Today considered to be perhaps MacDonald's most accomplished work, it was his second work of adult fantasy, after Phantastes. The first edition was received "quietly." H. G. Wells being the exception; he thought it a marvel. It is now recognized as having been far ahead of its time.
The story is that of Lilith, Adam's mythological first wife, with whom he bore a daughter. She is incapable of love and a ruthless vampiress who drains life from the world around her. It is hallucinogenic and very dark environmentally and is evidently meant to deeply destabilize the reader. Many have noted that Lewis Carroll's works and then-current thinking about the subconscious played a role in the way the novel engages the reader.
This particular edition is the first critical edition, issued by George MacDonald's son, Greville, and very finely inscribed by Greville MacDonald to William Sharp, perhaps the son of MacDonald's friend and fellow Scottish author of the same name.
MacDonald, George. Lilith: A Romance by George MacDonald Author of "Phantastes" with Introductory Key, a Paraphrase of an Earlier Manuscript-Version, and Explanation of Notes by Greville Macdonald M. D. London. George Allen & Unwin LTD. c.1930. 396pp.
A very good copy, bound in cloth, generally solid, with generally bright pages and light foxing. Very minor stain across board.
