The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe presents the story of four ordinary children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who find their way into the magical land of Narnia where they meet the great lion Aslan and take part in breaking the evil White Witch's evil reign of power.

Book Facts
Published in 1950, LWW was originally written as a stand alone book and was not intended to have any sequels. It was written for four children that had come to live with C.S. Lewis during the Second World War. The original characters were named Ann, Martin, Rose, and Peter. The book is dedicated to his goddaughter. It is the first of the series published. 

Plot Summary
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the four Pevensies stumble upon the World of Narnia during the Age of Winter.While exploring the house of Professor Digory Kirke during World War II, Lucy enters first Narnia and meets there Mister Tummnus, a faun. They become friends after he doesn't give her as a prisoner to the Queen of Narnia, Jadis, the White Witch. She then returns to England. Her siblings don't believe her. The second time she enters Narnia she is followed by Edmund. He meets the White Witch and is seduced by her. she gives him the task to bring his siblings to her when they all enter Narnia. Finally Peter and Susan venture in to the magical world. Once the four children reach the strange world they bring the lost hope that breaks the spell of the long winter. This is not done however, with out betrayal and it's price. Edmund leaves the group to go to the Witch's castle. There he meets Mister Tummnus and is taken as her prisoner. While he is in hostile, his siblings go on to find out about the Golden Age Prophecy and to embrace their destiny as the long awaited rulers of Narnia. After a battle between the White Witch's army and the Army of Aslan, the Great Lion, the Age of Winter is finally over and the children take their places as the kings and queens of Narnia.

Themes
Like all books LWW has themes or lessons. Some of these may include.
 * Embracing Destiny
 * Death
 * Resurection
 * Sacrifice
 * Good versus Evil (of course it needs this one!)

Time
The Narnian time of LWW is 1000 to 1015. It is the second book in the series chronologically. The English time or time on Earth is 1940 AD. The children return from Narnia in the exact moment they left their own world. This allows the children to be adults in Narnia and children when they return. The Professor advised them not to talk too much about it, but that does not mean they ever forgot.

Atmosphere
In Narnia, consistent with the acceleration of time, the atmosphere seems different and it changes the children stirring in them feelings of bravery and maturity. This may explain why they grow up in Narnia but are the same age when the return from it.