The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the British author C. S. Lewis's portal fantasy novel, was issued by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. Of the seven Chronicles of Narnia novels, it was the first to reach print and remains the best known, though recent editions move it to volume two to follow the stories' internal chronology. It was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, whose drawings have been retained in many later editions.

In 1940 the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, are sent out of London to stay with Professor Digory Kirke at a big house in the English countryside. Exploring the house on her own, Lucy steps into a wardrobe and discovers Narnia, the magical world beyond it, where she meets a faun named Tumnus. Narnia has been in a hundred-year winter under a queen who turns people to stone, and its animals are waiting for a prophecy about four human children.

Lucy is not believed when she returns, which is a smaller problem than what happens when Edmund follows her and meets the queen. A beaver, the prophecy and a lion called Aslan all arrive, and the children are asked to help break the winter. Narnia, where most of the novel is set, is a land ruled by the White Witch and populated by talking animals and other mythical creatures.

Lewis wrote six further Chronicles, and the first published book remains the usual entry point to the series. Adaptations have followed in several media, including an animated film, a BBC serial and a feature film series.