Stephen Archer: From their pens to your ears, genius in every story

George MacDonald was born on December 10th 1824 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The MacDonald family had proud and long historical roots. His father, was a farmer, was a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the infamous massacre of 1692 when the Campbells set upon the MacDonalds.

George grew up with the Congregational Church, with its atmosphere of Calvinism to which George never really attached himself. A story often told is that the young George on hearing that lif...