McInnis studies the influence of George MacDonald on C.S. Lewis. Beginning with the authors' early experiences of suffering and their literary reactions to it, McInnis shows how MacDonald's writings helped transform Lewis from an imaginative doubter and escapist into a believer in the reality of God and his goodness. While other books have only mentioned the fact that Lewis called MacDonald his "master," and that MacDonald's Phantastes helped "baptize" Lewis' imagination, this study traces the overall effect of MacDonald's works on Lewis' thought and imagination.