author
Ronald MacDonald
1860–1933
Best remembered now as the father of crime writer Philip MacDonald and the son of George MacDonald, he published historical and adventure fiction at the turn of the twentieth century. His work ranges from royal intrigue to sea-going romance, with titles like The Sword of the King and The Sea Maid still preserved in major digital libraries.
1 Audiobook
The Sword of the King
by Ronald MacDonald
About the author
Born in 1860 and dying in 1933, Ronald MacDonald was a British author whose books appeared in the late Victorian and Edwardian period. Surviving catalog records and digital editions show a body of fiction that includes The Sword of the King (1900), The Sea Maid (1906), Lanchester of Brazenose, and Gambier's Advocate.
He is also part of a notably literary family. Reliable reference sources identify him as the son of writer George MacDonald, and his own son Philip MacDonald later became a successful novelist and screenwriter. That family link helps place Ronald MacDonald within a multigenerational tradition of storytelling.
Some records also connect him with stage and screen work: Gambier's Advocate was adapted into a 1915 silent film, with Ronald MacDonald credited as the writer. Even if he is less widely known today than his father or son, the novels that remain available suggest a writer drawn to dramatic plots, historical settings, and polished popular fiction.