George MacDonald was a 19th century Scottish writer, poet and minister. He is best known for his fairy tales and fantasies. His most popular works are Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Lilith. First published in 1881, this novel is about the faith and courage of Mary Marston, a shopkeeper's daughter, who is plunged into a world of deceit, suspicion, and mystery upon the death of her father. She leaves the sleepy village of Testbridge for the heart of London where she is drawn to the life of Victorian high society.