“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Conclusion
C.S. Lewis Read-Along Vol. 1, Issue 19
We’ve come to the end of our read-along of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Below are links and summaries for each issue of the first volume, which includes introductory pieces and all 17 chapters.
If you want to explore more, you can find links to all the resources used for this series, including: 24 books by C.S. Lewis, 13 books about Lewis, and 29 other related articles, podcasts, and books.
Paid subscribers have full access to the entire read-along for each chapter.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe read-along links
Why Read “The Chronicles of Narnia”? — Narnia endures because Lewis gives us a story that captures our heart and refuses to let go. Narnia endures because it reflects the grand narrative, the gospel.
In What Order Should You Read “The Chronicles of Narnia”? — The reading order only matters for those reading the books for the first time. But that initial reading and the introduction to Narnia matters a great deal, which is why I disagree with the current ordering of the series.
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Introduction — In the beginning, fire consumed all of Narnia. Well, it at least consumed Lewis’ first attempt at writing a children’s fairy story in the late 1930s.
Chapter 1: Lucy Looks Into a Wardrobe — C.S. Lewis’ desire to leave behind the troubles of a mundane Monday led him to create His own fantasy world, but also drove him to discover the reality behind his fairy tale longings.
Chapter 2: What Lucy Found There — This chapter may be one of the best chapters in all of Narnia, but it may also be the chapter that cemented J.R.R. Tolkien’s dislike of Lewis’ series.
Chapter 3: Edmund and the Wardrobe — You don’t know if you will meet a Tumnus or a White Witch today, but you can cultivate a heart that rightly sees each opportunity.
Chapter 4: Turkish Delight — Due to its lack of substance, Turkish delight gives us a perfect illustration of sin and temptation.
Chapter 5: Back on This Side of the Door — Lewis dedicated “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” to his goddaughter Lucy Barfield, but he patterned the character Lucy after June Flewett, an evacuee who stayed in his home for two years.
Chapter 6: Into the Forest — The lessons we learn from fantastical worlds translates to the real world. The values we appreciate in imaginative adventures carry over to our own daily life.
Chapter 7: A Day With the Beavers — The first words we hear from Mr. Beaver are: “Further in!” Those words echo through Narnia until Jewel the unicorn calls everyone to “come further up, come further in” the new creation of Narnia.
Chapter 8: What Happened After Dinner — We often equate goodness and safety. Sometimes those overlap. But safety cannot be the highest goal of our lives.
Chapter 9: In the Witch's House — Moments of inconvenience and even pain are moments of grace for Edmund and can be the same for us.
Chapter 10: The Spell Begins to Break — The arrival of the true King into Narnia changes everything for the characters, just as the arrival of the true King into our world should change everything for us.
Chapter 11: Aslan Is Nearer — The change in Edmund mirrors the change in Narnia. As his heart begins to thaw so does the landscape around him.
Chapter 12: Peter's First Battle — As Lewis shows us through Peter, courage doesn’t mean you aren’t scared or worried; it means you don’t allow those fears or worries to prevent you from doing what you know needs to be done.
Chapter 13: Deep Magic From the Dawn of Time — As the witch flung accusations at him, Edmund never flinched. “It didn’t seem to matter what the witch said” because he’d “gotten past thinking about himself.”
Chapter 14: The Triumph of the Witch — Lucy notes the beauty of Aslan’s face even amid his humiliation and shame. Reflecting on the story so she could illustrate it, Pauline Baynes wept at the beauty of the scene.
Chapter 15: Deeper Magic Before the Dawn of Time — This chapter is a narrative version of Psalm 30:5—weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Chapter 16: What Happened About the Statues — The physical world picture in this chapter helps us visualize the fantasy world events, and both give us a deeper understanding of what happens in the spiritual world with salvation.
Chapter 17: The Hunting of the White Stag — In many ways, The Chronicles of Narnia read like a longing to get back home, but home at its best.
Further up and further in
Here are all of the resources used during this read-along.
Books by C.S. Lewis:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew — C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle — C.S. Lewis
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life — C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity — C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters — C.S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain — C.S. Lewis
Miracles — C.S Lewis
The Great Divorce — C.S. Lewis
The Ransom (or Space) Trilogy — C.S. Lewis
Till We Have Faces — C.S. Lewis
On Stories and Other Essays on Literature — C.S. Lewis
Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories — C.S. Lewis
Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer — C.S. Lewis
“Introduction to On the Incarnation by Athanasius” — C.S. Lewis
Boxen: Childhood Chronicles Before Narnia — C.S. Lewis
God in the Dock — C.S. Lewis essays, edited by Walter Hooper
They Stand Together: The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves — C.S. Lewis
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1: Family Letters, 1905-1931 — Editor: Walter Hooper
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2: Books, Broadcasts, and the War, 1931-1949 — Editor: Walter Hooper
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950-1963 — Editor: Walter Hooper
Books about C.S. Lewis:
C.S. Lewis: A Companion Guide — Walter Hooper
C.S. Lewis: A Biography — Walter Hooper and Roger Lancelyn Green
C.S. Lewis: A Life — Alister McGrath
Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis — George Sayer
A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C.S. Lewis — Devin Brown
Becoming C.S. Lewis: A Biography of Young Jack Lewis — Harry Lee Poe
The Making of C.S. Lewis: From Atheist to Apologist (1918-1945) — Harry Lee Poe
The Completion of C.S. Lewis: From War to Joy (1945-1963) — Harry Lee Poe
Lewis Agonistes: How C.S. Lewis Can Train Us to Wrestle with the Modern and Postmodern World — Louis Markos
The Soul of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe — Gene Veith
Into the Wardrobe: C.S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles — David C. Downing
Women and C.S. Lewis — Carolyn Curtis
The C.S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia — Editors: Jeffrey Schultz, John G. West, Jr.
Other:
Wade Center Podcast “Into Narnia, Vol. 1, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” — Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien — Editor: Humphrey Carpenter
Phantastes — George MacDonald
The Everlasting Man — G.K. Chesterton
Strong Poison — Dorothy Sayers
Rethink Your Self — Trevin Wax
“Tegnér's Drapa” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Sin (I)” — George Herbert
Farmer Giles of Ham — J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion — J.R.R. Tolkien
“The Woman Who Drew Narnia: Pauline Baynes” — Charlotte Cory
“Be Careful What You Read… C.S. Lewis’ Literary Encounter with George MacDonald” — Brenton Dickieson, A Pilgrim in Narnia
Disparaging Narnia: Reconsidering Tolkien's View of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” — Josh Long
Why Did J.R.R. Tolkien Dislike “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”? — K.R. Harriman
“Friends at Home: C. S. Lewis’s Social Relation at The Kilns,” Inklings Forever — David Beckmann
“Dear Mr. Lewis: The Narnia Author and His Young Readers,” Response — Clint Kelly
“Jill Freud, Inspiration for Lucy in ‘Narnia,’ Reveals C.S. Lewis Memories,” The Hollywood Reporter — Paul Bond
The Idea of the Holy — Rudolf Otto
“Illuminating the Numinous” — Lit Infinitum, Medium
“Images of the Numinous in T.H. White and C.S. Lewis” — Ed Chapman, Mythlore Vol. 4, No. 4
“Sister Penelope Lawson CSMV: Her Life, Writings and Legacy” Inklings Forever — Richard James
Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles — Editor: Shanna Caughey
The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, the Witch and the Worldview — Editors: Gregory Bassham, Jerry Walls, William Irwin
The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All — Editors: Gregory Bassham, Eric Bronson
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts — Editors: David Baggett, Shawn Klein, William Irwin
“Harry Potter vs. Gandalf” — Steven Greydanus