Downing Into the Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles
1. Auflage 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7879-9790-8
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 256 Seiten, E-Book

Published in the early 1950s, C. S. Lewis's seven Chronicles ofNarnia were proclaimed instant children's classics and havebeen hailed in The Oxford Companion to Children's Literatureas "the most sustained achievement in fantasy for children by a20th-century author." But how could Lewis (a formidable critic,scholar, and Christian apologist)conjure up the kind of adventuresin which generations of children (and adults) take such delight? Inthis engaging and insightful book, C. S. Lewis expert David C.Downing invites readers to join his vivid exploration of theChronicles of Narnia, offering a detailed look at theenchanting stories themselves and also focusing on theextraordinary intellect and imagination of the man behind theWardrobe.
Downing presents each Narnia book as its own little wardrobe -each tale an opportunity to discover a visionary world of bustlingvitality, sparkling beauty, and spiritual clarity. And Downing'sexamination of C. S. Lewis's personal life shows how the content ofthese classic children's books reflects Lewis's love of wonder andstory, his affection for animals and homespun things, his shrewdobservations about human nature, along with his vast reading,robust humor, theological speculations, medieval scholarship, andarcane linguistic jokes. A fun glossary of odd and invented wordswill allow readers to speak with Narnian flair, regaling friendsand family with unusual words like cantrips, poltoonery, hastilude,and skirling. A masterful work that will appeal to both new andseasoned fans of Narnia, Into the Wardrobe offers a journeybeyond Narnia's deceptively simple surface and into its richlytextured and unexpected depths.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Downing, David C.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

introduction: The Child as Father of the Man.
1 The Life of C. S. Lewis.
2 The Genesis of Narnia.
3 The Spiritual Vision of the Narnia Chronicles.
4 Moral Psychology.
5 Classical and Medieval Elements.
6 What's in a Narnian Name?
7 Lewis's Literary Artistry.
appendix: Definitions, Allusions, and Textual Notes.
notes.
bibliography.
acknowledgments.
the author.
index.

Über Autor(innen)

David C. Downing is a leading C. S. Lewis expert, award-winningauthor, and professor of English at Elizabethtown College inLancaster County, Pennsylvania. His articles about Lewis haveappeared in such publications as Christianity Today, Christianityand Literature, Books & Culture, Christian Scholars Review, andnumerous other journals. His books include Planets in Peril, aboutthe Space Trilogy; The Most Reluctant Convert, a biography of Lewisthat was named one of the Top Ten Religion Books of the Year by theAmerican Library Association; and Into the Region of Awe, a studyof the mystical elements in Lewis's life and writings.