Lilith is a fantasy novel written by Scottish writer George MacDonald. It was first published in 1895. The novel is considered one of the darkest and deepest of MacDonald's works. In this novel, he presents a cyclical plot about life, death, punishment and salvation. George MacDonald was born in 1824 and died in 1905. He was one of the precursors of fantasy literature, and the source of inspiration to many writers, such as Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Madeleine L'Engle. In addition to his many fairy-tale works, MacDonald also wrote poetry and, as a fervent Christian he was, he left several theological texts as well. His major fantasy texts are Phantastes (1858); The Princess and the Goblin (1872); The Princess and Curdie (1883); and Lilith (1895).