I entered my Trappist Monastery in July of 1974. That very December the Community had its annual retreat. This one was preached by the then Prior of the Monastery of Gethsemane. In at least one of his conferences, he centered it on MacDonald’s The Golden Key. I was immediately taken with it and soon discovered he was the inspiration for people like C.S.Lewis, and Tolkien whom I was already familiar with. I soon found almost of MacDonald’s fantasy works which were still then being published.
Looking back I don’t know why I didn’t investigate further. There was no Internet at that time, so for the next ten or more years I only knew MacDonald’s fantasy work which I read and reread.
Around 1985-86 I went out of my Monastery for further studies to prepare to be Novice Master, which involved teaching and mentoring the new arrivals for their first two and a half years. At one point I went to our Monastery in Berryville Virginia from where I attended a Master degree course in pastoral counselling, travelling to Washington DC for classes once a week for a day or two.
While living in Berryville a close friend of mine would often visit and we would go for a few hours for a meal in nearby Winchester, VA. There we discovered a small little bookshop called Rainbow’s End. On one of many visits there I stumbled upon an old book entitled Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood by George MacDonald. The date, 1870 lead me to believe it might probably be the same George MacDonald of the fantasy tales I had come to love. For the princely sum of $5.00 I figured it was worth the investment. Reading that first adult novel introduced me to a man I almost immediately bonded with over his little gems scattered throughout the novel speaking of God and how we might learn of Him and live by His Words.
That book wasn’t in the worst of shape given its age but after several readings I eventually had it trimmed and rebound at our Monastery in Oregon where they did that professionally for Libraries. I am not really a special book collector as I am more interested in the contents but I do continue to treasure this volume.
