Jennifer Trafton, If Only We Could See: Reimagining Creativity, Compassion, and Calling Through the Extraordinary Life of Lilias Trotter (Brentwood, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2026).
I believe 2026 will live in my memory as the year when three books were published: the two volumes of Merlin’s Isle by Malcolm Guite, and Jennifer Trafton’s brilliant reflections on the life and work of Lilias Trotter. These volumes are so different in form and genre, but to me they are of a piece — and in each of them George MacDonald is a living presence. Jennifer’s book “lifts the veil,” as Malcolm would say, teaching us all to see with an inward eye.
Publisher’s description:
In the late 19th century, Lilias Trotter stood at the threshold of artistic fame, her extraordinary talent praised by the renowned critic John Ruskin. Yet, at the height of her promise, she made a radical choice that would define the course of her life. Turning away from worldly recognition and social convention, she forged her own path—one that led her through the roughest streets of London and, ultimately, to the deserts of North Africa. There, her artistic and spiritual journeys intertwined as she expanded the many-colored canvas of her creativity to embrace not only the sweeping vistas of the Sahara, but also the lives of the Arab people she loved.
Blending biography, personal engagement, and theological reflection, Trafton takes readers on an intimate journey with Lily as her friends knew her – a visionary who saw the world with an artist’s eye and a missionary’s heart, and whose imaginative empathy and creative compassion transformed the lives of those she encountered. More than the story of one remarkable woman, this book is an invitation to experience the beauty of creation with fresh wonder, to look at our neighbors through new lenses, and to discover what “beautiful possible life” awaits each one of us as we follow the call of the Divine Artist.
In this beautiful book, Jennifer Trafton crafts each chapter as a brilliant meditation upon Trotter’s life. Far more than a biography, as the publisher’s description says, “Trafton takes readers on an intimate journey with Lily as her friends knew her…” It takes an artist (Trafton) to so intimately lead us into Trotter’s world. Oh, to have known her! To have learned from her how to see as she sees! But to know her now and begin to see through her eyes through these meditations is an inspiration.
This is not a book to be skimmed, but to be entered into lente, lente, slowly, slowly… Prepare to travel unfamiliar roads. Soak it in. Take time to visualize the color palette of landscapes and experiences. One chapter at a time is enough. Read not for information but for an understanding that passes analytical comprehension. From the story of Lily Trotter comes deep nurturing food for the soul.
By any measure, this book is also a milestone in MacDonald studies. There is no index, but MacDonald comes into view in practically every chapter. In the current issue of North Wind, John McNeill documents a letter from Lilias Trotter to George MacDonald recounting her reading of MacDonald’s The Seaboard Parish: “At Eveningtime It Shall Be Light: George MacDonald’s Influence on Lilias Trotter,” North Wind 43, no. 3 (2026): Article 3. Trafton observes how Trotter’s own story interweaves with the plot of MacDonald’s The Seaboard Parish. In this regard see especially the chapters entitled “Crimson,” “Blue,” and “Green.” Studies of MacDonald in literary, theological, and social contexts are only enhanced by a greater understanding of MacDonald’s influence upon others in various spheres of life. For decades hence, many will come to MacDonald through Trafton’s heartening account of Lilias Trotter.
Trafton illumines the leading characteristics of MacDonald’s sacramental approach to nature and art and how we learn to observe with an “inward eye.” Artists and scientists alike help us to see what we did not see before. In the chapter entitled ‘Green,’ Trafton shows how these understandings enabled both MacDonald and Trotter to respond to questions raised by 19th-century science. For anyone interested in the themes of my forthcoming book on MacDonald and the Scientific Imagination, I can do no better than to say that you will find insight and joy if you set aside some weeks to ponder If Only We Could See.
I hope none of my friends will go without reading this book. I will savor my dog-eared copy for years to come. I will read it whenever I am seeking hope on this journey toward the New Creation. It is a masterpiece of writing on nature, art, calling, and the imagination.
For a brief but compelling introduction to Lilias Trotter, watch the documentary “Many Beautiful Things,” available at youTube and on Amazon Prime. If you watch this, you will desire more. That more is what you will find in Jennifer’s book.
