Once Upon a Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis is best known as the author of the seven books that constitute the Chronicles of Narnia series: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), Prince Caspian: The Return (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician’s Nephew (1955), and The Last Battle (1956). The series centers on the fantasy world of Narnia and the battle between good (represented by the lion Aslan) and evil (symbolized by the White Witch). The books trace the history of Narnia from Aslan’s creation of the world to its destruction when Aslan’s true believers are transported to an eternal paradise.

Once Upon a Wardrobe is set in 1950, two months after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was first published. In this first Narnia book, siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are evacuated from London to live with a professor during World War II. There, they discover a wardrobe that leads to Narnia, where the White Witch has cast a spell, creating an eternal winter where Christmas never comes. With the help of Aslan, the children join the fight to free Narnia from the Witch’s rule and eventually become kings and queens. Callahan’s novel identifies elements of the author’s life that contributed to the creative origins of the series. The stories Lewis relates to Megs emphasize how key biographical aspects influenced the imaginative world of Narnia. Lewis’s personal achievements and struggles are mirrored in the themes of suffering and hope that pervade the fantasy series.

Born in 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lewis’s childhood was marked by a rich imaginative life fueled by a love of reading. Callahan charts how eight-year-old Lewis and his brother, Warnie, created the world of Boxen inspired by Beatrix Potter’s stories. This animal-populated land prefigured the fantasy world of Narnia with anthropomorphic animals, such as Mr. Beaver and Aslan. Lewis was also profoundly affected by the loss of his mother to cancer when he was nine years old. The bereavement precipitated further trauma when he was sent to the English boarding school Wynyard, where he was deeply unhappy. Lewis’s observation of the headmaster’s tyrannical abuse of power made him aware of the existence of evil, later embodied in the character of the White Witch. Meanwhile, Lewis’s growing fascination with myth and fairy tales influenced his creation of characters such as the faun, Mr. Tumnus, and the White Witch.

After earning a scholarship to University College, Oxford, in 1916, Lewis’s academic and literary career was interrupted by service in World War I, where he experienced the horrors of trench warfare. This exposure to human barbarity and suffering would later resonate in the Narnia series through its themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the profound cost of war.

In 1925, Lewis became a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, teaching English language and literature. He then experienced a turning point in his spiritual life through his friendships with other Oxford academics, including J. R. R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic. After long debates with Tolkien and other members of the Inklings literary society, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931. Once Upon a Wardrobe emphasizes how this spiritual reawakening permeated the message and tone of the Narnia series, as Lewis subtly incorporated Christian theology into the plots and characters of the series. His Christian faith is illustrated in his depiction of Aslan as a Christ-like figure who sacrifices himself for the good of humankind and is resurrected. Furthermore, Callahan contextualizes the seeds of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in Lewis’s experiences during World War II. The child evacuees the author hosted at the Kilns during Operation Pied Piper ultimately inspired the characters of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.