The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a portal fantasy novel for children by C. Lewis , published by Geoffrey Bles in It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia β Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries. Like the other Chronicles , it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes , and her work has been retained in many later editions.
Most of the novel is set in Narnia , a land of talking animals and mythical creatures that is ruled by the evil White Witch. In the frame story , four English children are relocated to a large, old country house following a wartime evacuation.
The youngest, Lucy, visits Narnia three times via the magic of a wardrobe in a spare room. Lucy's three siblings are with her on her third visit to Narnia. In Narnia, the siblings seem fit to fulfil an old prophecy and find themselves adventuring to save Narnia and their own lives. The lion Aslan gives his life to save one of the children; he later rises from the dead, vanquishes the White Witch, and crowns the children Kings and Queens of Narnia. Lewis wrote the book for and dedicated it to his goddaughter, Lucy Barfield.
She was the daughter of Owen Barfield , Lewis's friend, teacher, adviser and trustee. Peter , Susan , Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are evacuated from London in , to escape the Blitz , and sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke at a large house in the English countryside. While exploring the house, Lucy enters a wardrobe and discovers the magical world of Narnia. Here, she meets the faun named Tumnus , whom she addresses as " Mr Tumnus". Tumnus invites her to his cave for tea and admits that he had intended to report Lucy to the White Witch , the false ruler of Narnia who has kept the land in perpetual winter, but he repents and guides her back home.
Although Lucy's siblings initially disbelieve her story of Narnia, Edmund follows her into the wardrobe, finds himself in a separate area of Narnia and meets the White Witch, who calls herself the Queen of Narnia. The Witch plies Edmund with Turkish delight and persuades him to bring his siblings to her with the promise of being made a prince.
