The cover of the latest edition of The Lion, The
Witch and The Wardrobe
In this month's book club, we're talking about CS Lewis's classic novel for children, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The book is experiencing a huge profile boost this Christmas thanks to the cinematic version, directed by Andrew Adamson, currently delighting children at cinemas around the country.
For those of you who have yet to enter Lewis's imaginary kingdom, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the story of four children evacuated from London during the Blitz to stay with a crotchety uncle in his echoing country house. When the youngest of the four, Lucy, hides in a wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek, she discovers a snowy forest behind the fur coats. The forest is part of the land of Narnia, a country under the spell of the White Witch where, thanks to her sway, it is "always winter and never Christmas". Despite the witch's corruption of Lucy's brother, Edmund (whom she tempts into her service with a box of delectable Turkish Delight), the four children eventually succeed in overthrowing her evil reign with the help of the lion Aslan, who has to die and be reborn before the final battle with the witch can be won.
The allegory which Lewis draws between his fictional creation and the story of Christianity is quite clear, and in his first column on the book, John Mullan examines the ways in which Lewis went about making his selection of Christian material so attractive to children. Read his columns, and Lewis biographer AN Wilson's, in full here then let us know what you think about the book. A selection of your posts will appear in John's final column in the paper in the new year.
