Pocket Companion to Narnia : A Concise Guide to the Magical World of C. S. Lewis

by Paul F. Ford

• ISBN13: 9780060791285
• ISBN10: 0060791284
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

The pocket guide is an adventurer's passport to the land of Narnia. From Aslan, the great lion, to Zardeenah, the mysterious lady of the night, this comprehensive and accessible companion contains hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries covering all the characters, events, places, and themes that Lewis magically wove into his timeless and magical world. This little book will be perfect for the millions of kids and parents who already love the Narnia books and want to go deeper into that world, as well as for those newly drawn to the story by the Narnia movie. The Pocket Companion is a perfect gift book, a natural movie tie-in, and will continue to help readers and fans get closer to the magical world of Narnia for years to come.

Excerpts

Pocket Companion to Narnia
A Guide to the Magical World of C.S. Lewis

Advice to an Intelligent Reader
from an Intelligent Reader or
Reading This Will Make You Smarter

This book has many spoilers! Please read the Chronicles ofNarnia first. Only then read this Pocket Companion. I can't beyour companion until you have "gone there" first.

C. S. Lewis wrote these books for you, and he meantyou to read them with your head and your heart and yourfeelings. The books are so exciting that you will probablyrace through them the first time. OK.

But when you reread them, pay attention to the colorwords, the verbs, the adjectives, and the adverbs.

Try to avoid looking for hidden meanings, as if theChronicles were codebooks.

C. S. Lewis was very careful not to decode the Chroniclesfor the children who wrote him about their meaning.Typical of his responses is the answer he made to HilaNewman when she wrote to him about the meaning of theending of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Hasthere never been anyone in this world who (1) Arrivedat the same time as Father Christmas (2) Said he wasthe son of the Great Emperor (3) Gave himself up forsomeone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people (4) Came to life again (5) Is sometimesspoken of as a Lamb (see the end of The DawnTreader). Don't you really know His name in thisworld? Think it over and let me know your answer!(Letters to Children, 3 June 1953)

In Which Order Should the
Chronicles Be Read?

The Order by Year of First Publication --
the Canonical Order

Before 1994 there was only one reading order, what scholarshave come to call the canonical order, the order in whichthe chronicles were first published, and they were numberedaccordingly:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (published 1950)
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (published 1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader the Caspian triad (published 1952)
The Silver Chair (published 1953)
The Horse and His Boy (published 1954)
The Magician's Nephew (published 1955)
The Last Battle (published 1956)

So, although C. S. Lewis completed The Horse and HisBoy before The Silver Chair, the latter was published first, inorder to keep together the triad of books in which Caspianis a major character . . .

Pocket Companion to Narnia
A Guide to the Magical World of C.S. Lewis. Copyright © by Paul F. Ford. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Pocket Companion to Narnia: A Concise Guide to the Magical World of C. S. Lewis by Paul F. Ford
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.