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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 enjoy warmhearted fairy tales, kind children and humorous portraits of old London will love this book. It also suits those drawn to talking horses and gentle songs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Trust begins with a strange voice
- Kindness means leaving safety behind
- Goodness reaches beyond what Diamond knows
- Peace follows Diamond back home
- Cheerfulness becomes work for others
- Small acts carry a family
- Faith rests on a known kindness
- Songs and stories reflect Diamond's world
- Love gives small actions their strength
Who’s who
- DiamondA kind, calm coachman's son who trusts North Wind, loves his horse of the same name, and wants to help everyone around him.
- North WindA great lady of the wind who takes many forms and does her work, while caring tenderly for Diamond.
- JosephDiamond's father, an honest coachman who loves his horse and tries to keep his family fed through hard times.
- MarthaDiamond's mother, a loving, careful woman who worries about money and her odd, gentle son.
- NannyA sharp, ragged crossing sweeper whom Diamond befriends and who learns gentleness after her illness.
- Mr. RaymondA kind poet and gentleman who tells stories to sick children and helps Diamond's family.
- Old DiamondThe old horse who gives Diamond his name and carries the family through the story.
- JimA lame boy and Nanny's friend who shines boots and wants a place to work.
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At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald · 1871
A coachman's boy hears a voice in his bedroom wall and follows the North Wind out into the night.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Nobody is cold with the north wind.”
In short
What would you do if the wind began to talk to you through a crack in your bed? Little Diamond, a coachman's son who sleeps in a hayloft above a London stable, does not run away.
At the Back of the North Wind at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 50 min4 h 40 min fast, 7 h slow
- Length
- 83,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1871by George MacDonald
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy answers a voice in the wall
Diamond lives in a loft above a coach house, with hay piled to the roof. He is named after his father's favorite horse, old Diamond, who sleeps in the stall below. One night a knot falls out of the thin boards behind his bed, and the north wind blows in. Three times he stuffs the hole with hay, and three times the stopper pops out and strikes his face.
His mother pastes brown paper over the hole, but a voice speaks from behind it and asks why he keeps closing her window. Diamond argues politely, since windows are made for looking out of. The voice replies that she is in her own house and wants windows too.
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Details
- First published
- 1871
- Language
- English
- Level
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Cite this edition
MacDonald, George. At the Back of the North Wind. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-back-of-the-north-wind.
MacDonald, G. (2026). At the back of the North Wind. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-back-of-the-north-wind (Original work published 1871)
MacDonald, George. At the Back of the North Wind. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-back-of-the-north-wind.
@book{macdonald2026at,
author = {MacDonald, George},
title = {At the Back of the North Wind},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-back-of-the-north-wind},
note = {First published 1871}
}
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What is At the Back of the North Wind about?
It follows Diamond, a poor London coachman's son, who meets North Wind as a woman of the wind. She takes him on night journeys while his family faces ruin, and he learns to help others with simple kindness.
Who is North Wind in the story?
She is a great lady of the wind who appears as a woman, a girl, a wolf or even tiny. She does tasks that look cruel but cares deeply for Diamond and says all she does is her work.
What does the back of the north wind mean?
It is a quiet country behind North Wind, a place of peace, a river and light. In the book it stands for the goodness and hope that Diamond carries with him and tries to bring to others.
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).
“Nobody is cold with the north wind.”
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