"101 Things to Know about Narnia" -- only 40 are posted, but it's quite an interesting list posted by another lover of Narnia.  On this same page, you'll find a link (under one entitled "Narnian Chronicles"),  "An Outline of Narnian History:  so far as it is known" .  This is a chronology which Lewis wrote but never published.  Both these and other valuable resources (including pictures from Lewis' world) are offered by the site author, Jonathan Gregory of Abdingdon College in the UK.

"And really it was a wonderful tea.  There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them, and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake.  And when Lucy was tired of eating, the Faun began to talk." -- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe Learn how to make the perfect cup of hot British tea here   >  >  >  >  > or here  >  >  >  >  >

Numbering the Narnia Chronicles       Get two Lovers of Narnia together and you'll very likely find a disagreement about the "right" order in which to read the seven books.  There are two ways of numbering Lewis’ Narnia books. When the American publisher Macmillan decided to put numbers on their editions they chose to use the order in which the books were originally published: 1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) 2. Prince Caspian (1951) 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) 4. The Silver Chair (1953) 5. The Horse and His Boy (1954) 6. The Magicians Nephew (1955) 7. The Last Battle (1956)

When Harper Collins took over the publication of the books in America, they decided to keep numbering the books, but on the recommendation of Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham, they adopted the order that follows internal Narnian Chronology: 1. The Magicians Nephew 2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe 3. The Horse and His Boy 4. Prince Caspian 5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 6. The Silver Chair 7. The Last Battle

This is also the order followed by the current British editions, published by Fontana Lions. A case can be made for reading the books in either order.       Lewis himself came down in favour of the chronological order, which is why Douglas Gresham recommended it. In a letter written in 1957 to an American boy named Laurence, Lewis wrote the following: 'I think I agree with your order {i.e. chronological} for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.' So, please, read them in whatever order you like and stop worrying about it!

So, are the Narnia stories Christian allegories?       As you read any of the Narnian stories, you must have realized that Aslan the Lion, who is the Son of the Great Emperor Across the Sea, who breaks the power of the White Witch by his death and resurrection -- and who, as C.S. Lewis pointed out to one of his young readers 'arrived at the same time as Father Christmas' -- is a picture of Jesus Christ. But can you then conclude that all the books were meant as allegories?

AN ALLEGORY:  The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.  It can also be a story, picture, or play employing such representation. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are allegories. C.S. Lewis used a very strict definition of the word 'allegory' --  one of his most important academic books was a study of this subject. In 1954, some fifth graders in Maryland who wre reading LWW wrote to him and asked whether the whole book was an allegory.  Here's how Lewis replied: 'I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen'. 'The whole series' wrote Lewis in another letter 'works out like this: The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe -- the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Prince Caspian -- restoration of the true religion after a corruption, The Horse and His Boy -- the calling and conversion of the heathen, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader -- the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep), The Silver Chair -- the continuing war against the powers of darkness, The Last Battle -- the coming of Antichrist, represented by the ape. The end of the world and the last judgment.' So, in today's loose terminology the books can probably be said to be 'allegorical'. If you want to use that term, then a number of characters could be said to be allegories: The White Witch represents the Devil, as does Tash. Peter represents the valiant and wise Christian. Reepicheep is the very soul of chivalry with both its virtues and its failings. 'Edmund,' wrote Lewis 'is, like Judas, a traitor and a sneak. But unlike Judas he repents and is forgiven (as Judas no doubt would have been if he'd repented).' Father Christmas - who gives gifts to Aslan's followers to help them fight the powers of darkness - may be a picture of the Holy Spirit. Click here to go to the next section of the Friends of Narnia curriculum, those pages applying to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"  >  >  >

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