10 h 10 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 10 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the wind outside your window becomes a friend—and asks you to follow her into the dark?
In George MacDonald’s At the Back of the North Wind, Diamond sleeps in a hayloft above a London stable. His father drives a coach, and money is scarce. Then the North Wind arrives as a woman with streaming hair. She carries the gentle boy over rooftops and across the sea, into a world beyond his daily worries.
Daylight brings Diamond back to Victorian streets, cab horses, hard winters and a family whose work is uncertain. He befriends Nanny, a crossing sweeper used to fending for herself, and meets the kindly, bookish Mr Raymond. As dreams and daily life touch, the story explores trust, loss and the care one child can offer people in trouble.
What you’ll discover
- A friend in the wind Follow Diamond into the night with a companion whose actions can be hard to understand.
- London beyond the rooftops Walk among crossing sweepers, working horses and families facing the strain of cold and poverty.
- A friendship built on trust Meet sharp, self-reliant Nanny as she slowly learns to trust Diamond as a friend.
- Small acts of care Watch Diamond help with a baby and the family’s work, giving kindness a practical shape.
- Wonder with difficult questions Explore a dream country of wind and stars, where trust does not mean easy answers.
Who will love it
Readers who love fairy tales with a deep heart, gentle humor and old London streets will feel at home. It suits anyone who enjoys songs, dreams, talking animals and a child who sees more than the grown-ups around him.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy argues with the wind through a hole
- North Wind sweeps London and Diamond helps a girl
- The wind has two faces, and both are kind
- A long voyage to the country behind the wind
- Ruin falls on the family and Diamond keeps cheerful
- A small boy learns the streets and makes friends
- Nanny, the hospital and a boy who works as a cabman
- A child's kindness meets a difficult world
- What the story means and how it is told
Who’s who
- DiamondA kind, calm coachman's son who hears North Wind through a hole in his bed and trusts her completely.
- North WindA tall lady with black streaming hair who changes size and shape and does her work with love.
- JosephDiamond's father, an honest coachman who loves his old horse and fights to keep his family fed.
- NannyA sharp-tongued crossing sweeper who is rescued from the street and slowly learns gentleness.
- Mr. RaymondA kind poet who tells stories to sick children and quietly tests Diamond's father.
- Old DiamondThe aged cab horse who shares the boy's name and his loyalty.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 10 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear At the Back of the North Wind in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald · 1871
A coachman's son follows the North Wind out of his hayloft bed and learns what lies behind her.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Where does a boy go when the wind speaks to him through a crack in his bed? In At the Back of the North Wind, George MacDonald sends little Diamond, a London coachman's son, out into the night with a tall, dark-haired lady who is the North Wind herself.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy argues with the wind through a hole
Diamond is a coachman's son who sleeps in a hayloft above the stable. He is named after the old horse in the stall below. The boards behind his bed are so thin that the north wind blows in through a knot hole, and three times he plugs it with twisted hay.
Each time the hay pops out and hits him on the face. Then a voice speaks from the wall, gentle but a little cross, and says the hole is her window. They argue politely about windows, laws and names, until Diamond tears away the brown paper his mother has pasted over the gap. The wind sweeps off his covers, and he sees a vast pale woman whose black hair streams through the dark.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about At the Back of the North Wind
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is At the Back of the North Wind about?
It tells of Diamond, a poor London coachman's son who meets the North Wind as a lady. She takes him on night journeys, and he brings that same love to the people in his own hard world.
Who is North Wind in the story?
North Wind is the wind given a face. She appears as a giant lady, a girl or a tiny creature, and does work that can seem harsh, though Diamond learns she acts out of love.
Who is Diamond named after?
Diamond is named after his father's favorite horse, old Diamond, who sleeps in the stall under his bed.
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).
More by George MacDonald
All 8 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
