At the Back of the North Wind
At the Back of the North Wind is 86,688 words — about 5h 47m at 250 words per minute, across 40 chapters. Measure your own speed and read it here.
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How it opens
I HAVE been asked to tell you about the back of the north wind. An old Greek writer mentions a people who lived there, and were so comfortable that they could not bear it any longer, and drowned themselves. My story is not the same as his. I do not think Herodotus had got the right account of the place. I am going to tell you how it fared with a boy who went there.…
Details
- AuthorGeorge MacDonald
- SourceProject Gutenberg #225
- Length86,688 words · 5h 47m of reading
- Chapters40
- DictionaryIncluded
- CopyrightPublic domain in the United States
- Source checked2026-08-28
Contents
40 chapters
Recovered from the original source text, so you can open the book at any of them.
- 01CHAPTER I. THE HAY-LOFT
- 02CHAPTER II. THE LAWN
- 03CHAPTER III. OLD DIAMOND
- 04CHAPTER IV. NORTH WIND
- 05CHAPTER V. THE SUMMER-HOUSE
- 06CHAPTER VI. OUT IN THE STORM
- 07CHAPTER VII. THE CATHEDRAL
- 08CHAPTER VIII. THE EAST WINDOW
- 09CHAPTER IX. HOW DIAMOND GOT TO THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND
- 10CHAPTER X. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND
- 11CHAPTER XI. HOW DIAMOND GOT HOME AGAIN
- 12CHAPTER XII. WHO MET DIAMOND AT SANDWICH
- 13CHAPTER XIII. THE SEASIDE
- 14CHAPTER XIV. OLD DIAMOND
- 15CHAPTER XV. THE MEWS
- 16CHAPTER XVI. DIAMOND MAKES A BEGINNING
- 17CHAPTER XVII. DIAMOND GOES ON
- 18CHAPTER XVIII. THE DRUNKEN CABMAN
- 19CHAPTER XIX. DIAMOND'S FRIENDS
- 20CHAPTER XX. DIAMOND LEARNS TO READ
- 21LITTLE BOY BLUE
- 22CHAPTER XXI. SAL'S NANNY
- 23CHAPTER XXII. MR. RAYMOND'S RIDDLE
- 24CHAPTER XXIII. THE EARLY BIRD
- 25CHAPTER XXIV. ANOTHER EARLY BIRD
- 26THE TRUE STORY OF THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE
- 27CHAPTER XXV. DIAMOND'S DREAM
- 28CHAPTER XXVI. DIAMOND TAKES A FARE THE WRONG WAY RIGHT
- 29CHAPTER XXVII. THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- 30CHAPTER XXVIII. LITTLE DAYLIGHT
- 31CHAPTER XXIX. RUBY
- 32CHAPTER XXX. NANNY'S DREAM
- 33CHAPTER XXXI. THE NORTH WIND DOTH BLOW
- 34CHAPTER XXXII. DIAMOND AND RUBY
- 35CHAPTER XXXIII. THE PROSPECT BRIGHTENS
- 36CHAPTER XXXIV. IN THE COUNTRY
- 37CHAPTER XXXV. I MAKE DIAMOND'S ACQUAINTANCE
- 38CHAPTER XXXVI. DIAMOND QUESTIONS NORTH WIND
- 39CHAPTER XXXVII. ONCE MORE
- 40CHAPTER XXXVIII. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND
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