Books that Make a Childhood No.3 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis

When I was a child I developed a strange habit whenever we went on holiday. Every new hotel room or holiday cottage or caravan we went into, I would always head straight to one place: the wardrobe. Whatever coats or hangers were in there would be pushed to one side, in order to find the back of the wardrobe. And every time I realised that the back of that wardrobe was solid and fixed, I would experience the same sense of disappointment. Narnia had eluded me once more.

I am sure I am not the only child who has tried to walk through the back of the wardrobe, for C S Lewis creates a world that is enchanting and alluring, despite all its dangers. Who would not want to go to a land covered in snow, where you can meet a faun, or talking beavers and a magical lion? The detail of his world is breath-taking to a child, and the memories will never leave you. Even now, when I see a lamp post covered in snow, I am immediately taken back to that first scene in Narnia, where Lucy collides with Mr Tumnus. Every scene in the novel feels so vivid and colourful, and like Lucy, we are immediately drawn into this world where ancient magic is so deeply ingrained into the landscape that it can even bring back the dead.

It is a story with different layers and interpretations, but the magic of the story is undeniable, and this is what allows it to live on through the generations. The religious allegory of Aslan as Christ is powerful, but the message of the story can still speak to a non-religious reader in many ways. It is a classic story about good and evil, with the lesson that love, loyalty and sacrifice will always win out over malice, greed and suffering.

Furthermore, it is about the innocence of childhood defeating adult destruction. Just the presence of the children in Narnia is enough to put the prophecy into action and break the seemingly eternal winter of the White Witch. And although Edmund betrays his brother and sisters, he is saved by Aslan’s sacrifice, and the love and forgiveness of his siblings. It is a morality story that ultimately celebrates the best of humanity, whilst acknowledging its flaws.

I cannot possibly imagine a childhood without Narnia. The sense of loss at Aslan’s death and the exhilaration on his resurrection is just as thrilling after all these years.The wardrobe route may have eluded me, but the real magic of Narnia lives on in the pages of the novel and the imaginations of children, and can never fade. After all, to rather loosely paraphrase the parting words of the Professor, once an aficionado of Narnia, always an aficionado of Narnia.