Book Review - 'The Chronicles of Narnia' by C.S Lewis - Book One: 'The Magician's Nephew'

‘The Chronicles of Narnia - The Magician’s Nephew’ by C.S Lewis

These ‘chronicles’ comprise seven books in total. I started reading them with the boys when they were much younger, just before the ‘Narnia’ films were released back in 2005.

We were making pretty good progress, but as happens, we didn’t get around to reading the last two books.

I’m reading a non-fiction book at the moment, which is quite fact-heavy, and wanted a ‘lighter’ read for the evenings, so picked this series.

‘It is one of the wettest and coldest summers for years when Digory and Polly decide to explore the attic of the old, tall house. And that is how they stumble upon the secret workroom of Digory’s eccentric Uncle Andrew who, in a wild experiment, tricks them into vanishing right out of this world and into the enchanted land of Narnia.’

Lewis states right at the beginning, in the very first paragraph that the story ‘shows how all the comings and goings between our world and the land of Narnia first began’.

Even though actual dates aren’t given, we’re told ‘… Mr Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road.’

Interestingly, the Bastables were a fictional family, created by E. Nesbit, and they featured in her 3-novel series; in the first book, ‘The Story of the Treasure Seekers’, set in 1899, they’re seeking to regain their lost fortunes.

So, we’re probably at the turn of a new century when we meet Polly, who’s about to meet Digory for the first time…
‘She lived in one of a long row of houses which were all joined together. One morning she was out in the back garden when a boy scrambled up from the garden next door… Polly was very surprised because up till now there had never been any children in that house, but only Mr Ketterley and Miss Ketterley, a brother and sister, old bachelor and old maid, living together.’

They introduce themselves and Polly soon learns Digory’s father is away in India, and he and his mother have had to leave their home in the country to live with “an Aunt and an Uncle who’s mad… [who are] looking after… Mother [who’s] ill and going to… die…”

In an attempt to cheer him up, she asks if his uncle is really mad, and he replies, “either he’s mad… or there’s some other mystery. He has a study on the top floor and Aunt Letty says I must never go up there… One night, on my way to bed… I’m sure I heard a yell.”

And that is the start of the children’s friendship.

As ‘it was one of the wettest and coldest summers…’ they spend most of their time indoors.

To Digory’s delight, Polly shows him her secret hiding place in the attic. When she tells him the walls of the houses don’t extend to the roofs, he realises they “could get the length of the whole row of houses.”

And they decide to explore the empty house that’s next to where Digory is staying.

That marks the beginning of their adventure as, thanks to a miscalculation on their part, they instead find themselves in Digory’s Uncle Andrew’s study.

And the man himself is right there.

The children’s shock turns to alarm when he shuts the main door to the room and locks it, saying, “Now my fool of a sister can’t get at you!” because ‘it was dreadfully unlike anything a grown-up would be expected to do.’

Pretending to be friendly and charming, the man tricks Polly into taking a yellow ring from a collection of yellow and green ones laid out on a tray.

But Digory remains suspicious and tries to stop Polly but is too late.
‘… Polly’s hand went out to touch one of the rings. And immediately, without a flash or a noise or a warning of any sort, there was no Polly. Digory and his Uncle were alone in the room.’

Digory is horrified and demands Andrew bring Polly back.

But first, Digory is subjected to what, to him, feels like a lengthy explanation of Andrew’s experiment.

Finally, Andrew tells him, for Polly to return, someone has to take a green ring to her.

And that someone is Digory; as Andrew says, “… the idea of my going myself is ridiculous. It’s like asking a general to fight as a common soldier. Supposing I got killed, what would become of my life’s work?”

Before I get into my thoughts about this book, I want to mention that the ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ was actually the first Narnia book to be published in 1950.

Many readers then wanted to know, among other things, how the wardrobe was able to connect our world to Narnia, why there are so many humans – Daughters of Eve and Sons of Adam, as they’re referred to – in Narnia, how did Aslan and the Witch become mortal enemies…

‘The Magician’s Nephew’, which was published in 1955, was Lewis’ answer to these questions and others, which he’s done in an enchanting way without ever straying into ‘info-dump’ territory.

At around 170 pages, it didn’t take me long to read this.

I found the worldbuilding quite detailed for what is essentially a children’s book written in the 1950s.

Lewis gives us just enough of the feel of London, mainly through the eyes of the people who live and work there.

But what I really love is his descriptions of the other worlds Digory and Polly find themselves in thanks to the rings.

There’s a ‘between’ place, ‘the Wood between the Worlds’… ‘The trees grew close together and were so leafy that he could get no glimpse of the sky. All the light was green light that came though the leaves… It was the quietest wood you could possibly imagine… You could almost feel the trees growing… This wood was very much alive. When he tried to describe it afterwards Digory always said, “It was a rich place: as rich as plumcake.”’

One of the worlds they stumble into is Charn where everything is in ruins, a post-apocalyptic world. What I found especially eerie was what the children saw in the sky… ‘Low down and near the horizon hung a great, red sun, far bigger than our sun… a sun near the end of its life, weary of looking down upon that world. To the left of the sun, and higher up, there was a single star, big and bright. Those were the only two things to be seen in the dark sky…’

When we finally arrive in Narnia, Lewis captures quite well, in my opinion, the feeling of a world newly made, coming to life right in front of us, complete with the innocence of a newborn. I was surprised by how touching I found it.

Of the characters, I found our young duo, Digory and Polly, quite agreeable.

They come across as real children who, although they like adventure, get scared and want the safety and comfort of home.

Digory isn’t a wannabe superhero, ready to jump into a fight to prove himself. Yet, despite his doubts and inner conflict, he will step up to do the right thing. And he does take responsibility for his actions, something that is very rare these days, even amongst adults.

The arc between him and his very ill mother, who we don’t really see him interact with for most of the book, is poignant but quite beautiful.

Polly, although feminine, isn’t a ‘girly-girl’ nor is she overly emotional. She’s more practical and capably holds her own against Digory when she needs to. Although she wants more than anything to return home, she knuckles down, gets on with the job and proves herself a dependable ally.

As for Uncle Andrew, instead of the ‘evil genius’ kind of villain, Lewis has written him as a human villain, complete with faults obvious to everyone but himself, a blinkered genius who completely believes in his own brilliance and that being misunderstood is the only thing holding him back. And yet, there is something very pitiful about him.

Anyone who has read ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and/or has seen the films knows of the Witch.

She’s introduced in this book and is the ultimate villain of the story. But she’s not an overblown, horribly dark creature almost impossible to defeat. She’s mean and small-minded, a cruel, petty bully who, despite her power, is terrified of the light.

And that light is embodied in Aslan, the Lion.

I won’t describe Aslan’s first appearance in the book as it is truly moving. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to have the emotional impact it did.

There are other characters, people and animals, but I won’t mention them as I’d definitely be in spoiler-territory then.

Many have spoken of the religious overtones in this series. Yes, they are there, but in my opinion, Lewis has skilfully woven his Christian beliefs into the story in a way that doesn’t overshadow or hamper it.

Although written for children, I don’t feel Lewis ‘talks down’ to his audience as the things he writes about include dealing with pain and sorrow, owning up to your mistakes, standing up for your beliefs…

I believe this book and the entire Narnia series can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age. Personally, I love how the story stays with you and fires the imagination.

A nice little extra – peppered throughout the book are delightful illustrations by Pauline Baynes.

The plan is to read the rest of the series, so, hopefully, I’ll have the reviews up in the coming weeks.