The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is a deadset children's classic. There's a kind of magic trapped in its words that will transport children into its fictions. It captures a feeling of nostalgia for childhood that also makes it healthy reading for adults, and the influence of this classic can still be felt reverberating through children's fantasy fiction today.

Our story starts with four children who are sent to live in the country with their uncle during World War II. Whilst there they discover a wardrobe that leads to another world, the wintery realm of Narnia - inhabited by fawns and talking beavers, and ruled with a tyrannical grip by an evil and icy witch named Jadis. One of the children gets mixed up with the Witch, tempted and corrupted by her evil, and breaks with the other children when they fall in with a messianic lion named Aslan. Aslan seeks to lead the inhabitants of Narnia against the evil Witch, freeing them from their neverending winter.

Now, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe is part of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, and whilst it was the first book Lewis wrote in the series it's actually the second book when you place them in narrative order... this means you can read The Magician's Nephew beforehand if you like. The Magician's Nephew draws parallels with the Old Testement, its tales of Creation, and the satan-like nature of Jadis, whereas The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is firmly rooted in the New Testement, with references to ressurection, betrayal and the redemptive nature of forgiveness. Lewis was a deeply religious man, and he built this allegorical tale around the Bible; Aslan is very much a re-imagining of Jesus in another land.

The first time I read this book the religious stuff went straight over my head (I was eight years old at the time), but upon re-reading it much later on, these aspects became very clear and hard to miss. Despite being fairly anti-Christian, I feel I can take it in fictional form. Lewis happens to be a very good writer and he allows for humour and adventure alongside his messages and so I felt like the Biblical allusions didn't take anything away from the story for non-believing heathen like myself.

It's actually not completely necessary to read The Magician's Nephew before you read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe can be read as very much a stand-alone children's classic and is suitable for all ages. It's a 'magical' story, in the most cliched sense of the word, and it deserves it's status as a cornerstone of fantasy fiction.