The Lefay Fragment

The Lefay Fragment was an unfinished prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis wrote immediately after finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in June 1949, even before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published. Most of the ideas would later become what is known as The Magician's Nephew today. However, some of the ideas and Characters subsequently ended up in Prince Caspian, which he wrote after ultimately dismissing the Lefay Fragment and writing Prince Caspian instead. It presented the story of Digory and Polly differently as it is known today in The Magician's Nephew.

History
Immediately after finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis set out to write a prequel, intending to explain the creation of Narnia and the surreal Element of the Lamp-post in Lantern Waste. After going through it at one point and in talks with his publisher, he ultimately decided to dismiss it, as it was "too dark" and "not going where he wanted to" and set out to write a sequel, Prince Caspian, instead. The Legacy of this unfinished fragment remains however, as many ideas and characters are presented in the other chronicles and the fragment remained as it was found by his secretary, Walter Hooper, and ultimately widely published in his publication "Past Watchful Dragons" in 1979.

Plot Summary
To come.

Characters
Digory Kirke

Polly Plummer

Mrs. Lefay

Aunt Gertrude

Pattertwig

Oak

Commentary and Trivia

 * Digory Kirke is able to talk to animals and plants in England, which raises a few interesting points about the idea of sentience of animals and plants in England in addition to Narnia. However, this point and idea was ultimately dropped in every subsequent novel as well.
 * Mrs. Lefay shares the same name of a different Character in Magician's Nephew. Even though the name indicates so, they don't seem to be related and quite a different personality over all. Even though they both share non-human blood (dwarfen in the case of this Mrs. Lefay), their role is very much different, with this Lefay serving a similar role to Digory as Doctor Cornelius does to Caspian in the subsequent novel, Prince Caspian.
 * Pattertwig appears as a very talkative squirrel, as he does in Prince Caspian with the point of how it is rude to watch a squirrel going after its hoard being the same.
 * Aunt Gertrude's personality and characterisation was nearly identical to the Headmistress of Experiment House in The Silver Chair.