Introduction by C. S. Lewis In October 1857 George MacDonald wrote what he described as a kind of fairy tale in the hope that it will pay me better than the more evidently serious work. This was Phantastes -- one of MacDonald s most important works; a work which so overwhelmed C. S. Lewis that a few hours after he began reading it he knew he had crossed a great frontier. The book is about the narrator s (Anodos) dream-like adventures in fairyland where he confronts tree-spirits and the shadow sojourns to the palace of the fairy queen and searches for the spirit of the earth. The tale is vintage MacDonald conveying a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.