This verse from Victorian Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, perfectly illustrates George MacDonald's response to deep-thinking seekers of God, such as the tragic but compelling character of Eric Ericson, one of the most carefully drawn characters in Robert Falconer...

One of my favorite chapters in Part One of Robert Falconer is "The End Crowns All," which tells of the deathbed conversion of Alexander Alexander, also known as "Dooble Sanny,” who was both the village shoemaker and Robert Falconer's secret fiddle teacher. Dooble Sanny was known in the village of Rothieden as the town drunk who often verbally abused his wife...

As a young lad, Robert Falconer begins to understand and long for God even before he knows what he is longing for...