C. S. Lewis Discussion

The library will host a discussion of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis Monday, October 14 at 7:00 PM. This will be first discussion in the library’s fall series on British fantasy novels. The discussion will be free and open to the public and copies of the book will be available to borrow in advance.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first volume published in Lewis’s popular series The Chronicles of Narnia. It tells the story of four children in World War II-era England who travel to the mysterious world of Narnia, which is populated by talking animals and mythical creatures. The children find themselves the instruments of an ancient prophecy that may free Narnia from the rule of the evil White Witch.

Best remembered today as the author of the Narnia series, C. S. Lewis was a medievalist scholar who taught at Oxford and Cambridge. He was also known for a number of works of Christian apologetics, including Mere Christianity (adapted from a series of BBC radio broadcasts) and The Screwtape Letters. He was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, and they both belonged to an Oxford literary discussion group known as the Inklings.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a classic of children’s literature that has sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was published in 1950 and the remaining six volumes in the series appeared at intervals of one each year. The books have been continuously in print ever since, and have been adapted multiple times for other media. Three have been adapted in recent years as major Hollywood movies.

The library’s discussion series is entitled “The Fantastic Fifties: British Fantasy at Mid-Century or, What’s With All the Initials?” The series will also feature The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien on Monday, November 11 and The Once and Future King by T. H. White on Monday, December 9.