The Soul of Prince Caspian: Exploring Spiritual Truth in the Land of Narnia

by Gene Edward Veith Jr.

Through best-selling books and now blockbuster motion pictures, C. S. Lewis’s masterpiece “The Chronicles of Narnia” has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of children and adults. When Lewis wrote this acclaimed series more than half a century ago, many considered it a mere children’s allegory and missed the rich spiritual meaning of the Christian faith that Lewis was clearly communicating. In The Soul of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Gene Veith revealed the mysteries and meanings of the first Narnia book. And now with the motion picture release of the second in the series, Veith returns to dig deeply into the biblical message behind this beloved story. In The Soul of Prince Caspian, Veith reveals how Lewis takes on the modern mindset that has literally forgotten Christ—just as Narnia has forgotten Aslan. As Veith unlocks the story of Prince Caspian, you’ll discover how Lewis’s other writings add depth and clarity to his message. And you’ll see that, while Prince Caspian may be about the fantastic land of Narnia, it’s also about your world.

Genres: Literary Criticism, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Gene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”

Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[L Gregory Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent short book by Gene Veith jr., and this is on C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia. The author has some very good insights into why Lewis wrote the way he did and what he was trying to get across. My favorite chapters in the book were eight and nine, where Veith discusses culture wars and how Christians should deal with them. Also his discussion concerning vocation and Christians is well worth reading the book. Although, I believe that "vocation" is our calling to be a follower of Christ; and our avocation is what we as Christians do for a living. Whilst the whole book is an enjoyable read and very informative, the most memorable and cogent for me is the following. "The message from Prince Caspian for today's Christians is that we must not run away from intellectual, moral, and spiritual combat. We have a duty to stand our ground and do what we can." This is another book that I have put on my bookshelf for a keeper. If you can get this book and read it.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love C.S. Lewis, and his Chronicles of Narnia are among my most treasured books. I have read many books ABOUT them, and got to the point that I became rather tired of those types of books. I'm sorry I looked at Gene Veith's book in this way, because it is VERY worthwhile to read and I'm thankful I decided to sit down and pick it up.

Veith's explanation for how Lewis brings our own issues into new focus by reframing them into an unfamiliar scenario is quite excellent. Seeing the Telmarines as today's "modernists" was a stroke of genius. I found the chapter on "Myth" (ch 7), "Not Safe without Aslan" particularly excellent. We recently have read and discussed how different Christian authors look at pagan myths and how they handle them in their own works -- John Milton's "Paradise Lost", J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", and then Lewis' own "That Hideous Strength". Veith brings some outstanding observations for how Lewis "redeemed" the ancient myths. Very very worthwhile. Highly recommended.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is vintage Veith. If you are interested in the themes of worldview and vocation in Prince Caspian then this is the best you'll find. I found it quite helpful in discussing Caspian with the book club. There are a lot of nuggets but the view is somewhat narrow as Veith's discussion sticks to what he knows best.