George MacDonald was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, on 10 December 1824, and died at Ashstead, Surrey, on 18 September 1905. After attending schools in Huntly and Aberdeen, he studied at King's College, Aberdeen during sessions 1840 - 1842 and 1844 - 1845, graduating AM in March 1845. In 1868 he was awarded the degree of LLD by the University of Aberdeen.
A detailed account of his life and his career as a teacher, congregational minister, preacher, poet, novelist and lecturer in London, Arundel, Manchester and elsewhere, and information regarding his family is given in the biography, George MacDonald and his Wife (London, 1924), by his eldest son, Grenville MacDonald, MD. Other information regarding his novels will be found in Robert L. Wolff, The Golden Key: a Study of the Fiction of George MacDonald (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961). Bibliographical details are given in J.M. Bulloch, A Bibliography of George MacDonald in Aberdeen University Library Bulletin, 5 (1925), 679-747. An article by J.M. Hutton, Sour Grapeshot, correcting some errors in Bulloch's work, was published in Aberdeen University Review, 41 (1965), 85-88. In an article in The Book Collector 17 (1968), 13-25, Unfamiliar Libraries, Hutton describes the George MacDonald Collection in the Brander Library, Huntly, which contains several MSS and a collection of first editions and other items relating to the author. MacDonald's philosophy and writings are also discussed in the Aberdeen University thesis by Glenn E. Sadler, The Cosmic Vision: a Study of the Poetry of George Macdonald (1967). This includes a chronological table of MacDonald's life and writings, an extensive bibliography, and an index of MacDonald MSS located or consulted.
From the guide to the Papers of and relating to George MacDonald, c 1846 - 1924, (University of Aberdeen)
