Exploring The Chronicles of Narnia: Inside Narnia

In addition, Downing's examination of C.S. Lewis's personal life shows how the content of these classic children's books reflects Lewis's love of wonder and story, his affection for animals and homespun things, his shrewd observations about human nature, along with his vast reading, robust humor, theological speculations, medieval scholarship, and arcane linguistic jokes. A fun glossary of odd and invented words will allow readers to speak with Narnian flair, regaling friends and family with unusual words such as cantrips, poltroonery, hastilude, and skirling. This masterful work will appeal to both new and seasoned fans of Narnia, extending the journey beyond Narnia's deceptively simple surface and into its richly textured and unexpected depths.

If you have ever wondered the same question or wanted to dig deeper behind the series to their Scriptural foundations, The World According to Narnia will take you there! Written by a fantasy-adventure novelist, Rogers' insights will uncover the scriptural parallels in the classic series and reveal why Lewis' technique of story-telling benefits both children and adults.

Where does the name "Aslan" come from? What other Bible references do the Chronicles contain? Why is there a huge bird watching Digory Kirk in The Magician's Nephew? How does Lewis express his feelings about prunes, of all things, in Prince Caspian? Do names like "Puddleglum" and "Emeth" have any real significance?

The Keys to the Chronicles unlocks the delightfully rich meanings within the world of Narnia, from the literary and mythological to the biblical and biographical.