Citation: George MacDonald, “The Shadows,” in Adela Cathcart (London: Publisher, 1864).

Modern editions:

  • E-text on this website.
  • George MacDonald Society E-Text.
  • George MacDonald, The Golden Key and Other Fairy Stories, illustrated Craig Yoe (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980). Goodreads.

Bulloch (1925):

The germinal idea of this fairy story occurs in a collection of manuscripts written by the Powell family for their father on his seventy-first birthday, describing, in Mrs. MacDonald’s handwriting, the first Christmas spent at Huntly Cottage, Hastings, 1857.

  • The story was first printed in the (1864) edition of “Adela Cathcart” (ii., 80-149), but was omitted from the 1882 edition.
  • It was reprinted in (viii., 161-235) “Works of fancy and imagination” (1871, 1876, 1884), and in
  • “Dealings with fairies,” in 1891, 1893, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1913, 1920, 1924.

These publication pages are a collaborative effort of members of The George MacDonald Society. We welcome comments on the individual publication pages to help improve the scope, accuracy, and utility of the descriptions.