Aslan is not like Jesus (allegory): he is Jesus’ equivalent in Narnia. Perhaps this is a distinction without a difference to many readers, but it’s worth bearing in mind that if anyone should know what allegory is, it’s C. S. Lewis: he wrote a whole scholarly work, The Allegory of Love, about medieval and Renaissance allegory. My friends who first commented below form the political opposition to those Armies, bless 'em all. But my more apolitical friends ignore the melee and keep reading. Devotedly. And they're right... Veith, Gene (2008). The Soul of Prince Caspian: Exploring Spiritual Truth in the Land of Narnia. David C. Cook. ISBN 978-0-7814-4528-3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children, by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). In 2003, an Australian commercial stage production by Malcolm C. Cooke Productions toured the country, using both life-sized puppets and human actors. It was directed by notable film director Nadia Tass, and starred Amanda Muggleton, Dennis Olsen, Meaghan Davies, and Yolande Brown. [72] [73]

My greatest disappointment in 'The Screwtape Letters' was that Lewis was not able to demonstrate what made his good people good or his bad people bad. The closest he got to defining goodness was that you could tell the good people from the vague aura of light that surrounded them--and which even shone in their cat. In this book, the cat is much bigger. In chapter one of the American edition, the animals in which Edmund and Susan express interest are snakes and foxes rather than the foxes and rabbits of the British edition. [53] [54]

Narnia is caught in endless winter that has lasted a century when the children first enter. Norse tradition mythologises a "great winter", known as the Fimbulwinter, said to precede Ragnarök. The trapping of Edmund by the White Witch is reminiscent of the seduction and imprisonment of Kai by the Snow Queen in Hans Christian Andersen's novella of that name. [45] Several parallels are seen between the White Witch and the immortal white queen, Ayesha, of H. Rider Haggard's She, a novel greatly admired by Lewis. [46] This book is about four children whose names were Ann, Martin, Rose and Peter. But it is most about Peter, who was the youngest. They all had to go away from London suddenly because of Air Raids, and because Father, who was in the Army, had gone off to the War and Mother was doing some kind of war work. They were sent to stay with a kind of relation of Mother's who was a very old professor who lived all by himself in the country. [13]

I’ve seen a lot of hate over these books because of the Christian allegories involved in the storytelling. Now I find this somewhat stupid. I’m not a Christian, far from it, but you can’t really criticise a book because of this. It’s incredibly naïve. It would be like judging Jane Eyre based on its feminism aspects or Shakespeare’s exploration of colonialism in The Tempest. It’s silly. This book is, undeniable, full of Christian dogmatism. But it’s what the author wanted it to be. If you read Tolkien’s work there are so many allusions the world wars; this doesn’t affect the overall storytelling. It’s simply what is there. Read this with an open mind, as an English Literature student, I read the bible. I don’t believe the words inside, but I can still enjoy the experience. And this story is no different. Take it for what it is.Bird, Elizabeth (7 July 2012). "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results". A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com). Archived from the original on 13 July 2012 . Retrieved 22 August 2012. Lindskoog, Kathryn. Journey into Narnia. Pasadena, CA: Hope Publ House. ISBN 978-0-932727-89-3. pp. 44–46. a b c "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe; a story for children" (first edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Let's all, gentle readers, abandon the sad sights of the blind leading the blind for the Real world of Narnia, once again.

Sturgis, Amy H.(2007) Past Watchful Dragons: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C.S. Lewis. Mythopoeic Press, Altadena, California. ISBN 1-887726-11-X (p. 77) Part of the reason for the novel’s broader appeal, even in an increasingly secular age, is that it provides escapism and wish-fulfilment aplenty. The whole idea of a portal to another world symbolises the children’s literal escape from a dreary wartime world (where the danger of being bombed during the Blitz has given way to a rather dull life in the countryside with a professor) into a world of crisp snow, magic, and adventure.Finally, the best part of this reread was that I read it out loud to my 7 and 5 year old. It feels great to pass great books on to them. Also, it was magical to watch how much they enjoyed it. They we're even drawing pictures of the characters and running around the house pretending to look for the wardrobe!