Loved reading this, thank you. I too am trying to read all the childhood books that passed me by, or which I’ve forgotten. I vividly remember reading this and how much comfort it brought me then, and still does now. I live next to Hampstead Heath in London and walk there every week-I was so excited to discover that C.S. Lewis got his idea for the book whilst on a wintry snowy Hampstead Heath. There’s definitely something magical about the place.
Such a lovely read and you have convinced to read it again! My primary school teacher read this to the glass when I must have been about seven, and I was entranced. It wasn't until many years later I learned about the allegory and really think it detracted from the joy of the book. Thank you for a lovely post.
Delightful. Thank you for reminding me how good these stories are on a detail level. I first came across the Narnia tales in primary school, and they've stayed with me ever since (I'm now 69 and a lot, but definitely not 70).
Thanks for this. I first encountered the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a kid of about eight when our teacher read us a chapter at the end of each day. I loved it, and the Christian allegory of course completely passed me by. This aspect is very much not to my adult taste and I find it heavy-handed, so it’s great to be reminded how deft Lewis’s touch is in other respects.
Good point in particular about the importance of food and the connection to rationing. My first memory of TLTWTW is about 10–12 years after the end of rationing but older people still remembered it and the food landscape was still very much less rich and diverse than it is now.
Yes, it's fascinating how jarring the heavy handed allegorical elements are compared to the rest of the story. I think he's good on describing the sense of awe and wonder that Aslan generates but the trouble is that once you know it's an allegory it's near on impossible to not see it and so you're jolted out of the story at just the wrong moment.
Exactly. And I think Tolkien manages it a whole lot better—reading between the lines it seems Tolkien didn't quite reciprocate Lewis's admiration for LOTR.
I'm not a huge Tolkien fan tbh - my preference as a child was always low fantasy but I think you're right and Tolkien was never terribly keen on Narnia, mostly for its lack of internal consistency (which is fair!)
Absolutely love these posts revisiting your favourite childhood reads! So much fun reading them through more adult eyes.
P.s. Edmund is the worst but really can relate to Turkish delight being one’s Achilles heel!
Thank you - I'm glad you're enjoying them! I'm not a fan of Turkish Delight but the hot drink he gets at the same time sounds delicious.
Loved reading this, thank you. I too am trying to read all the childhood books that passed me by, or which I’ve forgotten. I vividly remember reading this and how much comfort it brought me then, and still does now. I live next to Hampstead Heath in London and walk there every week-I was so excited to discover that C.S. Lewis got his idea for the book whilst on a wintry snowy Hampstead Heath. There’s definitely something magical about the place.
Such a lovely read and you have convinced to read it again! My primary school teacher read this to the glass when I must have been about seven, and I was entranced. It wasn't until many years later I learned about the allegory and really think it detracted from the joy of the book. Thank you for a lovely post.
Delightful. Thank you for reminding me how good these stories are on a detail level. I first came across the Narnia tales in primary school, and they've stayed with me ever since (I'm now 69 and a lot, but definitely not 70).
Thank you. They're lovely books to reread as an adult because so much of the magic remains intact.
Thanks for this. I first encountered the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a kid of about eight when our teacher read us a chapter at the end of each day. I loved it, and the Christian allegory of course completely passed me by. This aspect is very much not to my adult taste and I find it heavy-handed, so it’s great to be reminded how deft Lewis’s touch is in other respects.
Good point in particular about the importance of food and the connection to rationing. My first memory of TLTWTW is about 10–12 years after the end of rationing but older people still remembered it and the food landscape was still very much less rich and diverse than it is now.
Yes, it's fascinating how jarring the heavy handed allegorical elements are compared to the rest of the story. I think he's good on describing the sense of awe and wonder that Aslan generates but the trouble is that once you know it's an allegory it's near on impossible to not see it and so you're jolted out of the story at just the wrong moment.
Exactly. And I think Tolkien manages it a whole lot better—reading between the lines it seems Tolkien didn't quite reciprocate Lewis's admiration for LOTR.
I'm not a huge Tolkien fan tbh - my preference as a child was always low fantasy but I think you're right and Tolkien was never terribly keen on Narnia, mostly for its lack of internal consistency (which is fair!)