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The Magicians Nephew by CS Lewis

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7.6-stars

Summary An enchanting back-story to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The Magicians Nephew is the first book in C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles and was first published in the U.K. in 1955.

When Digory and Polly discover Uncle Andrew's secret workshop, they are tricked into touching the magic rings which transport them to the Other Place. But even Uncle Andrew doesn't realise the wonders that await them, for here is the gateway to the Land of Narnia and the beginning of many wonderful adventures there.

This is a very important story in the context of understanding how Narnia was formed. It is in essence a back-story and written after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to allow CS Lewis to explain the beginnings of Narnia.

It is a mostly light-hearted affair though there are moments of darkness, in particular the illness of Digory’s mother and the evil sorceress Jadis could upset some children. There is also the introduction of magical rings to the Chronicles, which explains how Narnia was first found.

The Magician’s Nephew is an entertaining story that sits well at the beginning of the Narnia Chronicles, Aslan is always a wonderful character and the children are amusing.

A must read for all Narnia enthusiasts.

"This is a very important story," explains the author right at the beginning, "because it shows how all the comings and goings between our own world and the land of Narnia began. In one of the wettest and coldest summers for years, Polly and Digory decide to explore the attic of the old, tall house. Carefully the step over the rafters and creep along the dark corridor that joins their two houses to the empty house beyond. What will they find? Will it be haunted? Perhaps they might even discover a gang of criminals! At any rate, there must be some mystery involved! It seems something of a let-down when what they stumble upon is the secret workroom f Digory's Uncle Andrew. But when in a wild experiment he makes Polly vanish right out of the world, it is obvious that the dull summer is changing into a strange and totally thrilling adventure.

Parental Notes: Parental notes to follow...

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10-stars

I think that it was very good and was good how it was the story of the bible. One of the best books I have read I reccomend it especially to children.

Meg from Ipswich

9-stars

This is a brilliant back-story, after reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I really wanted to find out how it had all begun. The author does this in a fun way, Aslan is great and Jadis is mean. The magical rings explained how they first got to Narnia. A lovely book.

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