Lady of the Mansion (originally published as The Portent) by George MacDonald, 4/5

This short novel is beautifully written and imaginative.  Without the happy ending tacked on as a concession to popular taste, it almost felt like a story-within-a-story from Macdonald’s Phantastes.

[Why I read it: I’m not usually a fan of Macdonald’s novels, but I saw this in the thrift store and was enticed by the laudatory reviews on the back cover.]