Chronicles of Narnia, The, is a series of seven fantasy novels for young readers written by the English author C. S. Lewis. The books were published from 1950 to 1956 and collected as The Chronicles of Narnia in 1965. The series consists of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), Prince Caspian (1951), The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician’s Nephew (1955), and The Last Battle (1956).
Lewis wrote the first book for his goddaughter, Lucy Barfield. He used her, her sister, and her two brothers as models for the main characters throughout the series. Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and Peter Pevensie are moved from London to a home in the English countryside for their safety during World War II (1939-1945). There they discover a wardrobe that is the entry to the magical kingdom of Narnia. Narnia is a land inhabited by creatures from legend and mythology. The novels follow the adventures of the children in Narnia.
The most important character in Narnia is Aslan the lion. Aslan founded and rules the kingdom. The novels portray an ongoing battle between good and evil in Narnia. Evil forces are represented by vicious warriors from neighboring Telmar as well as Queen Jadis, the White Witch, who enslaved Narnia in a 100-year winter.
C. S. Lewis was a well-known teacher of medieval literature at Oxford University in England. His Narnia novels reflect the influence of the Middle Ages in their religious mythology. Critics have particularly noted the Christian religious themes of temptation, trust, sacrifice, and salvation. Several of the books were made into a popular series of motion pictures, beginning with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
See also Lewis, C. S.
