Post by Edmund the Just on May 11, 2012 20:20:27 GMT -6
The Magician's Nephew
Learn about the origins of Narnia, how Aslan the Lion created the world and how evil first entered it, in the form of Jadis, the White Witch. Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer stumble into a different world by experimenting with magic rings made by Digory's Uncle Andrew. They encounter the Witch in the dying world of Charn, and witness the birth of Narnia. At Aslan's direction, Digory plants the Tree of Protection, from which he plucks a golden apple to take home. The core is buried in his yard, from which a beautiful tree springs. Later, the timber from this tree is made into a wardrobe.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
*While the ones listed above are in chronological order as per the way Lewis wanted them read, what follows is the order in which they were written and devoured by their first generation audience.
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)
The Last Battle (1956)
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
The wardrobe commissioned for Digory Kirke is the door to Narnia in this novel. It tells the story of four ordinary siblings - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie. A game of hide-and-seek in Professor Kirke's house leads to hiding inside an old wardrobe. Lucy is the first to enter Narnia, where she befriends Mr. Tumnus the Faun, followed by Edmund, who is looking for Lucy but finds the White Witch instead. Calling herself the Queen of Narnia, she befriends Edmund and gives him enchanted Turkish Delight, which makes him give her vital information about his brother and sisters. Aslan, the Great Lion, sacrifices himself on the Stone Table for a reformed Edmund, who reunites with his siblings and together they save Narnia. They are crowned as Kings and Queens in Narnia's first oligarchy, and establish Narnia's Golden Age.
The Horse and His Boy
This story takes place during the reign of the Pevensies in Narnia, an era which begins and ends in the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A talking Horse called Bree and a young boy named Shasta, both of whom are in bondage in the country of Calormen, are the protagonists. They meet by chance and plot their return to Narnia and freedom. Along the way, they meet Aravis and her talking Horse, Hwin, who are also fleeing to Narnia.
Prince Caspian
Also called Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, this is the fourth book and the Pevensie's second trip to Narnia. They are drawn back by the power of Susan's horn, blown by Prince Caspian to summon help in his hour of need. Narnia as they know it is no more. Their castle in in ruins and all the dryads have retreated so far within themselves that only Aslan can wake them. Caspian has fled into the woods to escape his uncle, Miraz, who has killed Caspian's father and usurped the throne. Prince Caspian is crowned King Caspian X of Narnia.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia without Peter and Susan, the latter being deemed too old to come back. They do, however, bring their priggish cousin Eustace along unintentionally. Once there, they join Caspian X's voyage on the ship Dawn Treader to find the seven lords, friends of Caspian IX, whom Miraz had banished when he took the throne. This perilous journey brings them face to face with many wonders, including King Caspian the Seafarer's future wife, as they sail through dangerous waters and Aslan's country at the end of the world. This book is the last adventure in Narnia for the Pevensies, as Aslan tells a dismayed Edmund and Lucy that they too are now too old to come back.
The Silver Chair
Aslan calls Eustace back to Narnia, along with his classmate, Jill Pole. There, they are given four signs to aid in the search for the lost Prince Rilian, the son of King Caspian X and Queen Liliandil. Rilian disappeared ten years earlier, setting out to avenge his mother's death. Eustace and Jill, with the help of Puddleglum the Marsh-Wiggle, face danger and betrayal on their quest to make Narnia right again. Some say this is the second book to feature the White Witch, disguised as the Lady in the Green Kirtle, but there is a heated debate as to whether this is actually Jadis, or some other nefarious character.
The Last Battle
Eustace and Jill return to Narnia many years after their last visit in Narnian Time, and witness the rebellion of Shift the Ape, who has turned away from the ways of Aslan and taken over Narnia with a good-natured but slow Donkey named Puzzle. They aid King Tirian in taking his kingdom back, with his friend Jewel the Unicorn. As the title suggests, this is the last adventure in Narnia, according to the publishing timeline C.S. Lewis insisted on. A railway accident takes place at the end, wherein the Pevensies (with the exception of Susan, for some reason) die in a railway accident. Their heaven is not Narnia, but Aslan's country, where a new Narnia has been created for them to live in forever.
*While the ones listed above are in chronological order as per the way Lewis wanted them read, what follows is the order in which they were written and devoured by their first generation audience.
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)
The Last Battle (1956)