The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia

Many years ago, this book brought me out of a deep depression. I had fallen sick in my early 20s, following a difficult departure from a Christian cult. Lewis's wonderful story of Aslan restored my relationship with Jesus. His Narnia stories have enriched my heart through the 50 years since then. This story stands as one of the iconic Christian books of the modern world, faithfully bringing the Deeper Magic into an increasingly confused and cynical world.

It can be a risk to re-read books that you loved as a child or a teen. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of the books that I read countless times as I was growing up. The world of Narnia never got old or boring. Happily, I enjoyed this as much 40+ years later! Published in 1950, this was the then first book of the Narnia series. A prequel was published later. I read other books in the Narnia series, but this was always my favorite. People will tell you that this is a story about Christianity, a retelling of stories from the Bible, or an allegory. As a child I thought this was a wonderful fairy tale. As an adult, I was able to see the moral or Christian parallels but I chose to ignore them and read this as a fairy tale. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy live in London but they are sent to the countryside during WWII to escape the blitz. They are housed with an elderly and wise professor and his strict and intimidating housekeeper in an old mansion. While playing hide and seek on a rainy day, Lucy hides in wardrobe. Behind the fur coats is the land of Narnia. Narnia is ruled by the White Witch and she has made the land "always winter but never Christmas." Narnia is divided into good animals and bad animals who serve the Witch. Lucy is helped by a "good" faun, who protects her from the Witch. The presence of a human in Narnia is threatening to the Witch and all the animals have been told to alert her immediately. Lucy safely returns home and her siblings do not believe her story. Edmund and Lucy then find Narnia together but he meets the White Witch and is put under her spell. On returning home, he lies to the two older siblings and claims Narnia does not exist. Eventually, all four siblings end up in Narnia, though with Edmund sneaking off to see the Witch. With the help of Mr. & Mrs. Beaver, Peter, Susan, and Lucy go to meet Aslan the Lion and together they battle to save Narnia. Each child is given a special task and a magical tool. Aslan makes huge sacrifices to save Edmund. The good and bad animals of the forest do battle and being a fairy tale, there is a happy ending. This book really sparked my imagination when I was a child. I just love the idea of a secret wardrobe that leads to another world. I still do! The book is dedicated to Mr. Lewis' goddaughter Lucy. It reads as if your kindly godfather was telling you a wonderful story. I love the little asides by the narrator. As a child, I did not realize that the story took place during WWII or that many children were removed from London for their safety. Otherwise, the story is as I remembered and I believe the illustrations are the same. This is a classic for a reason. If you missed it in childhood, read it yourself or share it with a special young person. It was lovely to visit Narnia again!

My daughter enjoyed this book. It was a summer read.

This Review is for the HarperCollins hardcover edition of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". This printing uses the original text from the British edition of the book, rather than include the changes that C.S. Lewis made prior to the publication of the American edition. In 1950, C. S. Lewis's first book of The Chronicles of Narnia, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" was published. This book would later be considered the 2nd in the series' internal chronology. If you are coming to this book after seeing the movie version as I did, you will find that it is aimed at a younger audience. This book serves well as an introduction to the fantasy genre for young readers. At a little under 200 pages, it is a fairly quick read. In 2001, it was nominated for the Retro Hugo for novels published in the year 1950. The story is about four children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie) who are sent out of London during World War II to the English midlands to keep them safe. There they stay in a Professor's large house. While exploring the house, they find a room with just a single Wardrobe in it, which Lucy soon finds sometimes acts as a doorway to Narnia. The other children don't believe her at first, but later when trying to hide from the housekeeper they are all find themselves in the mystical land of Narnia. They find that Narnia is in a perpetual winter without Christmas, caused by the White Witch who claims to be the Queen of Narnia. They soon learn that they are prophesized to bring an end to the evil of the White Witch, and they learn of Aslan, a great lion and leader who has returned to the land and who is the true King of Narnia. Much has been written of the use of Christian themes which run through the story. Some of them are quite obvious, such as the references to the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and the winters without Christmas. Others are a bit more subtle such as the betrayal, death, and resurrection stories. Lewis also drew on other mythology though, such as Norse and Greek in some of the creatures which inhabit Narnia. In any event, the Christian themes are not too heavy handed, and the book can easily be enjoyed by readers of any faith for what it is, a fantasy. The overall result is a fun light read for young readers. As the age of the reader goes up, the amount of enjoyment will undoubtedly go down, as this story lacks the detail and texture which can be found in Lewis's contemporary's work "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien. There are also some rather odd passages in the book, such as references to problems with Edmund which had never been discussed earlier and an inconsistency with regards to repeated travels to Narnia. These flaws are minor though, and this work is deservedly considered a classic.

My daughter loves this book.

Nice book for kids not to difficult to read with adventure fantasy and most important teaches true life lessons.

One of my great joys is sharing books that illuminated my childhood with my own child. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of my very favorite books, and it has been delightful to revisit this book and the rest of the series. I know they renumbered the volumes some years back, but to me this will always be Volume One in the series. This is the book that introduced me to the wonders of Narnia. This is the book that encouraged me to keep my eyes open, always, for that portal that might just appear to take me to another world. This book holds magic, rare and true; not only the magic inside Narnia itself but the magic of a truly enveloping book. The Pevensie children have left their home behind during the Blitz. Like so many children in England during World War 2, they have been sent to a strange place for safety. But the narrative of the war fades away under the excitement of discovering first the joys of the rambling country estate where they are staying, and then the world of Narnia. The reader has that experience of discovery along with Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter. The sensory details (the snow, the fur coats, the light from the lamppost, the cozy homes of Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, the food—Turkish Delight, anyone?) and the quick-moving adventure laced with magic combine to create a world that feels so real that I have never quite stopped looking for it outside the pages of the book. Once a King or Queen in Narnia, indeed. This is one of the books that stays with the reader long after the pages have been finished. I have read this book many times, and the world I am in always slips away as I follow Lucy through the doors of the wardrobe and find myself in Narnia, in that magical world where good beings battle to overturn the reign of the White Witch who has made it always winter, yet never Christmas. This book is also ideal for a read-aloud bedtime story, although do not be surprised if your child keeps asking you to read more! I recommend this book with all my heart to anyone who loves portal fiction, books about magic, fairy tales, and children’s books in general. Like many works of art, it is a different book each time I encounter it, perhaps because I am a different reader. Like all the best children’s books, this one is really for all ages.

I won't get into the controversy over which to read first...there is plenty of these reviews to read already, but personally I don't think it really matters that much. I did not read these as a child(somehow I missed that!), but stumbled across this same edition of "The Magician's Nephew" in a box of hand me down books that we received and decided to read it out loud to my 7 year old. The book said 1 and so I read it first, and we both were instantly hooked. When we finished I came to find the iconic "The Lion The Witch, and the Wardrobe" so we could continue, and figured that this was a series that was worth owning. As is with any popular book, there was a huge variety of editions and sets to choose from, which can be overwhelming to sort through. Plus the reviews are all mixed up, so finding a review that focused on the edition and not content was also tough. Since we already had "the Magician Nephew" in this full color collectors edition, I scrolled through all the paperback choices until I found the same, and I can say that it was worth the small effort to do so! It is a really gorgeous paperback; thick, glossy, bright white pages with original artwork by Ms. Baynes that is vibrantly and tastefully colorized. The cover art is also original, which really is nice as it matches the inside work and makes for a cohesive experience(that newer, fancy lion image on the cover of other books is really quite different looking than the inside images). After finishing this book, I borrowed a copy of "Prince Caspian" from my library so I could continue reading it to my son, and I can say that the traditional newsprint paperback pages are so inferior, and really makes reading this book less enjoyable, especially for reading out loud. Seems silly, but truly the black font on the bright white background is so much nicer, and the color illustrations, while not necessary are a really nice touch, especially for children who still like to see pictures! Needless to say, I have ordered "Prince Caspian" in this edition,even though we are just about finished reading the library copy, and the next couple books as well, to add to our collection. I plan on getting them all so as to have a complete set. At a price point around $8.00 each, these make a nice gift, either as individual books, or for a really special someone, search out the whole set. I have not seen any of the boxed sets of these particular books, and none that I looked over seemed to have this same cover art or quality. I think to get this edition as a set you will have to buy them one at a time and box them yourself. Worth the effort in my opinion, but then again I am a sucker for quality objects.

Nice

I loved this book. It was so wonderful and lesson-teaching. The story was very complex and imaginative. For example, every single word developed into some kind of movie inside my head! Awesome book!!!!

Nice packing, pay qualities is too good

Comprato per mia figlia di 11 anni che frequenta scuola internazionale, a lei è piaciuto molto, la trama è complessa.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is something really quite special. It's a children's book, of course, and high fantasy, but it's also a miniature epic, a sweeping and powerful tale of good and evil. The novel introduces to Narnia just as if the reader was one of the characters. There's no pretension to the book; it is narrated by C S Lewis as if he were sitting by the fireplace reading it aloud, complete with little asides and opinions, and that's one of its greatest strengths. Not only does Lewis's voice allow him to conversationally describe richly-drawn creatures and places, it also means he can be direct in describing character's emotions. There are many themes at the heart of the story - love, faith and forgiveness to name but a few - and the omniscient narration means the subtley of those concepts won't be lost on younger readers. Some familiar structures within the book might bypass children, but adults will be able to recognise several powerful scenes in the book. Aslan, the Lion of the title and one of the most iconic characters in literature, is a carefully wielded force in the story. Introduced through rumour and allusion before making his true appearance in the final third, he's a wise and powerful character that parallels gods, kings and even Christ. Though the power of Aslan's movements in the tale will still possess the wallop to affect younger readers, it's adults who will appreciate the sheer scope of what Lewis has achieved here. Epic though it is, the novel is comparatively small. What is most surprising is that the story is not short - it follows several characters through different plot strands and never feels as if it's compromising on description. Lewis is able to communicate his vision with careful language, so that the story is not slowed by any unnecessary weight. The plot arcs are fairly straightforward but well planned, driving the story on as characters meet and part and meet once again. It's a joy to read, with never a dull moment. Compact and accessible as it is, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a scaled-down epic that loses none of the impact of a full-sized saga. It's enchanting, moving and comforting, scary, immersive and thought-provoking. A true masterpiece and classic of literature.