MacDonald, George: Phantastes; A Faerie Romance. May 19 2007

Roy White · 05-19-2007, 05:21 AM

First effort!!!

I just spent Several hours coming up with this. I downloaded the version from manybooks but it just WOULD NOT DO at all... Since I love the book so much I knew I had to take a whack at it. I followed Harry's tutorial and learned alot about that Book Designer program. Somehow I messed up the hyperlinks a bit but the rest is fine. I'm real happy with it now. I put quite a few illustrations in and in general enjoyed myself immensely!

This book is my all time favorite!

C.S. Lewis read this book as a boy and he always said that he felt it was one of the best books he ever read. One that baptized his imagination to the reality of Joy.

It is in a genre all its own.

Give it a read.

(P.S. I posted an updated version a few posts down that is MUCH better. Version2... if you are interested in this book you should get THAT one instead.)

Roy

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

HarryT · 05-19-2007, 05:27 AM

Thanks for posting this, Roy. Could you give a brief summary of what it's about, for those (such as myself) who aren't familiar with it?

Dr. Drib · 05-19-2007, 07:24 AM

and you read my mind!!!!

I love this book.

Thank you!!!

UncleDuke · 05-19-2007, 12:28 PM

a classic

Roy White · 05-19-2007, 01:09 PM

A brief Description of what its about. Kind of like asking me to give a brief description of what Moby Dick is about. Life, Death, Faith, Love, Well. I'll try. Its kind of like Pilgrims Progress in a way but MUCH more interesting.

An allegory/fairy-tale about a mans journey through the fairyland of his own soul. (Or the Soul of God maybe?)

Its epic fantasy on a Soulish level but it isn't 'weekly Christian' like so much of what passes for Christian fiction is now... (Badly written most modern Christian fiction IMO) Macdonald was a preacher completely at odds with the Calvistic viewpoint so prevalent during his age. He was a true Arminian and nearly a universalist. He revealed to me "The great heart of Love at the heart of the Universe" In a life changing way. I owe him .... I owe him...

The book is about the narrator’s (Anodos) dream-like adventures in fairyland, where he confronts tree-spirits and the shadow, sojourns to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The tale is vintage MacDonald, conveying a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

This is a work which so overwhelmed C. S. Lewis that a few hours after he began reading it he knew he “had crossed a great frontier.”

He encourages me more than any other writer to believe that God is love but this book is not preachy at all.. In fact from reading it, you wont even know he is a preacher.
Its delightful but a little old school.. He quoted many many poets and in the text I accidentally deleted the names of the old poets thinking I was deleting the hyperlinks only... I was too lazy to go back and fix the poets names especially since it would have taken me hours to search through and find...
The book nearly always makes me weep with joy near the end and comforts me more than any other when I consider friends and relatives that have passed away already.

I could go on and on here. Tolkien owes him a huge debt and has acknowledged that debt many times.
This book has been heralded as the first fantasy novel ever written and in my opinion the best I've ever read.

I do feel a little frustrated I messed up the links a bit. I tried to back and fix them but apparently the program adds some weird text behind the scenes I couldnt alter.

It seems that once you create the links you cant edit them very easily. Especially if you change the chapter titles after creating the links? Then when I made the file I lost my 'last file function so.. in order to fix it I'd have to start all over again. Besides the link problem in the contents page its the way i want it though. Good for a read straight through. By the Way. The Chapters aren't named anyway si I just invented names for them. (I sould have just left the whole Chapter part fo the book out. It would have saved me hours of work!!!!)

((By the way.. I love Parenthesis))

Dr. You may give it a go...

Oh. By the way.. I downloaded a book free online by a fanfic writer in the Tolkien tradition mythos. Isildur By Brian Crawford. Its freely available as a PDF file here. http://home.comcast.net/~crawford.b/...r/isildur.html
I reformatted it and did the chapter links right this time for the Sony Reader. It looks grand in the connect software. I emailed Brian Crawford to ask him if he would allow me to post it here. Its the back story of Isildur and the Ring and its great.

Dr. Drib · 05-19-2007, 04:50 PM

What I do is this: I undo one link at a time. Don't forget there's a "refresh" on the "Notes and Links" box. I find that when I mess something up that undo-ing is the best thing.

Keep the BookBinder file and any photo so that you can go back and edit out changes, mistakes, etc.

Don't be worried about your early efforts: we all find something that we think about later that needs to be changed. I made sooooo many mistakes on my first efforts (and I'm only NOW feeling somewhat competent about the books I upload), that I'm surprised I wasn't drummed off this board!!!

Are you going to do his next great adult fantasy - Lilith? Or would you like me to do this one? Let me know, because I'm hungering for it!!!

Don

Roy White · 05-19-2007, 08:32 PM

Don. Go for it! I'm going to go back and redo Phantastes. I'm not going to mess much with Pics. And I'm going to go back and just do links to the Chapters without trying to rename them. I just discovered the 'verse' tool and I SHOULD have used that extensively. It was a disservice to delete the poets names Macdonald quotes from I'll put those in... I gotta start from scratch... I'm going to definitely redo.... I'm looking forward to Lillith. Thats a project I dont have time to tackle now...

JSWolf · 05-19-2007, 08:59 PM

Another thing I do is save often. I usually use two filenames just in case till I am done. That way if I do mess up, I have a chance to maybe go back to some point that's not too bad.

Dr. Drib · 05-19-2007, 09:57 PM

I'll probably post it tonight.

Thanks,
Don

Roy White · 05-20-2007, 06:59 AM

Welll I HAD to work on this and get it the way I wanted it. The way it should be.
Instead of inventing Chapter names I added a short synopsis of each chapter on the Contents page and a link to the Epigraph that G. M. put at the begginning of each chapter. I put in 5 or 6 illustrations and added a bit at the end about George Macdonald. I think this version is more readabe and makes alot more sense. I dumped the first version... This is the one I'm going to read.

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

HarryT · 05-20-2007, 07:28 AM

Isn't it great being able to create your own "personalised" versions of books in this way? The more you use Book Designer, the more "creative" you can get with it. It's a wonderful program!

Roy White · 05-20-2007, 11:45 AM

Yes it really is... The version2 I just created lets me open the book, then read the chapter I like becasue I put a condensed synopsis in the contents page...

Awesome.

badgoodDeb · 05-02-2008, 02:59 PM

Um, okay .... I've tried MacDonald before and not liked his work, but with C.S.Lewis so high in praise of this one, I'd like to try it. Any chance someone could convert this to mobipocket format? (for my kindle)

DixieGal · 05-02-2008, 03:55 PM

Sounds like something I would like. Can you do it in .imp format also?
Thanks!

Lobolover · 05-02-2008, 06:29 PM

does this rank among Mac Donald's adult or child works?

05-19-2007, 07:24 AM	#3
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,039 Karma: 56751447 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Excellent! I was getting ready to do this..... and you read my mind!!!! I love this book. Thank you!!!

05-19-2007, 01:09 PM	#5
Roy White Evangelist Posts: 482 Karma: 7696 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Turner, Oregon Device: Sony Reader	A brief Description of what its about. Kind of like asking me to give a brief description of what Moby Dick is about. Life, Death, Faith, Love, Well. I'll try. Its kind of like Pilgrims Progress in a way but MUCH more interesting. An allegory/fairy-tale about a mans journey through the fairyland of his own soul. (Or the Soul of God maybe?) Its epic fantasy on a Soulish level but it isn't 'weekly Christian' like so much of what passes for Christian fiction is now... (Badly written most modern Christian fiction IMO) Macdonald was a preacher completely at odds with the Calvistic viewpoint so prevalent during his age. He was a true Arminian and nearly a universalist. He revealed to me "The great heart of Love at the heart of the Universe" In a life changing way. I owe him .... I owe him... The book is about the narrator’s (Anodos) dream-like adventures in fairyland, where he confronts tree-spirits and the shadow, sojourns to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The tale is vintage MacDonald, conveying a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death. This is a work which so overwhelmed C. S. Lewis that a few hours after he began reading it he knew he “had crossed a great frontier.” He encourages me more than any other writer to believe that God is love but this book is not preachy at all.. In fact from reading it, you wont even know he is a preacher. Its delightful but a little old school.. He quoted many many poets and in the text I accidentally deleted the names of the old poets thinking I was deleting the hyperlinks only... I was too lazy to go back and fix the poets names especially since it would have taken me hours to search through and find... The book nearly always makes me weep with joy near the end and comforts me more than any other when I consider friends and relatives that have passed away already. I could go on and on here. Tolkien owes him a huge debt and has acknowledged that debt many times. This book has been heralded as the first fantasy novel ever written and in my opinion the best I've ever read. I do feel a little frustrated I messed up the links a bit. I tried to back and fix them but apparently the program adds some weird text behind the scenes I couldnt alter. It seems that once you create the links you cant edit them very easily. Especially if you change the chapter titles after creating the links? Then when I made the file I lost my 'last file function so.. in order to fix it I'd have to start all over again. Besides the link problem in the contents page its the way i want it though. Good for a read straight through. By the Way. The Chapters aren't named anyway si I just invented names for them. (I sould have just left the whole Chapter part fo the book out. It would have saved me hours of work!!!!) ((By the way.. I love Parenthesis)) Dr. You may give it a go... Oh. By the way.. I downloaded a book free online by a fanfic writer in the Tolkien tradition mythos. Isildur By Brian Crawford. Its freely available as a PDF file here. http://home.comcast.net/~crawford.b/...r/isildur.html I reformatted it and did the chapter links right this time for the Sony Reader. It looks grand in the connect software. I emailed Brian Crawford to ask him if he would allow me to post it here. Its the back story of Isildur and the Ring and its great. Last edited by Roy White; 05-19-2007 at 01:26 PM.

05-19-2007, 04:50 PM	#6
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,039 Karma: 56751447 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	About those links ----- What I do is this: I undo one link at a time. Don't forget there's a "refresh" on the "Notes and Links" box. I find that when I mess something up that undo-ing is the best thing. Keep the BookBinder file and any photo so that you can go back and edit out changes, mistakes, etc. Don't be worried about your early efforts: we all find something that we think about later that needs to be changed. I made sooooo many mistakes on my first efforts (and I'm only NOW feeling somewhat competent about the books I upload), that I'm surprised I wasn't drummed off this board!!! Are you going to do his next great adult fantasy - Lilith? Or would you like me to do this one? Let me know, because I'm hungering for it!!! Don Last edited by Dr. Drib; 05-19-2007 at 04:59 PM.

05-19-2007, 09:57 PM	#9
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,039 Karma: 56751447 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	I'm working on Lilith right now. Almost finished... I'll probably post it tonight. Thanks, Don

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05-19-2007, 05:27 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thanks for posting this, Roy. Could you give a brief summary of what it's about, for those (such as myself) who aren't familiar with it?

05-19-2007, 12:28 PM	#4
UncleDuke books & doughnuts Posts: 882 Karma: 37857 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: usa Device: sony reader, kindle2	a classic

05-19-2007, 08:32 PM	#7
Roy White Evangelist Posts: 482 Karma: 7696 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Turner, Oregon Device: Sony Reader	Don. Go for it! I'm going to go back and redo Phantastes. I'm not going to mess much with Pics. And I'm going to go back and just do links to the Chapters without trying to rename them. I just discovered the 'verse' tool and I SHOULD have used that extensively. It was a disservice to delete the poets names Macdonald quotes from I'll put those in... I gotta start from scratch... I'm going to definitely redo.... I'm looking forward to Lillith. Thats a project I dont have time to tackle now...

05-19-2007, 08:59 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,415 Karma: 136564696 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Another thing I do is save often. I usually use two filenames just in case till I am done. That way if I do mess up, I have a chance to maybe go back to some point that's not too bad.

05-20-2007, 07:28 AM	#11
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Isn't it great being able to create your own "personalised" versions of books in this way? The more you use Book Designer, the more "creative" you can get with it. It's a wonderful program!

05-20-2007, 11:45 AM	#12
Roy White Evangelist Posts: 482 Karma: 7696 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Turner, Oregon Device: Sony Reader	Yes it really is... The version2 I just created lets me open the book, then read the chapter I like becasue I put a condensed synopsis in the contents page... Awesome.

05-02-2008, 02:59 PM	#13
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,515 Karma: 64095689 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	Um, okay .... I've tried MacDonald before and not liked his work, but with C.S.Lewis so high in praise of this one, I'd like to try it. Any chance someone could convert this to mobipocket format? (for my kindle)

05-02-2008, 03:55 PM	#14
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Sounds like something I would like. Can you do it in .imp format also? Thanks!

05-02-2008, 06:29 PM	#15
Lobolover Gorosei Posts: 421 Karma: 334 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Microsoft Word	does this rank among Mac Donald's adult or child works?

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