Alec Forbes of Howglen is a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by George MacDonald

George MacDonald

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...

, first published in 1865 and is primarily concerned with Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 country life.

Synopsis

The 'Howglen' described in the novel likely is a reference to George MacDonald's childhood home in Huntly, Scotland, 'The Farm.' The 'Glamour' river, on which the town of the novel is situated, has been immortalized in the names of modern day streets in Huntly, as well as a children's park near the site of the old MacDonald family Mill.

Literary significance and criticism

1. No account of this story would give any idea of the profound interest that pervades the work from the first page to the last. —Athenæum
   Athenaeum (magazine)
   The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921. It had a reputation for publishing the very best writers of the age....
   
   
2. A novel of uncommon merit, Sir Walter Scott said he would advise no man to try to read 'Clarissa Harlowe' out loud in company if he wished to keep his character for manly superiority to tears. We fancy a good many hardened old novel-readers will feel a rising in the throat as they follow the fortunes of Alec and Annie. -Pall Mall Gazette
   Pall Mall Gazette
   The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
   
   .
3. This book is full of good thought and good writing. Dr. Mac Donald looks in his stories more to the souls of men and women than to their social outside. He reads life and nature like a true poet. —Examiner
4. The whole story is one of surpassing excellence and beauty." —Daily News
5. Alec Forbes...is very enjoyable, and the character of Annie Anderson is one of the most delightful I have ever met with in fiction. —Charles Lutwidge Dodgson