The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. They present the adventures of children who play crucial roles in the unfolding history of the realm of Narnia where some animals talk, magic is rampant, and good is fighting evil. The books are also known for their illustrations by Pauline Baynes. The stories illustrate, through allegory, aspects of Christian theology in a way accessible to children.

Contents

1 Commentary 2 Numbering the books, publication order and internal chronology 3 Narnia in other media 3.1 Television 3.2 Radio 3.3 Cinema 4 Works influenced 5 Source of the name 6 Geograpahical Influences 7 External links

Commentary

The books can be read as allegory, though a strict allegorical reading can be quite confusing and reductionist. The books do contain many allusions to Christian ideas (Aslan, the lion, is the equivalent of Jesus). Lewis, a devout adult convert to Christianity, had stated his intention to make the Chronicles serve as a means to introduce Christian theological concepts to children, while remaining entertaining enough to hold young audiences.

In this Lewis succeeded. The Chronicles of Narnia have become favourites with both children and adults. The extra theological load is well incorporated; the books are not weighty in the least, unlike Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and can be read for their adventure, colour, and fun without concern for the larger issues. Lewis himself claimed the books were not allegorical but "suppositional", more like what we would now call alternative history—supposing such a world as that described therein, and assuming the need for certain religious situations—a divine Creation, a trinitarian element comparable to Jesus coming to the world, and others—what would happen?

One of Lewis's early academic publications was The Allegory of Love (1936), about medieval allegories of courtly love. Consequently he preferred a strict definition of allegory, as he wrote to another young fan:

"I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.'"

On the other hand, Lewis did have a more loosely defined allegory in mind, as he wrote to another fan:

"The whole series works out like this:

• The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia,
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - the Crucifixion and Resurrection,
• The Horse and His Boy - the calling and conversion of the heathen,
• Prince Caspian - restoration of the true religion after a corruption,
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep),
• The Silver Chair - the continuing war against the powers of darkness,
• The Last Battle - the coming of Antichrist (the ape). The end of the world and the last judgement."

Numbering the books, publication order and internal chronology

The books of the series, in the order of their publication, are:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian (1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
4. The Silver Chair (1953)
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
6. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

The first American publisher, Macmillan, put numbers on the books and used the publication order. When HarperCollins took over the series, the books were renumbered using the internal chronological order, as suggested by Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham.

1. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
3. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
4. Prince Caspian (1951)
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
6. The Silver Chair (1953)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

Gresham quoted Lewis's reply to a letter from an American fan in 1957, who was having an argument with his mother about the order:

"I think I agree with your order (i.e. chronological) for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published."

Nevertheless, the reordering has brought ire from many fans of the series, who appreciate the original order which introduces elements of the Narnia universe in the early part of the series and then provides explanation for these familiar elements later in the prequels, in particular the creation story in The Magician's Nephew.

Narnia in other media

Television

The Chronicles of Narnia were turned into a successful BBC television series in 1988–1990. Only The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair were filmed. The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle were not filmed.

Radio

There have also been BBC Radio and Focus on the Family Radio Theater dramatizations of the novels.

Cinema

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is being made into a film directed by Andrew Adamson and with a screenplay written by Ann Peacock . [1] Like The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the film is being made in New Zealand. The website stuff.co.nz reported in December 2003 that "Work on the film begins [in January, 2004] in Auckland." [2] Tilda Swinton was cast as the White Witch. Principal photography has been completed, and the film will be released by Disney in December 2005 (December 9 in the United States).

Works influenced

A more recent British series of novels, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, has been seen as an "answer" to the Narnia books. The His Dark Materials series favours science and reason over religion, wholly rejecting the themes of Christian theology which permeate the Narnia series, but possess many of the same issues, subject matter, and types of characters (including talking animals) as those in the Chronicles of Narnia.

The Sandman comic book series written by Neil Gaiman, in its story arc entitled "A Game of You," features a Narnia-like fantasy land that can be visited from the real world.

Source of the name

Narnia is the Latin name of an Italian town now named Narni, located very close to Rome. This town was so named from 299 BC. It has been said that Lewis named Narnia for this town, which he had come across in an atlas as a child.

Geograpahical Influences

Lewis reportedly based his depiction of Narnia on the geography and scenery of the Mourne Mountains in County Down in his native Northern Ireland.

External links

• What Order Should I Read the Narnia Books in (And Does It Matter?)
• C.S. Lewis FAQ
• NarniaFans.com - Dedicated to the Chronicles of Narnia