elginbrod is frequently conveyed through dialogic exploration, echoing both Platonic discourse and Carlylean moralism.
A key subplot of the novel involves mesmeric and occult practices—a narrative device that brings the novel into conversation with contemporary Victorian interests in mesmerism, spiritualism, and the unseen realms of human experience. The inclusion of mesmerism functions not merely as sensationalism but as a symbol of distorted power, set against the true spiritual authority represented by David Elginbrod and his daughter, Margaret. Margaret, a central character in her own right, is portrayed as spiritually sensitive and intellectually strong, embodying an ideal of Christian femininity that resists both secular modernity and patriarchal repression.
The use of the Scots dialect in David's speech has a dual function: it roots the character in the authenticity of place and culture, while also reinforcing the notion that divine wisdom can be articulated through rustic, unpolished human vessels. In this, MacDonald aligns himself with the literary lineage of Robert Burns and James Hogg, celebrating the moral clarity and emotional richness of Scottish peasant life.
The novel is nominally a bildungsroman and a spiritual narrative, told through the first-person perspective of Hugh Sutherland, a young university graduate who becomes a tutor in the rural household of David Elginbrod, a devout and humble Scottish peasant. Set in Aberdeenshire, the novel unfolds against a vividly realized Scottish landscape, which MacDonald renders in rich dialect and with a painterly eye, reflecting his poetic sensibilities. The eponymous David Elginbrod emerges as a moral and spiritual ideal—a man of profound piety, wisdom, and integrity—whose influence quietly permeates the novel, even after his death.
MacDonald's prose is marked by didacticism, a tendency reflective of his vocational calling as both preacher and teacher. Yet this is counterbalanced by deep psychological insight and a Romantic reverence for nature and the individual soul. The central thematic preoccupations of the novel include the tension between scientific rationalism and religious faith, the nature of good and evil, the reality of the spiritual world, and the quest for personal transformation. The philosophical depth of David Elginbrod is frequently conveyed through dialogic exploration, echoing both Platonic discourse and Carlylean moralism.
A key subplot of the novel involves mesmeric and occult practices—a narrative device that brings the novel into conversation with contemporary Victorian interests in mesmerism, spiritualism, and the unseen realms of human experience. The inclusion of mesmerism functions not merely as sensationalism but as a symbol of distorted power, set against the true spiritual authority represented by David Elginbrod and his daughter, Margaret. Margaret, a central character in her own right, is portrayed as spiritually sensitive and intellectually strong, embodying an ideal of Christian femininity that resists both secular modernity and patriarchal repression.
The use of the Scots dialect in David's speech has a dual function: it roots the character in the authenticity of place and culture, while also reinforcing the notion that divine wisdom can be articulated through rustic, unpolished human vessels. In this, MacDonald aligns himself with the literary lineage of Robert Burns and James Hogg, celebrating the moral clarity and emotional richness of Scottish peasant life.
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David Elginbrod
David Elginbrod
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940184692654 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | George MacDonald |
| Publication date: | 05/05/2025 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 763 KB |
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