The Magical Worlds of Narnia: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts, and: Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles, and: Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by Andrew White Graduate of Calvin College David Colbert. The Magical Worlds of Narnia: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts. New York: Berkley Books, 2005. David C. Downing. Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005. Shanna Caughey, ed. Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles. Dallas: BenBella Books, 2005. This Christmas, millions of children and adults filed into movie theaters with over-large buckets of popcorn to witness the adventures of some charming British children. This time, however, it wasn't for Harry Potter. They were there to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, released by Disney and Walden Media. A movie version of one of the most beloved children's books of the last century has to be a sure thing. So far, the box office numbers support that assumption. Publishing companies took notice early on, and a flurry of new books on Lewis and the Chronicles has shown up. Lewis has always been a popular subject, and books about him and the Chronicles have been written regularly for the past fifty years. Indeed, the recent boom in the Lewis market is only a surge in what was already a strong economy. But the release of the new film provides incentive for renewed interest in his life and work. Three new books to share in this groundswell are: The Magical Worlds of Narnia: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts by David Colbert; Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles by David C. Downing; and Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles edited by Shanna Caughey. The Magical Worlds of Narnia, as its subtitle indicates, is a concise collection of facts about the Chronicles. Colbert specializes in popular introductions of this ilk, having written similar titles on both the Harry Potter books and the Lord of the Rings. He uses a book-by-book approach, providing an introductory chapter outlining the basic inspiration for each book followed by short chapters addressing various questions. The bulk of this material consists of explaining Lewis's sources (for example, where Lewis found the name Aslan). Colbert's structure and idea are simple: information delivery. Insofar as he sticks to it, he is basically successful. He is neither eloquent nor intriguing on his own; he has simply provided a concise repository of information about Lewis and the Chronicles. Indeed, most of what Colbert writes can be found in other, more superior sources, Paul F. Ford's Companion to Narnia for example. And for this reason, one may wonder why Colbert needed to write his book at all. There are other problems here though, namely, Colbert's uneven treatment of his subject. At times, [End Page 427] he appears to be writing two different books: one a simple exploration of the influences and stories behind events, characters, and ideas in the Chronicles of Narnia, the other a more in-depth, though flawed analysis of Lewis the writer. The latter of these suffers from an over-reliance on A. N. Wilson's controversial work C. S. Lewis: A Biography. This reliance leads Colbert to make silly comments regarding Lewis's long-time relationship with Mrs. Moore (that she was his "lover") and regarding the likelihood that the legendary debate between Lewis and Oxford philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe was the cause of Lewis's retreat from scholarly writing to children's stories (146, 133). The result is that neither a simple exploration nor an in-depth analysis has been written successfully, and what has been written has a regrettable lack of focus. It may be that Colbert has forgotten his audience. What makes his explication of Lewis's sources useful is that it is...