Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia

Smart Pop

by Herbie Brennan (Editor), Susan Juby, Sophie Masson

Why is Prince Caspian the Ultimate Teenager? What do Hitler and the White Witch have in Commone? How come C.S. Lewis has such a big problem with lipstick, anyway? Step through the wardrobe...and into the imagination of sixteen friends of Aslan as they explore Narnia, from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to The Last Battle, from the heart of Caspian's kingdom to the Eastern Seas. Join in on the adventure, the battles, and - of course - the celebrating!

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Anthologies, Literary Criticism, Essays

198 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

What you should know

Name: Herbie Brennan

Occupation: Author

Favourite book: The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber.

Favourite subjects: Esoteric matters, psychical research, anomalies, Mac computers, other people and cats.

Favourite journals: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.

Favourite holiday spot: Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland.

Number of books published: 116.

Total copies sold worldwide: 10 million +.

Herbie Brennan recently (written 2019) celebrated publication of his 116th book, Nectanebo. Traveller From An Antique Land.

Reviews

[Valentina Markasović · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essay which may serve as good secondary sources. Most were insightful.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

To call this book a "Narnia movie tie-in," as some of the publicity has, is selling it short. The sixteen essays in this book cover all seven of the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, and although there are several that deal exclusively with Prince Caspian, the movie of which is to be released this May, there are also insightful essays about the other novels in the series. In fact, one of my personal favorites dealt solely with THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (which was always my favorite book in the series, as well). And the depth of these essays moves them beyond the realm of the typical movie tie-in into a place of enthusiastic scholarship.

This is not a book for those unfamiliar with the Chronicles, but if you've ever fallen in love with Narnia, the perspectives these authors offer will be a nice complement to your enjoyment. The essays are at their best when their authors start with a personal obsession and go from there to discuss its thematic relevance to the Chronicles as a whole.

Diana Peterfreund's "King Edmund the Cute" starts by discussing her childhood crush on Edmund, but goes deeper than that to trace his character through the Chronicles to show why Lewis intended him to be an attractive character; having once turned traitor but understanding the error of his ways, he can now lead others on the right path. Diane Duane, a self-proclaimed "foodie," tackles the topic of "Eating in Narnia" from a background that discusses both Lewis's own experiences with rationing during the wars but also goes further to suggest the impact food can have, not just on the body, but on the soul.

I really enjoyed the essays' treatment of Lewis's Christian background. While many of them acknowledged Lewis's goal to create a moral allegory that could lead people to a better understanding of Christianity, this was not the focus of any of the essays.

Sarah Beth Durst's "Missing the Point" argues that Lewis's stories would be compelling even without the allegorical component, and O. R. Melling's "Being Good for Narnia and the Lion" discusses how the series presented her with a picture of being good that was more attractive than that posed by her childhood experiences with church. While I think it's impossible to say that a book on Lewis's work has been written from an entirely secular perspective, the treatment of the religious aspect of the Chronicles was deftly done. I was also impressed with the book's willingness to tackle difficult topics, like the accusations that Lewis's Calormen represents a racist depiction of the Middle East.

But above all, every essay in this collection reminded me why Lewis's works are worth reading for both children and adults, and why every foray into the land of Narnia is a grand adventure, for the reader as well as the characters.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked the very first time I read about this book, and even though I have now forgotten where that was, I didn't forget about the book, and was thrilled to finally get my hands on it. 16 essays about the Chronicles of Narnia - obviously a must for any Narniophile like myself.

Thankfully it was worth the wait. Most of the essays were charming and interesting, and if there was a slight unbalance with more essays being about Prince Caspian than any other book in the series, then that can be explained by the essay collection being compiled shortly after the release of the Prince Caspian movie.

Unfortunately there was one essay that prevented me from saying that all the essays were worth reading, and which I couldn't even stomach finishing. Comparing C.S. Lewis to Al Gore and making Prince Caspian all about preserving nature? Really? Seemed like just a bit more than a stretch to me, and I ended up going "Ch!" and flipping through to the next essay.

So skip over "Waking the Trees" and enjoy how the remaining 15 essays faithfully explore the magic that is Narnia :)

[Skrivena stranica · Rating 1 out of 5]

These essays are shit and insult to C.S.Lewis. I saw better tumblr essays on comunity's favourite books daily.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, its a good reads. I found most of these different points of view quite refreshing. So much so, I've decided to read "The Chronicles of Narnia" to my son as soon as he's old enough to enjoy them. (I'd give them to him to read for himself, but given the fact he just turned 2 years old, I'm afraid I still don't know if he's going to like fantasy like me or science like his father). All in all, very useful if you are planning to write an essay on C. S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles. Good secondary sources.

[Emesskay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little book of authors sharing their feelings about CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, why it made such an impact with them, why it still resonates with the modern reader. If you are a fan of the CoN, you might enjoy this book as well. Full disclosure, I got this for 25 cents at a library book sale. I see that the cover price is nearly $12. If I had paid $12 for this, my review would probably not be as positive. If you can get it from the library or at a used book sale, it is worth a read, though.

[Stas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Read these for free when the essays were available on the publisher's site.

Mixed bag.
Some essays are interesting.
Personally, quite fond of Edmund essay, and the ones about food, the little things, about being good, and the one about the gap.

Some essays - no, just no.
Light and Darkness essay actually managed to annoy the hell out of me. If I wanted a history lecture, I would have picked up a history book or memoir or maybe even hunt down a history scholar or three.
The one about Calormen was quite exasperating. There is no true way to know what was on the author's mind when he was writing. Unless you can communicate with the dead, of course. (and even then...)

One of the gripes I have is that these essays, most if not all of them, are written by women. Yes, I'm glad these are given voice. But is there not a single writer-person of male persuasion willing to admit to their admiration of Narnia?

So as I said - mixed bag.
I would only recommend this to a seasoned Narnia fan.

[Brad]

Picked this up because of Ned Vizzini's essay, "Reading the Right Books: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Not being a big fan of fantasy, I've never read the Narnia books. But, as a Vizzini's completist, I still wanted to still give it a try. Predictably, I didn't get much from reading this essay other than further confirmation that I'm not a big fantasy fan. Ah well.



"the wonder of being a kid is that you don't have to question why things are your favorites. That's for psychoanalysis later on." (45)

"Sometimes, though, like with Dawn Treader, you have a clear and vindicating insight that lets you enjoy the tale as two readers at once--the kid who's wrapped up in it and the adult who sees why they got so wrapped up in it in the first place" (46)

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very meh. I'm a big fan of literary criticism and in-depth analysis, but these essays are fairly hit or miss. The one on Susan in particular irritates me, but I'm biased. Some are fun, some are tedious -- if you really love the Chronicles of Narnia, this fairly slender book is probably worth it. If you've just seen the movies and think Aslan is cuddly, do us all a favor and go read the damn books.

[Trine · Rating 4 out of 5]

16 essays about The Chronicles of Narnia and why these books manage to captivate generation after generation of children - and adults as well. Well, of course I had to read it. And I wasn't disappointed. Even though I didn't know any of the writers (so Your Favorite Authors doesn't apply to me) I have gotten a new insight in the life of Narnia and C.S. Lewis.

[Kerith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a blast with these essays, especially the ones which discuss Susan's fate and how that's not so hopeless as one might think (as in, what the heck did Mr. Lewis have against lipstick anyhow?) plus the honest essay on a reader's crush over Edmund was hysterical. If you have read the Narnia books one too many times you will have a good time with this book.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well thought out grouping of essays that would be of interset to any Narnia lovers. Can't say that I agreed with all of them.

[SheRa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, though the chapter on Hitler was very boring and the book would have been much better with out it. Also, the authors kind of repeat the same stuff over and over.