The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe [Paperback]

C.S. Lewis (Author), Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Collier Books (1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552541222
• ISBN-13: 978-0020442202
• ASIN: 0020442203
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (653 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#99 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#12 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#61 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#97 in Books

#4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#12 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#61 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#97 in Books

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book published in the Narnia series. June 22, 1999

By R. D. Allison ([e-mail])

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The first book in the famous allegorical Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series for children. Four English school children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) visit an old Professor to avoid the air raids in London during World War II. They discover an "entrance" to a world of fantasy through a wardrobe. It is a world that will change them forever. They assist the golden lion Aslan to defeat the White Witch who has cursed Narnia with eternal winter: the classic conflict of good vs. evil. This is the first in the Chronicles to be published. However, "The Magician's Nephew" relates events that take place before the events in this book and many, including the publisher, suggest that individuals read that book first. I disagree. I think the series flows much better when read in the order of their publication. As one reads the series, particularly with the last volume, one become more attuned to the spiritual aspects of the tales. And in responce to muchadoaboutlisa from Australia (of May 6, 1999), as we can tell from the last volume, Narnia does exist.

55 of 71 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Michael York's audio recording is superb! April 23, 2001

By Volkert Volkersz

Format:Audio CD

HarperAudio has produced a exciting, unabridged, audio recording of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," featuring the well-known British actor, Michael York, (who played John the Baptist in Zefirrelli's outstanding film "Jesus of Nazareth").

Our family recently listened to the CD recordings while on a car trip. York brings each character to life with his vocal inflections, his use of dynamics (loud and soft voicings) and best of all, his mastery of various accents--British, Irish and Scottish--given to the different characters. Here each "person" has a vivid personality, and the listener can easily picture them in his or her mind.

We've enjoyed the Focus on the Family dramatization, as well as the BBC version, in the past, but I'd prefer to hear the unabridged text of this C.S. Lewis classic fantasy, with its spiritual and allegorical undertones. We've read this story aloud several times in our family over the years, but I believe that, from now on, we'll let Michael York read it to us. This is a pure delight (not like the "Turkish Delight" that Edmund ate)!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best Children's Books July 7, 2005

By Glenn Yates

Format:Paperback

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia by unequaled English author C.S. Lewis. These books are able to accomplish something that few other books in all of literature have been able to achieve. They are able to be at once great and entertaining literature as well as insightful and profound theology. They are fun and inspiring. Tolkien, Lewis's model McDonald, and a few others achieve some variation of it, but none quite like Lewis.

The story unfolds with the four Pevensie children being sent to live with an eccentric old professor in the country, in order to be out of London during the bombing. The house turns out to be as interesting as the professor, and soon the kids find their way to an alternate world where some of the animals can talk and fairy-tales come to life. Not just the fun characters, either, but witches as well, in fact one has the land of Narnia under a spell where it's "always winter but never Christmas". The kids become the focal point for a classic good versus evil struggle, but with heavy though never pedantic theological lessons. And the king of Narnia, the lion who is the son of the Emperor-over-the-Sea, is just fantastic. Highly, highly recommended for kids and adults.