Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams offers fascinating insight into The Chronicles of Narnia, the popular series of novels by one of the most influential Christian authors of the modern era, C. S. Lewis. Lewis once referred to certain kinds of book as a "mouthwash for the imagination." This is what he attempted to provide in the Narnia stories, argues Williams: an unfamiliar world in which we could rinse out what is stale in our thinking about Christianity--"which is almost everything," says Williams--and rediscover what it might mean to meet the holy. Indeed, Lewis's great achievement in the Narnia books is just that-he enables readers to encounter the Christian story "as if for the first time." How does Lewis makes fresh and strange the familiar themes of Christian doctrine? Williams points out that, for one, Narnia itself is a strange place: a parallel universe, if you like. There is no "church" in Narnia, no religion even. The interaction between Aslan as a "divine" figure and the inhabitants of this world is something that is worked out in the routines of life itself. Moreover, we are made to see humanity in a fresh perspective, the pride or arrogance of the human spirit is chastened by the revelation that, in Narnia, you may be on precisely the same spiritual level as a badger or a mouse. It is through these imaginative dislocations that Lewis is able to communicate--to a world that thinks it knows what faith is--the character, the feel, of a real experience of surrender in the face of absolute incarnate love. This lucid, learned, humane, and beautifully written book opens a new window onto Lewis's beloved stories, revealing the moral wisdom and passionate faith beneath their perennial appeal.

In addition to being one of the best-loved books of all time, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is sure to set box-office records when it releases in theatres Christmas 2005. Distributed by Disney, directed by Andrew Adamson (director of Shrek), with special effects by the WETA Workshop (The Lord of the Rings), and backed by a $150 million dollar budget, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will draw millions of eager viewers, Christian and non-Christian alike. After viewing the movie, Christians and Lewis fans will excitedly walk away with a renewed enthusiasm for this classic installment of The Chronicles of Narnia. Using exciting biblical parallels, this companion book will lead readers into a deeper understanding of Christ and will help them discover how these tales by C. S. Lewis beautifully expose a dynamic, joyful, loving God who wants his creatures to experience deep joy and delight.

All seven Chronicles are bound together in this one magnificent volume with a personal introduction by Douglas Gresham, stepson of C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis was a British author, lay theologian, and contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Aslan, the noble lion, and the royal leaders of Narnia struggle against the magical forces of evil.

Do you read The Chronicles of Narnia sensing that the stories are full of biblical parallels, even if you're not always sure what they are or where to find them? This user-friendly companion to The Chronicles of Narnia is written for C. S. Lewis readers like you who want to discover the books' biblical and Christian roots. Read it, and you'll find that this chapter-by-chapter, book-by-book examination of The Chronicles will widen your spiritual vision.

A startling book from a prolific and admired British scholar-critic of literature and its place in education. Upon confronting the Narnia stories and adult fantasies of C. S. Lewis, Holbrook uncovers disturbing evidence of psychic fears and aggressive solutions that seem antithetical to Christian values and thus to Lewis's reputation. Writers of children's books must be able to depict a world as children envision it, but Lewis's childhood was marked by the death of his mother, neglect from his father, and perverse cruelty from a demented schoolmaster. Holbrook demonstrates how these traumatic experiences are reflected in each of the seven Narnia books, with additional chapters on That Hideous Strength, Perelandra, and Till We Have Faces. Such psychoanalytic interpretations can become doctrinaire and extreme, and Holbrook does at times transform seemingly innocent episodes and names into somber equivalents, yet this is a striking and highly original study that all C. S. Lewis enthusiasts must read.