MacDonald was one of the first authors to establish fantasy as a literary genre. C.S. Lewis claimed that MacDonald was a mythopoetic genius and W.H. Auden hailed Lilith, published toward the end of MacDonald's career in 1895, as "equal if not superior to the best of Poe." The novel is the story of Mr. Vane, who inherits a large old house with a mysterious library. Through accident or fate, he discovers a mirror that has the ability to transport him to an alternate universe. MacDonald then sends the reader on a layered quest that can be interpreted as an allegory of both individual and social redemption.