At the Back of the North Wind by MacDonald, George - 1919

Philadelphia: David McKay, Publisher, 1919. First Thus. Hard Cover. Good/No Jacket. Smith, Jessie Wilcox. First thus. Spotting along two edges, 3 inch split in cloth along front joint but spine and binding are holding very firmly, ink stamp on rear endpaper. 1919 Hard Cover. 342 pp. 4to. Original tan cloth, navy blue titles, color picture plate mounted on front board. Eight color plates by Jessie Wilcox Smith, with a color illustration decorating title page. The work was originally serialized in the children's magazine Good Words for the Young beginning in 1868 and was published in book form in 1871. It is a fantasy centered around a boy named Diamond and his adventures with the North Wind. Diamond travels together with the mysterious Lady North Wind through the nights. The book includes the fairy tale Little Daylight, which has been pulled out as an independent work, or separately, added to other collections of his fairy tales. In this book, MacDonald touches on many theological and philosophical questions, especially concerning theodicy. Today, it is considered one of his masterpieces. According to MacDonald's son and biographer Greville MacDonald there are many similarities between Diamond and MacDonald's son Maurice who died young. Diamond seems to represent Christ, always trying to help others while not completely belonging to this world.