10 h 36 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the mirror in your house opens onto a world where your own pride is the greatest danger?
Mr. Vane lives alone in a large inherited house, surrounded by books and silence. Then a strange guardian, Mr. Raven, draws him toward a passage beyond the familiar rooms. A mirror leads into another country, where a talking bird and shifting symbols offer no easy answers.
In George MacDonald's Lilith: A Romance, Vane encounters Lilith, the cruel ruler of Bulika, and the endangered children called the Little Ones. Among them is Lona, whose fate becomes bound to his choices. His journey asks what it costs to insist on having your own way—and what it might mean to let go.
What you’ll discover
- A library beyond the familiar Follow Vane from quiet rooms toward a mirror that opens onto an unknown country.
- A guide full of riddles Meet Mr. Raven, whose patient guidance leaves Vane with difficult questions of his own.
- Power and vulnerable lives Encounter Lilith's cruelty and the Little Ones, who test Vane's courage and care.
- The cost of self-will Explore pride, death, and redemption through a hero who often chooses the wrong path.
- The strange logic of dreams Stay close to Vane's doubts as shifting symbols invite you to look again.
Who will love it
For readers who love symbolic fantasy, Christian imagery and stories that work like dreams, with strange creatures and themes of pride, death and redemption.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lonely heir in a house of books
- A raven who is also a librarian
- Through the mirror into another world
- Lilith, the city of Bulika, and the little ones
- Pride, death and the hope of waking
- A dream told in the first person
Who’s who
- Mr. VaneA young, well-read heir who tells the story and who must face his own pride and restlessness in a land beyond the mirror.
- Mr. RavenA strange guardian of the library who appears as a raven and a man, and who guides Vane with patience and riddles.
- LilithA powerful and cruel ruler of the city of Bulika, drawn from the old legend of Adam's first wife.
- LonaA young girl among the children of the other world, whose fate becomes bound up with Vane's choices.
- The Little OnesA band of children living in the strange country, innocent and endangered, who test Vane's courage and care.
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- Audiobook
- 10 h 36 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Lilith
by George MacDonald · 1895
Mr. Vane steps through a library mirror into a world where his choices test his pride and his capacity for mercy.
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In short
Lilith is a fantasy novel by the Scottish writer George MacDonald, published in 1895 near the end of his life. It is the story of a young man named Mr.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lonely heir in a house of books
The story is told by Mr. Vane himself, looking back on what happened to him. He is a young man of some education, and he lives alone in a large house he has inherited. He has studied science and has some taste for thinking about the world, but he is restless. He does not feel that he has found anything solid to live for.
The house has a very large library, and the library is the heart of the first scenes. Vane spends his hours among the books, reading when he can and wondering about the family who owned them before him. The place is quiet and old, and it seems to hold more than it shows. MacDonald builds the sense that the house is listening.
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What is Lilith by George MacDonald about?
It is a fantasy about Mr. Vane, a young man who inherits a library, meets a raven who guides him, and enters a strange world through a mirror. It deals with pride, death and the hope of redemption.
Who is Lilith in the book?
Lilith is a powerful and cruel ruler in the other world, linked to the city of Bulika. She draws on the old legend that Lilith was Adam's first wife, a tradition found outside the Bible.
Who is Mr. Raven in Lilith?
Mr. Raven is a mysterious guardian connected with the library, who appears both as a bird and as a man. He guides Vane with hints and patience instead of commands.
The author
George MacDonald
1824–1905 · Scottish fantasy novelist and minister
George MacDonald (1824–1905) was a Scottish writer and Christian minister. Born in Huntly, Scotland, he later lived in England and Italy. He wrote novels, fairy tales, poetry and sermons. His books include Phantastes (1858), At the Back of the North Wind (1871), The Princess and the Goblin (1872) and Lilith (1895).
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