Editorial Review
The secret passage to the house next door leads to a fascinating adventure.
The Magician's Nephew, the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia ... where the woods are thick and cool, where the Talking Beasts are called to life ... a new world where the adventure begins.
Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to ... somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis, before they finally return home.
Read by Kenneth Branagh
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Customer Reviews
The Beginning 
2008-02-16
This book is a must-read for any age. It appeals to an indefinite age group, as in contains elements of fantasy and wonder, yet still manages to carry depth and philosophy ponderous for adults.
It is a series of books that can and should be read from an early age to those in their seasoned years.
a book of fantasy and wonder 
2008-01-28
This book is a wonderful fictional masterpiece, portraying a magical world where anything can happen. The main characters, Digory and Polly, are sucked into a magical wood by a deluded and eccentric uncle. There they discover that they can transport themselves to different worlds, and end up waking evil Queen Jadis and releasing her into Narnia. This book is wonderful, especially if you have read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, because it explains a lot about the book, and it really is a great read.
Well read! 2008-01-25
Kenneth Branagh makes you feel pampered. Buy this book on CD if you want to treat yourself to something extraordinary.
Branagh uses just the right mix of tenderness and boldness as he reads the story. His performance is worth the price of the book on CD.
Great Beginnings 2007-10-27
Every great journey has a beginning. The Chronicles of Narnia is well served with this book. While this story is foundational to all the adventures that will follow, it is a complete entity unto itself.
The characters are vivid, the settings will capture the imagination of readers, and way that Lewis writes makes you feel more like your watching a movie than reading a book. This series is a great gift to young reluctant readers.
Good job, C. S. Lewis! 2007-09-28
Usually I like to read series in order and watch the movie after I've read the whole series. This time I did it wrong though. I saw the movie first and now I'm trying to rectify myself by reading the books in the order they were intended to be read. That doesn't change that I know things about what happens in the next book, though. It was so cool to read how the lamppost and the wardrobe came to be, and how Narnia was born. Surprisingly, I had no thoughts about how similar the book was to how creation occurred. I was too engrossed in the plot to notice. There were parts that were less enjoyable for me though. Small things like the wording of a sentence or the explanation of something obvious would bug me and draw me out of the thick of the plot. It especially bothered me how C. S. Lewis didn't always write things chronologically. He would start one part of the story, move on to another part, then go back and pick up the first part. My favorite part was when Lewis explained how the apple tree was eventually turned into the wardrobe. I love how things come together in the end, though I guess that was sort of the whole point of the book; Lewis went back and wrote it to explain how things were before the original first book.
This is a wonderful, quick read for almost any age. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Magical tale 2008-07-23
It has been a long while since I read the Magician's Nephew for the first time. Nonetheless it came back to me to make the second time a even better experience. It is very well written and we enjoyed the creation of a new world and a beautiful world it was. This is a great book for all ages especially for those who enjoy magic.
Anna del C.
Author of "The Elf and the Princess"
The Elf and The Princess: The Silent Warrior Trilogy - Book One (The Silent Warrior Trilogy)
The beginning of a Children's Classic 2008-07-10
I used to watch "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" cartoon constantly when I was a little kid. Strangely enough, despite the fact that I was an avid reader as a child, as I still am today, I never read these books. I did enjoy other fantasy novels as a kid, but for some reason these never came my way, nor did I ever really ask for them. So since the movies are now being made I decided that I would pick up the books and see if I could delve even deeper into the tale of Narnia, since it appears this one may not be made into film. It might, you never know.
Even though this is a children's book it draws a lot of influence from the Bible, in fact many of the situations in this book parallel that text greatly. It may not be obvious to young children, but for those that are well read in a great many texts, it will be blatantly obvious. I am quite irreligious, but I have still read the Bible as well as a great many books and I am certainly not such a prude in my beliefs to deny how influential the Bible has been in literature. I will discuss the parallels later, for now I will go over the tale and what I thought of it.
Even though this book was written after "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "The Magician's Nephew" is actually the prequel to the whole saga! The story centers around two children, Digory and Polly, and how they got brought into an adventure that would be the starting point for so many others. Digory is living with his Uncle Andrew, who spends a good deal of time trying to find out the secrets of magical workings in our world. He stumbles upon success in the form of rings that transport the wearer into another dimension essentially. However, Andrew is a coward and he refuses to find out where they could transport him on his own, thus he enlists Digory to go for him, and unfortunately Polly gets sucked into the whole mess. Needless to say inter-dimensional travel doesn't ever seem to go very smoothly (whether I'm reading sci-fi or fantasy) and the two children are brought into both terrifying situations and mystifying worlds. Here we see the recounting of Narnia's creation, the first meeting with Aslan, and how Digory (the future professor) came into the possession of the now infamous wardrobe. The book is also filled with talking animals and very humorous situations as a result, something most any child should enjoy.
For a children's book I thought this was a really fascinating adventure. I thought the proposition that there's a lion, somewhere in some alternate reality, running around making all kinds worlds all strung together by a gateway nexus called "The Wood Between the Worlds" was simply a great premise. It certainly doesn't take very long to read and, as an adult, the language use is very simple, naturally the target audience is for the young. However, the tale and writing transcend it's youthful audience by having parallel's and influences from a very adult world, thus I think adult's can appreciate this book series quite a bit. It's no secret that C.S. Lewis was a devout Christian. Aslan, the lion, is obviously represented as Christ, Jadis (the Ice Queen) is the serpent/Satan as parallel's the biblical tales. There is even the temptation at the forbidden tree, but instead of an unnamed fruit we see the Christian mythology play into the book and it is specifically named an apple. I found myself wondering if C.S. Lewis did this intentionally or if he knew that the Bible never explicitly states Eve ate an apple, rather she just ate "fruit" from a tree. Also the recounting of Aslan's creation of Narnia parallel's that of the Genesis tale. The use of song is an interesting concept. It is well known in the Bible that God likes his praise to be sung, but using that as the specific coder of creation was an interesting take on it. The other part that greatly interested me was the treatment of evil. Like the Bible, Aslan is aware that a great evil is in his new world, yet he does nothing about this. He never states why he can't do anything, or why he won't, simply that calamity will strike Narnia in the future, but that he will take the brunt force of this pain (paralleling the crucifixion of Christ and using prophecy). It's a curious move not to explain anything, and maybe this is my philosophical mind over thinking something that isn't there, I don't know.
As you can see Biblical parallels are rife throughout this book, but it is in no way preachy to the readers and even those like myself who harbor anti-religious tendencies, you can still enjoy the fantasy world as it is. After all, in my opinion, it makes a much better fantasy story than truth. If you've seen the newer edition of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" I would highly recommend you read "The Magician's Nephew" because it gives you some excellent background on where that world came from and how our worlds can link together.
Not as enjoyable to re-read as an adult 
2008-07-04
As a child, I was enchanted by the worlds in The Magician's Nephew - the descriptions of Charn, the creation of Narnia, and the Woods Between the Worlds - but I found myself cringing at the decidedly unsubtle allegory when I reread the book recently.
There is no avoiding the fact that this book is about Good versus Evil, nor that it is attempting to retell one of the creation stories from Genesis with the creation of Narnia. Everyone seems rather wooden and pushed into the rolls Lewis wants them to take and there is no real suspense or wonder. The good end happily and the bad do not, except for Jadis who must play the roll of Eden's serpent.
Furthermore, I was rather appalled at the treatment of Polly, the female Ketterleys, and Nellie/Queen Helen. I wish that I could better explain what I find so unsettling about them, but I can only point vaguely at their uselessness. I really didn't get a positive, empathetic feeling towards any of the women in the story, except for Mrs Kirke - and I suspect she only slides by because she's Digory's mother and she's ill.
So, that's that. It's an interesting little book, but steeped in 1950s children's book conventions, and it could use a good deal of updating to match it with modern sensibilities and a more dynamic writer.
Oh, and: I'm told in the opening pages that Lewis intended it to be read first among the Chronicles of Narnia, but I must disagree with this. To have such a blatantly allegorical story first in the set is to lose much of the wonder of discovering Narnia through the wardrobe with the Pevensie children. Besides which, much of the suspense and wonder in the second book are dashed away with all the background information that The Magician's Nephew provides.
The Magician's Nephew Answered My Questions 2008-07-01
C.S. Lewis, in my opinion, is an excellent story writer. This story is wonderfully written and full of captivating ideas. I liked the fact that the story takes its time, taking perfect moments to explain the characters and events.
Some of the things I was glad to find out is where the Wardrobe came from, where the Queen came from. I even laughed at the Queen during some of her charades and understood immediately who she was. I was also glad to find out who the Professor was in the house of the 2nd book. Even the lamp post was explained.
Even though, this book is geared towards young readers, I believe adults will find enjoyment in it, as well. It is a great book.
Thanks.
A wonderful book 2008-04-22
I'm 8, and my mom is typing my review. I think The Magician's Nephew is very heavy on the story of Adam and Eve. Like when Digory was tempted to eat the apple. But you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy this book. The Magician's Nephew has a lot of imagination in it. Like the Lion singing a birth of living creatures. Just like spring. And a horse that became a horse with wings in seconds.
I think this book is in the same category as The Hobbit, The Lord of Rings, and Harry Potter. But people think this book can't be enjoyed by adults because the main characters are kids. But that's wrong.
