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Cover of At the Back of the North Wind

Children’s

At the Back of the North Wind

by George MacDonald

A young boy’s life is transformed by his visit to the country at the back of the north wind.

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First published
1871
Length
89,033 words
Reading time
About 6 hr 11 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

As a poor cabbie and his wife eke out a meager existence in Victorian London, their little boy, Diamond—named after his father’s horse—is befriended by the North Wind. While Diamond learns much about life through his travels with North Wind, his visit to the country at her “back” proves to be transformative. As life in London grows especially hard, that moment provides Diamond with the resources to touch those around him with beauty and truth.

Although At the Back of the North Wind was written for children, in it MacDonald deals with deep themes, especially the potential for suffering to be redemptive, and the meaning of death.

First published 1871; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 89,033 words arranged in 38 navigable sections.

About the author

George MacDonald

George MacDonald (1824–1905) is described by Wikidata as Scottish writer and Christian minister (1824–1905), with citizenship or national association recorded as United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Recorded occupations include writer, pastor, poet, novelist, journalist, and theologian. Languages recorded for George MacDonald include English. Wikidata lists Lilith, Phantastes, David Elginbrod, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and The Gray Wolf among George MacDonald's notable works. Open Library identifies The evolution of coinage as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 20 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes At the Back of the North Wind and The Princess and the Goblin under George MacDonald's authorship.

1824–1905

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
  • A downloadable EPUB for phones, tablets, desktop reading apps, and compatible ereaders.
  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Fairy tales

Table of contents

Open reader
Show all 38 sections
  1. I
  2. II
  3. III
  4. IV
  5. V
  6. VI
  7. VII
  8. VIII
  9. IX
  10. X
  11. XI
  12. XII
  13. XIII
  14. XIV
  15. XV
  16. XVI
  17. XVII
  18. XVIII
  19. XIX
  20. XX
  21. XXI
  22. XXII
  23. XXIII
  24. XXIV
  25. XXV
  26. XXVI
  27. XXVII
  28. XXVIII
  29. XXIX
  30. XXX
  31. XXXI
  32. XXXII
  33. XXXIII
  34. XXXIV
  35. XXXV
  36. XXXVI
  37. XXXVII
  38. XXXVIII
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