"Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood," first published in 1871, is a realistic novel of a Scottish upbringing. Young Ranald has three brothers, and many friends in the neighborhood. Ranald and his brothers hear the tale of the Kelpie, a mystical, terrifying monster, from their maid Kirsty, a Highland lass full of character and wonderful verve. The Kelpie appears in the boys' lives as a woman who supplants Kirsty's place in their household -- a terrible, but very human monster. As Ranald grows, he triumphs over this adversity and many others. This story of spiritual and moral growth is as charming as any of the great fantasist George MacDonald's less realistic tales. A tale of a boy's passage from childhood to young man, MacDonald's writing is as lyrical today as the day it was written.