Narnia fans of all ages will love this sumptuous, full-colour Treasury packed with information about C. S. Lewis and his most famous creation. If, like many readers of Narnia, you have secretly pushed against the back of a wardrobe to see if you could enter Lewis's magical land, this book is for you! It is an appreciation of Narnia and all things Narnian -- Aslan, Earthmen, Marsh-wiggles, countries under the earth and across distant oceans -- and of C. S. Lewis himself. Aimed both at children and adults, there are sections on different aspects of Narnian life and its customs, on the people who travelled to Narnia, on its rulers, wise or evil, and on the books themselves. It is illustrated throughout by Pauline Baynes's intricate drawings which are almost as much a part of Narnia as the text; there are also many early photographs of the author and his family, showing his childhood, his homes and his inspirations.
I have been a professional writer for thirty years and a freelance broadcaster for the BBC in London for almost as long.
My career began as a radio-writer with dramatisations for the BBC which include serialisations of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", C. S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" and Mervyn Peake's "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast" for which I won a coveted Sony Radio Award. I have also made radio programmes on a wide variety of topics from the history of magic to the crimes of Jack the Ripper! Series of note include "A Century of Cinema", "The Sound of Movies" and "'Ain't No Mickey Mouse Business!"
My specialist interests have always been film (in particular animation) and children's literature and I have broadcast numerous radio and TV programmes and written several books about both these topics.
For the best part of a decade I presented weekly arts and film programmes on the BBC's domestic and World Service networks but have spent the last few years concentrating on books including a couple of best-sellers on the making of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings" and researching and writing that director's authorised biography, scheduled for publication in 2006.
I live in London with my life partner, a professional magician, in a house overcrowded with so many books, DVDs and CDs (not to mention all those old videos and gramophone records!) that it is seriously beginning to look like one of Amazon.com's smaller warehouses!
