Book Guide

The loveable and much loved story of Diamond, the cab-horse, and Diamond, the little boy who lived over a coach-house and was visited by a lovely lady who whisked him of to the back of the north wind, can never lost its appeal while children are children. 

It was the first and best-known children's book of George MacDonald, who had a genuine and romantic Highland background, having been born in western Aberdeenshire on the farm of his grandfather, who was a Gaelic speaker. This elder MacDonald's own grandfather was a person of musical tastes and Jacobite opinions who was blinded when piping his clan into action at the battle of Culloden, and his grandfather in turn was one of the hundred-odd survivors of the Glencoe massacre, which take us back six generations from George MacDonald, who was among other things, ordained a Congregationalist minister and was a lay preacher of some renown, besides being a poet, a realistic novelist of Scottish life, and a beloved children's author.

At the Back of the North Wind preceded by several years his very popular The Princess and Curdie and The Princess and the Goblin. He was, however, a man of over fifty, and a very experienced writer, when he produced it. Also he had lived for many years in large English towns like Manchester and London and knew only too well what the life of town-bred people could be like. He had been very active in running classes and clubs of all descriptions to help working people, which means that when he is dealing with cab drivers and such characters as the hero's father, he knows what he is talking about.

This book, so far as the everyday rather than the fanciful side of it is concerned, is one of the only two famous English books which deal with the life of cab drivers and cab horses, and it is interesting to think that it was first published in 1871, the very year in which Anna Sewell began the writing of the other classic of the cab driver's life Black Beauty

 

From the dust jacket of the Dent and Dutton Children's Illustrated Classics Edition.
George MacDonald

George MacDonald

1824 - 1905
Scottish
George Macdonald was born in 1824 at Huntly, West Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the youngest of five brothers. After studying at King's College, Aberdeen... See more
Arthur  Hughes

Arthur Hughes

1832-1915
British
Arthur Hughes was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite painters John Everett Millais, Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rosetti, although he never becam... See more

At the Back of the North Wind Reprint

At the Back of the North Wind
Reprinted in 2020 by Living Book Press
Available formats: Paperback
View on the Living Book Press site
View on Amazon

This edition features 115 illustrations taken from several early editions of this timeless tale.


At the Back of the North Wind Reprint

At the Back of the North Wind
Reprinted in 1989 by Books of Wonder
Reprint illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
Available formats: Hardcover
View on Amazon


To view reprints of this book please sign in.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Content Guide

Please sign in to access all of the topics associated with this book and view other books with the same topics.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Please sign in to access the locations this book takes place in and view other books in the same location.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Resource Guide

To view other book recommendations books please sign in.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial