George MacDonald (1824–1905) was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, but left to study at Aberdeen University, and later in London for the congregational ministry. He was involved in ministerial work in various places including Manchester and Algiers, but eventually settled in London where he taught at the University of London for a time. MacDonald’s first work was published in 1855, which was a book-length poem, and the publication of Phantastes in 1858 firmly established his status as a writer. Between 1855 and his death in 1905, MacDonald published over 100 books in a variety of genres including fantasy, romance and a number of Christian sermons – authors such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and E. Nesbit are said to have been influenced by his work.