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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (1950)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Fantasy
Point of View: 3rd Person
Age Recommendations: 8 and up
Main Characters: Pevensie Children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy), Aslan, The White Witch
Plot: World War II has just begun and four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, are evacuated from London in 1940 to escape the Blitz. They are sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke, who lives in a country house in the English countryside. One rainy day shortly after the children arrive, they decide to play hide-and-seek. Lucy, the youngest of the children, hides in a wardrobe, but discovers that the door to it is a portal to a snow-covered forest with a gaslight post in the centre. There she meets a faun, who introduces himself as Tumnus and invites her home for tea. He tells her that the land is called Narnia and it is ruled by the ruthless White Witch, who ensures that it is always Winter but never Christmas. Lucy returns, but her siblings don’t believe her “Narnia” story. Several weeks pass, Lucy re-enters Narnia and Edmund follows but meets a White Queen who promises to make him a Prince if he brings his brother and sisters to her. Lucy meets up with Edmund who is now alone and they head back through the wardrobe. When they arrive back in England, Edmund lies to Peter and Susan, claiming that he and Lucy were just playing and that the wardrobe is no more than an ordinary one, leaving Lucy very upset. Shortly thereafter, all four children hide in the wardrobe to avoid a tour group and find themselves in Narnia. Lucy guides them to Tumnus’s cave, only to discover that Tumnus has been captured. The children are sheltered by a pair of talking beavers named Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver, who recount an ancient prophecy that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve fill the four thrones at Cair Paravel, the witch’s power will fail. The beavers tell of the true king of Narnia — a great lion called Aslan — who has been absent for many years, but is now “On the move again.”
Edmund, still in the thrall of the witch, runs off to the White Witch’s castle and the others do not notice his departure until it is too late to recall him. Realizing that they have been betrayed, the others set off to find Aslan. When Edmund reaches the White Witch, she treats him harshly and, taking him with her, sets off to catch the other children.
However, her power is failing and a thaw strands her sleigh. The other children reach Aslan, and a penitent Edmund is rescued just as the witch is about to kill him. The witch demands that Edmund be returned to her, as an ancient law gives her possession of all traitors. Aslan, acknowledging the law, offers himself in Edmund’s place and the witch accepts. Aslan is sacrificed by the witch on the stone table. After the Witch leaves for battle, the stone table cracks and Aslan comes back to life. Aslan explains due to the “Deeper magic” an innocent being cannot be sacrificed. During the final battle, the witch is defeated and killed by Aslan. Afterward, the children become kings and queens of Narnia, and spend many years in Narnia, growing to maturity, before returning to their world unexpectedly, where they find themselves children again.
Theme: Aslan was, is, and always shall be victorious.
Impressions: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia by unequaled English author C.S. Lewis. These books are able to accomplish something that few other books in all of literature have been able to achieve. They are able to be at once great and entertaining literature as well as insightful and profound theology. Neither unnecessarily subtle nor offensively overbearing, the Christian allegory that Lewis unfolds is strong enough to be apparent to one accustomed to Christian narrative and imagery while not so blunt as to take away from the reading experience of one without such a frame of reference. The story is captivating–the magical land of Narnia and its mysterious inhabitants are portrayed vividly by Lewis. The characters, both the main children and the Narnian creatures, are colorful and entertaining. This is one that every person (whether young or old) should experience.

- ISBN13: 9780064471046
- Condition: New
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by C. S. Lewis. Paperback. Elementary Level Chapter Books
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Lucy’s, Edmund’s, Susan’s and Peter’s Adventures Available Together in a Box Set!
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