The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

by C. S. Lewis

No cover — C. S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2009, HarperCollins)

eBook

English language

Published July 30, 2009 by HarperCollins.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-732505-4

Beautiful hardback editions of the classic series with covers designed by award winning illustrator David Wiesner. The most loved of all the Chronicles, this wonderful tale can be enjoyed again and again. “This is the land of Narnia,” said the Faun, “where we are now. And you – you have come from the wild woods of the west?”“I – I got in through the wardrobe in the spare room,” said Lucy. Lucy steps into the Professor's wardrobe – but steps out again into a snowy forest. She's stumbled upon the magical world of Narnia, land of unicorns, centaurs, fauns... and the wicked White Witch, who terrorises all. Lucy soon realises that Narnia, and in particular Aslan, the great Lion, needs her help if the country's creatures are ever going to be free again.

84 editions

Kirk Moodey reviewed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, #2)

some people have a weird insistence that all stories agree with them

4 stars

I happened to rather enjoy this book as a child, despite being an atheist. Sure, it has some flaws (especially in the later books if I recall), and it has a lot of very obvious references to religion, but I genuinely don't get people who need books and their authors to agree with them on every single point. What's the point of hopping into other worlds if they only resemble what you personally think the world is like? Go read a nonfiction book if that's what you want.

David Atwell reviewed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, #2)

Review of 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The traditional entry point for my favorite fantasy series. I know most people prefer to read this first, but I find the line of Narnia more clean and beautiful if read from [b:The Magician's Nephew|65605|The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)|C.S. Lewis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1308814770s/65605.jpg|1031537].

But where that book is about building a world, this book - the beginning of Narnia's golden age - is all about building people. You see the Pevensie children become the great Kings and Queens of Narnia that they will be in future books. From Lucy's first glimpse of the world on the other side of the wardrobe to the melancholy return to reality in the end, every character is dynamic and comes out better.

When the country of Narnia is in danger, Aslan always brings help in his time. And the White Witch's eternal winter is no exception. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are just schoolchildren when they're brought in to help, but the prophecy is clear: when Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve sit enthroned in Cair Paravel, the world will be set right. It's an adventure that you've seen hints of in the movie, but a richer and fuller exploration of the world you'll come to love; this is Narnia at its height, rescued from its first great danger by the High King and his siblings for the first of many times. Subsequent books may be better, but this one - with its cast of amazing (and some literally wild) characters, eternal winter, and ice-cold villain - will always be the most memorable.