The parallels between the fictional life MacGregor created for Lord MacDonald and recent events in his own life cannot be overlooked. Certainly, MacGregor was very aware of them and writing in the fall 1865 edition of the Edenborough Review he was at pains to report that while he and Lord MacDonald had much in common the fictional character was “the better man”.

To sum up the key similarities:

• Both men are recently married to second wives after a period of widowhood.
• Clara MacDonald is expecting a child, as, at the time of writing, was Lady MacGregor.
• The duties of both men take them away from their wives: Lord MacDonald to Winchester to attend a funeral, MacGregor to his writing desk to earn a living.
• There is one other parallel which MacGregor confessed to in his journals but to include it here would be premature. We shall refer to it in due course.

Against this there are numerous dissimilarities:

• MacDonald has a son from his first wife. MacGregor’s son died in the same tragedy as his wife.
• MacDonald’s new wife is young and inexperienced. Lady Helena was a widow in her middle-thirties when she married MacGregor.
• MacDonald’s separation from his wife is total, but of short duration. MacGregor’s separation from Lady MacGregor was partial (both shared the same household) but arguably permanent since he continued working until his death.

In The Wizard of the North (King James University Press, 1930), Dr Crabtree notes the parallels between MacGregor and MacDonald fall well short of proving MacGregor made him his simulacrum. Notably, outside the marital and domestic arena their circumstances and obligations are quite different. However, the tone of Dr Crabtree’s argument is questionable. In particular, his opinion,

for the female of the species a good marriage is the main event of life while for the male it is always an accessory,

 is dated and, as proved by his reaction to the death of Lady Madeleine, did not accord with MacGregor’s views on marriage. Sadly, it probably reflects Dr Crabtree’s unconventional marriage to the actress and socialite Liberty Pearl, as revealed in her autobiography Shadows on the Sky, (Partridge Press, 1956), though as his ex-wife would tell you your editor is no expert on marital relations.

What I believe demonstrable is MacGregor drew on his experience of grief and its aftermath to describe MacDonald’s lingering grief for his first wife and cautious embrace of Lady Clara. It is as though MacDonald is reluctant to accept the possibility of happiness and thus holds Clara at a distance, both emotionally and literally as he leaves her to attend Prince William’s funeral. The same caution is revealed in MacGregor’s journals where, even as his relations with Helena Northwood blossomed, he became increasingly protective of his grief for Madeleine and even ordered the construction of a shrine for her in the grounds of Arbinger Abbey.

This curious construction of granite and wrought iron survived the loss of so much of the Arbinger Estate to the Edenborough orbital relief road and subsequent industrial development but it has lately fallen into disrepair and its future is uncertain. The Abbey gardens remain open to the public but while there are plans to turn part of the abbey into a museum dedicated to Tamburlaine MacGregor (yours truly is a trustee of the fundraising committee) it is presently occupied by the Dorothy Parkin Foundation for the Insane and admittance to the public is by appointment only.