David Elginbrod is a 1863 novel 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...

. It is MacDonald's first realistic novel.

Plot introduction

A novel of 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, in the dialect of Aberdeen.

A story of humble life, centering in two saintly personalities, a dignified and pious Scottish peasant, and his daughter. A vein of mysticism runs through the story, and mesmerism and electro-biology are introduced.

Literary significance and criticism

1. A novel which is the work of a man of genius. It will attract the highest class of readers. —Times.
2. There are many beautiful passages and descriptions in this book. The characters are extremely well drawn. ——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....
   
   .
3. A clever novel. The incidents are exciting, and the interest is maintained to the close. It may be doubted if Sir Walter Scott himself ever painted a Scotch fireside with more truth. —Morning Post.
4. David Elginbrod is the finest character we have met in fiction for many a day. The descriptions of natural scenery are vivid, truthful, and artistic; the general reflections are those of a refined, thoughtful, and poetical philosopher, and the whole moral atmosphere of the book la lofty, pure, and invigorating. —Globe.

External links

• David Elginbrod voice recording at Librivox