George MacDonald

George MacDonald is often regarded as the founding father of modern fantasy and is considered a major influence on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. A contemporary and friend of Mark Twain and Lewis Carroll, his fellow writers were also his biggest fans. His best-known works are Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Lilith, all fantasy novels, and fairy tales such as "The Light Princess," "The Golden Key," and "The Wise Woman."