Undine & Island Magic

The Victorian fairytale behind Island Magic

Undine in the water, illustration by Arthur Rackham.

“Were I asked, ‘What is a fairytale?’ I should reply, ‘Read Undine: that is a fairytale.’ ”

🌿 George MacDonald

There was a fairytale that seems to have stuck in Elizabeth Goudge’s mind alongside her beloved Guernsey, and when you hear the story of Undine, it does not take long to see why. Life on the island Guernsey, where wind and water so dominate the every day life of its people, seems to be at the mercy of capricious “spirits.” When Goudge heard this very poplar fairytale as a child, it is not surprising that she connected it to her own experiences of sailing across choppy waters to see her aunts and grandparents on Guernsey.

What is even more interesting, is that Undine seems to have had a great influence also on her first novel, Island Magic. We talked about this in our zoom book discussion yesterday, but I thought Undine was worth its own post here as it seems to have influenced not only Goudge, but also many other authors, including George MacDonald and Louisa May Alcott.

Here are the beautiful illustrations by Arthur Rackham, a summary of the story, and also an audio link for a marvelous retelling!