Book #182: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

 

The Chronicles of Narnia:

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

C.S. Lewis

 Released: October 16th, 1950

My 48th book for 2026 was C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.  

I always remember hearing about the Chronicles of Narnia growing up.  I never bothered to get into reading them until now.  They're quite good.  I think I need motivation to read something, so after years of hearing about it being a classic, I dove right in.

This story features children who discover a wardrobe that leads to an alternate world based in fantasy.  Lucy discovers Narnia first, and befriends a faun named Tumnus.  After initially downplaying her story, Edmund is the next to discover Narnia, however his discovery leads him to forming a bond with the Witch Queen.  Soon after, all the children make their way in, and make friends with the Beavers.  The Beavers help them seek out Aslan, a magical lion who leads the world against the Witch Queen.  Aslan sets out to confront the Queen, and appears to die trying.  He uses magic to revive himself and leads an assault on the Queen's fortress.

I saw the movie years ago, but then when I started collecting the Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Editions, I saw they had collected the Chronicles into a nice little edition.  There was only one small problem: it had gone out of print.  I'm not sure if it was a licensing thing or a small release but it happened.

I was at Half-Price Books in Bethel Park, PA.  A little south of Pittsburgh.  I used to travel up there to take Instacart orders around the city.  I remember going through the store because I was reading the Harry Potter books at the time.  I found the leatherbound in patchy shape, but while it had some water damage, the copy was still very readable.  At $20, I couldn't pass it up.  Especially after seeing what it goes for online in good condition...

So I got the book and planned to read it this year.  Excellent choice.

I know it's a children's book, but this certainly does well to expand the mind.  There are themes of loyalty, bravery, sadness, adventure.  It has it all.

It's hard to not sympathize with Lucy as she tries to tell the others about the Wardrobe and its passage.  Edmund is confronted with loyalty issues as he reports to the Queen, but does not realize until too late that she is working against his siblings.  Peter and Susan embrace their new roles within Narnia, and take power to make a difference.  

It was a good short read, and powerful enough to leave me hungry for more.  Good thing there's 6 more novels to go.

Something I had difficulty with was whether or not to read it in Publication order or Chronological order.  My friends Lauren and Cindy recommended Chronological citing difficulties with prequels in the middle of a series.  Matthew, Karissa, and Becca opted for Publication order stating that The Magician's Nephew wouldn't make sense, memories of parents rereading them again and again growing up, natural flow, and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe being the novel that makes you fall in love with the series.  

Publication won out 3-2, so that's the order I went with.  It's interesting because the Leatherbound itself goes in Chronological order.  I might have to go back sometime and reread it in Chronological order.  I have heard that if you do it that way, you could miss out or be spoiled to certain things within the series.  It's difficult because with Star Wars, I put them in order despite having read them mostly out of order.

Anyways, charming read.  Can't wait for more.

Here is what I learned:

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• To Lucy Barfield.   My Dear Lucy, I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it.I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, C. S. LEWIS.
• Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are 4 children who live in WWII London.
• The children are sent to the house of a professor who lives in the heart of the country.
• The Professor has a housemaid named Mrs. Macready.
• Lucy is the first to discover Narnia.
• Lucy meets a talking Faun.
• The Faun has never seen a human before.
• The Faun’s name is Tumnus.
• The castle of Cair Paravel lies on the eastern sea of Narnia.
• The wardrobe Lucy enters connects into the wild woods of the West.
• Nymphs live in the wells.
• Dryads live in the trees.
• Red Dwarfs live in deep mines and caverns far beneath the forest floor.
• Tumnus has taken a job under the White Witch against his father’s wishes.
• He believes this makes him the worst Faun of all time.
• Edmund is the next to discover Narnia.
• Edmund meets the Queen.
• Edmund enjoys eating Turkish Delight.
• The Professor suggests that Narnia exists in an alternate universe.
• “No one could say you had bagged a coat as long as you leave it in the wardrobe where you found it.”
• Tumnus has been arrested for High Treason again her Imperial Majesty Jadis.
• Jadis is the Queen of Narnia.
• Word on the street is that Aslan is on the move.
• The Beaver’s house is shaped like a beehive.
• Mr. Beaver catches fish.
• Mr. Beaver drinks beer.
• Edmunds betrays the children.
• Mrs Beaver wants to bring her sewing machine.
• Peter is given a sword and a shield.
• Susan is given a bow and quiver full of arrows.
• Lucy is given a reviving potion and a dagger.
• The Witch Queen sends the wolves after the beavers.
• The Queen turns animals to stone.
• Peter is set to become the new King.
• Lucy and Susan accompany Aslan until he must separate.
• Aslan chests death using magic.
• Giant Rumblebuffin lets them out of the Witch’s Fortress.
• The Buffins are one of the most respected Giant families in Narnia.
• Lucy saved an injured Edmund’s life.
• The children and Aslan defeat the Queen.

—————

Overall, excellent read.  The story has charm, humor, suspense, and leaves you wanting more.  Well done, and on to the next one.

Highly Recommendation.

On to Book #183: The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: The Chris Farley Show.

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Want to read more of the Chronicles of Narnia series?  See also:

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Horse and His Boy

The Magician's Nephew

The Last Battle