The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book)



"This is going to be exciting enough without pretending."

- Peter Pevensie

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, often shortened to LWW, was written by C. S. Lewis and published in 1950. It presents the story of four ordinary children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie - who find their way into the magical land of Narnia by way of a wardrobe that they stumble across stored in an old house. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first of the Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published, but it comes second in chronological order.

Chapter Listing

 * Lucy Looks into a Wardrobe
 * What Lucy Found There
 * Edmund and the Wardrobe
 * Turkish Delight
 * Back on This Side of the Door
 * Into the Forest
 * A Day with the Beavers
 * What Happened after Dinner
 * In the Witch's House
 * The Spell Begins to Break
 * Aslan Is Nearer
 * Peter's First Battle
 * Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time
 * The Triumph of the Witch
 * Deeper Magic from Before the Dawn of Time
 * What Happened about the Statues
 * The Hunting of the White Stag

About Narnia
Time

The Narnian setting of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was 1000 to 1015. The English time or time on Earth was 1940 AD. The children return from Narnia back to the exact moment that they had left their own world, which allows the children to be adults in Narnia and become children again when they return.

Atmosphere
In Narnia, the atmosphere is said to be different - as if the air was sweeter - and it changes the children during their travels; stirring in them feelings of bravery and maturity.

Inside the Wardrobe
Because of the dangers of war, the four Pevensie children were sent away from London to the home of Digory Kirke, who lived in a very large old house with many rooms for hiding and exploration. While playing hide and seek with her siblings, Peter, Susan and Edmond, Lucy decided to investigate an old wardrobe found in one of the remote rooms. Upon entering the wardrobe, Lucy found herself walking through trees, rather than the expected coats. She pressed on and found herself standing in the middle of a snowy wood next to a lamppost. It was not long before Lucy became friends with Tumnus the Faun, who later told her that he had intended to hand her over to the White Witch, the supposed Queen of Narnia.

Later, Lucy tried to tell her siblings about the strange land she had been in, but they did not believe a word she said. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy returned to the country in the wardrobe, and Edmund followed her. Although he denied it when the older children asked him, soon all four of them had gone into the wardrobe and seen Narnia. Susan, the most sensible of them, wanted to return home, but Lucy convinced Peter that they needed to help her new friend, Mr. Tumnus.

The Prophecy
"...down at Cair Paravel there are four thrones and it's a saying in Narnia time out of mind that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughter of Eve sit on those four thrones, then it will be the end only of the White Witch's reign but of her life..."

- Mr. Beaver The four children were soon found by Mr. Beaver, who took them home and told them of a Prophesy that said when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sat upon the four thrones at Cair Paravel, all Narnia would be put to rights. The children had no choice but to go with the beavers to meet Aslan and help the Narnians because it was the only way to help their brother, Edmund, who had gone over to the White Witch's side. The great lion Aslan saved Edmund's life, and the four children played a large part in saving Narnia from the Witch. When it was all over, they were crowned High King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.

Back to London
The four of them ruled over Narnia for many years, and grew into adults. The land prospered under them and the time of their rule became known as the Golden Age of Narnia. But one day, as they were hunting a White Stag in the woods they came across a lamppost, and as soon as they knew it they were tumbling back out of the wardrobe in the back room of the Professor's house.

Adaptations
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has been made into the following films for theater and television:
 * 1979: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Animated)
 * 1988: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (BBC)
 * 2005: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Disney movie)

It has also been produced in audio format:
 * 1998: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Focus on the Family Radio Theatre)
 * Harper Audio audiobook read by Michael York

Locations

 * London countryside
 * The Professor's House
 * Wardrobe
 * Lamp-post
 * Narnia
 * Tumnus' Cave
 * Cair Paravel
 * Beaver's Dam
 * Fords of Beruna
 * The Stone Table

Characters

 * Peter Pevensie
 * Susan Pevensie
 * Edmund Pevensie
 * Lucy Pevensie
 * The Professor
 * The Macready
 * Mr. Tumnus
 * The White Witch
 * Maugrim
 * Mr and Mrs Beaver
 * Father Christmas
 * Aslan