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.