Further Up And Further in: Understanding C. S. Lewis's the Lion, the Witch, And the Wardrobe

by Bruce L. Edwards

This new popular-level book from a renowned C.S. Lewis scholar is sure to enable Lewis buffs, new and old, to gain immense access and understanding to the creator of the world of Narnia.

Genres: Nonfiction

108 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2005

About the author

A leading authority on the author C. S. Lewis, Bruce L. Edwards was professor emeritus of English and Africana Studies and Associate Vice President for Online Programs and E-learning Services at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he was a faculty member and administrator from 1981 to 2012.

Reviews

[Bonita Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and informative companion to C. S. Lewis' book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
A wonderful quote near the end of the book sums it up nicely:
"Narnia helps us see . . . that our longing points us home, and that this is not our home. Only heaven can satisfy our deepest longing. Narnia trains us to be pilgrims and to look forward to that homecoming that awaits us. To find our compass, and our counsel, in the . . . Word of God."

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as textual criticism goes, this book is an enjoyable and brief example.  Yet this book, although it is short, presents some challenges to the reader.  For one, it is hard to understand the author's scope.  On the one hand, most of the book consists of a fairly basic commentary on the chapters of The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, but there are hints here that the author has a more ambitious aim with this book than commentary about merely one small book in a large body of work by one of the best known and most beloved Christian authors of the 20th century.  The fact that this additional material occurs at the beginning of the book suggests that the author wants to place the most famous book of the Chronicles of Narnia in a larger context.  And perhaps there are more books to this series about the remaining six volumes of the Chronicles of Narnia that I have not read yet, or perhaps the author may (if his sales are good enough and his publisher is willing to publish them) write more such volumes in the future with the same basic introduction to the context of Lewis' writings.

The author begins this book with a preface that explains the title by referring to the last book in the Narnia series and then gives his acknowledgements.  After that the author begins his discussion of the Chronicles of Narnia by talking about his efforts in that series to retell the Gospel as a fairy tale, or perhaps more accurately as a beast fable (1).  After that the author spends the rest of the book talking about different sections of The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, beginning with a discussion of Lucy's discovery of Narnia in the wardrobe and her difficulties in explaining this to her siblings (2), then moving on to the corruption of Edmund through his willingness to take sweets from the wicked queen (3), the continuing on to the hospitality of the beavers once the rest of the siblings reach Narnia to confirm Lucy's story and their attempt to escape the clutches of the white witch (4), Aslan's return to Narnia and the effect this has on the wintry land (5), and the Gospel implications of the end of the story and the rulership of the siblings over Narnia at the end of the novel (6).  After this the author gives some suggestions for further reading as well as study questions, endnotes, and an index.

I'm not sure how necessary a book like this is.  Most young readers of Narnia will not likely be particlarly interested in the connection between the Chronicles of Narnia and the larger body of writings by Lewis, at least perhaps not immediately.  Nor does this novel offer a great deal that would be profound for adult readers, as the author does not seem to be aware of Lewis' interest in the pre-Copernican astronomy of the Middle Ages and the fact that every novel in the Chronicles of Narnia is associated with a particular planet in that geocentric system.  Even so, this book does offer worthwhile questions and demonstrates the interest in evangelism through different forms that Lewis engaged in.  If this book is not exactly essential, then, it is an enjoyable and brief book that provides an example of a commentary on a novel that provides modest pleasures and information that a sensitive reader should likely already be aware of from one's own reading of the Chronicles of Narnia for oneself.  Still, being reminded of basic things is not the worst of faults a book can have.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and incredibly interesting. Enjoyed getting a 'behind the scenes' sort of look at a much loved book that we've read several times. This time we went through with a more in-depth reading, and this helped! Would have liked to meet Mr. Lewis.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love all things Narnia, but this book was basically just a summary of the story! No further insight or anything worthwhile given!

[Robert Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually avoid books like this like the plague. In my experience, they always promise to take you further into the rewarding details of the original stories but they always seem to fall short. Usually being nothing more than a long winded and dry summary. I was asked to read this by someone who had read it but hadn't read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (I know, crazy) and wanted my opinion. I knew the author and I were not going to "get along" buy the end of the first paragraph of the preface. Where he says that this preface is really important and should be regarded as chapter 1 (then why isn't it?) and that the only way to get anything out of his book is to "make it all the way through the preface". Sounds like even the author thought it was a chore, and no, I didn't make it, skipped over most of it. Where he really lost me was when he said he was going to give me his "clever explanation" of his books title. Boy, he sure got long winded and repetitive. One sentence was so long that not only half way through it repeated something he had already stated a number of times earlier, it actually ended repeating it's own beginning. The main part of the book was basically just a summarized retelling of the story. Each chapter ended with a 'Reflecting on the Journey So Far' section that did have some interesting things to say, too bad they were so short. All in all though, the most interesting things said were contained in the excerpts from other works by C.S. Lewis. I think I will go and read those books.

[Jessica]

I enjoyed the tour of Narnia and all the fun facts, backstories, and spiritual insights that Bruce L. Edwards takes a reader on to look closer at the wonderful work of C.S.Lewis, and the amazing world of Narnia.

[Fourborne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book would give me a more deeper inside to Narnia, but I was disappointed. It seems like he was just retelling the story with a review at the end.