Castle Warlock

A novel of a son’s worldly and spiritual inheritance set in the majestic Scottish Highlands—by the nineteenth-century British author of Mary Marston.

Thematically linked to Mary Marston which preceded it, MacDonald here poignantly depicts the father-son relationship as he had earlier that of father and daughter. MacDonald’s storytelling power again returns to the highlands of Scotland, setting his narrative in the hills south of Huntly. We encounter vivid descriptions of that wild terrain, including snowstorms, summer joys, harvests, along with MacDonald’s trademark mysteries, inheritances, treasures, and, of course, romance. Castle Warlock is one of the most thoroughly Scottish of MacDonald's novels, and is a favorite with many for its spiritual, relational, and natural splendor.

Castle Warlock is unique among MacDonald’s titles, being first published in America in 1881, six months in advance of its British counterpart of 1882. This new edition by MacDonald biographer Michael Phillips streamlines the occasionally ponderous Victorian narrative style and updates the thick Doric brogue into readable English.