Welcome to the quiet village of Marshmallows, where a young minister on his first assignment is trying to move gently into the lives of his parish. His attraction to his poorer parishioners puts him out of joint with the parish's richest--and most troubled--family, who he nevertheless tries to help. When he falls in love unexpectedly with the most unlikely woman possible, his life takes an unexpected turn. I loved the characters in this book, who have very little theology, but an ernest desire to live as Christ would. Slowed down by several sermons, many of which I would guess Macdonald actually preached. ( )

For a book that I thought I never read when I picked it up at the church library , I've read at least twice. But even at the third telling it's a great book, great story. Shades of Gothic and a dash of romance, and deeper than perhaps Mr. MacDonald realized. ( )

First book of a George MacDonald trilogy, "A Quiet Neighborhood" was originally published as "Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood" in 1866, a magazine serial in England. Edited and retitled in 1985 by Dan Hamilton.

A sensitive romance set Masrshmallows, a rural parish in Victorian England. A young vicar begins work in his first parish, leads his people in a better way of worship and falls in love.

The three books of the edited trilogy by Dan Hamilton are:
"A Quiet Neighborhood", "The Seaboard Parish", "The Vicar's Daughter"

The original George MacDonald titles are:
"Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood" 1866,"A Seaboard Parish 1868, "The Vicar's Daughter" 1872. ( )