Doors In

George MacDonald wrote fairy tales for both children and adults to demonstrate the essential role of the imagination in apprehending spiritual truths. He explained: "". . . undefined, yet vivid visions of something beyond, something which eye has not seen nor ear heard, have far more influence than any logical sequences whereby the same things may be demonstrated to the intellect."" Rolland Hein undertakes to show how MacDonald's tales contain such visions, helping readers to experience for themselves glimpses of ""something beyond"" and catch exciting insights into eternal truths.

""Readers of George MacDonald may experience delight and perplexity in about equal proportions. Rolland Hein has performed a great service, enhancing our delight and reducing our perplexity. Dr. Hein summarizes the narratives of MacDonald's most well-known fantasy stories and offers perceptive interpretive commentary. This is the one book you will need to best understand and enjoy the riches of MacDonald's vivid and spiritually-infused imagination.""
--David C. Downing, the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College

""Rolland Hein is that rare thing--a great teacher-scholar whose writing and interpretation are as lucid, generous, and vastly encouraging as the author he helps readers to love more fully by understanding more completely. He thoroughly explores MacDonald's fairy tales, which deeply satisfy the spiritual hunger of readers by offering glimpses of Reality that can be shaped only by the imagination.""
--Jill Pelaez Baumgartner, Wheaton College, author of What Cannot Be Fixed

""There is a place inside your consciousness that you traveled to as a child while reading fairy tales--a place where your fledgling soul found its wings as you pondered the truth of imaginative experience. Rolland Hein understands the importance of pondering in this place--not just for children but for adults. His masterful guide, Doors In, invites you in to explore George MacDonald's nineteenth century fairy tales designed, in fact, specifically for adults.""
--Jo-Anne Cappeluti, California State University, Fullerton



Rolland Hein is Emeritus Professor of English at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of The Harmony Within: The Spiritual Vision of George MacDonald, George MacDonald: Victorian Mythmaker, Through the Year with George MacDonald, Christian Mythmakers, and Growing with My Garden.