The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Written by Belfast-born C.S. Lewis The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
is the only book by an Irish author in the top 21 of The
Big Read.
The
most popular of his series of seven Chronicles of Narnia, it tells
the story of evacuee siblings Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund who
stumble through the back of a musty old wardrobe into the magical
snow-filled land of Narnia.
In
a land where it is always winter and never Christmas, the children
find themselves on a quest to rid the land of the evil White Witch
and restore springtime to Narnia. With the help of fantastic creatures
such as Mr and Mrs Beaver, the faun Mr Tumnus and the mighty and
mysterious lion Aslan, the children must triumph in the face of
terror, treachery, and turkish delight.
Cast
your vote
C.S.
Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis was born on 29 November 1898 and spent his early
life in Belfast. As a child he abandoned Christianity but recovered
his faith in 1931, two years after the death of his father. His
beliefs would influence his fiction and non-fiction.
He
was educated at Malvern and University College, Oxford, where he
gained a first class degree. As an undergraduate he fought in World
War I, reaching the front line in France on his 19th birthday. He
was wounded and later discharged in 1918.
In
1925 he became a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. He would teach
for 29 years before becoming Professor of Medieval and Renaissance
Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He published the narrative
poem Dymer under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton in 1926.
While
lecturing at Oxford he also wrote The Allegory of Love (1936) and
The Screwtape Letters (1942).
CS
Lewis enjoyed a quiet life during his years in Oxford, meeting a
group of friends dubbed 'the Inklings' weekly in his local pub.
Among them was JRR Tolkien. He wrote from home, and broadcast a
series of talks on BBC radio about Christianity. He developed an
unusually high profile for an author.
His
fame attracted the American poet and novelist Joy Davidman to visit
him in London. Their subsequent love affair led to a brief but happy
marriage that ended when she died of cancer. Their relationship
inspired Richard Attenborough's film Shadowlands. Surprised by Joy
(1955) is Lewis's spiritual autobiography.
What
you said about some of your favoutite Irish authors
Your
favourite authors
These
are the six authors nominated most often by you:
Flann
O'Brien
James Joyce
Maeve Binchy
Roddy Doyle
Patrick McCabe
John McGahern
Your
nominations so far
