Greville MacDonald

Greville MacDonald (1856 in Bolton – 1944), was the son of influential fantasy writer George MacDonald and his wife Louisa (née Powell). He has provided some interesting insights into his father's life and circle of friends. Greville was a notable ear, nose and throat doctor. In later life Greville became involved in the Peasant Art movement in Haslemere. Biography Greville is famous for having read Alice in Wonderland when "Uncle Dodgson" – Reverend Charles Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll – was wondering whether to publish it. Louisa Powell MacDonald read the book to her children to gauge its worth if published, and Greville remembers his "braggart avowal that I wished there were 60,000 volumes of it". Carroll was uncertain of its potential for publication until he tried the manuscript with the MacDonald children and learned of the enthusiastic reception. Alex Munro used Greville as a model for his 1865 sculpture in Hyde Park of a boy with a dolphin. Greville attributes his understanding of Latin to Octavia Hill (who became a co-founder of the National Trust in 1895, along with Haslemere's Sir Robert Hunter) who joined the family on holiday in 1867 at Bude, and became a lifelong friend of Greville. Greville went to King's College School and then went to train at King's College Hospital. He briefly served as an assistant to Joseph Lister where his main responsibilities were to clean and sterilize surgical instruments. In 1885 MacDonald became Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at King's College. Despite suffering from partial deafness which degenerated with age, Greville became an ear, nose and throat doctor of some distinction, becoming President of the British Medical Association's nose division. He resided at 85 Harley Street and he retired from medical practice in 1904.