October 16 – The Universe Welcomes Narnia!

nPosted October 16, 2018

Key Points

Before this date in 1950, nobody had heard of the land of Narnia. Nobody had heard of the incredibly patient and good-hearted lion named Aslan. Almost nobody had ever conceived of going to a magical world through an ordinary wardrobe.

nUp to that date, most people had never heard of British writer and theologian C. S. Lewis.

nAnd many had never heard of Turkish Delight!

But all that soon changed. October 16, 1950, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published, and in the next six years, six more fantasy books explored The Chronicles of Narnia. And the world explored along with author Lewis: The Chronicles have sold more than 100 million copies in at least 47 languages, and adaptations of the stories have been made for radio, television, the stage, and of course movies.

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nDid you know…?

nAuthor C. S. Lewis was good friends with J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. They were both English professors at Oxford University, and they were both in a literary group called the Inklings.

nC. S. Lewis has a memorial in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. That’s a place where many poets and writers were buried, and others who were buried elsewhere often have floor stones, tablets, busts, windows, or other memorials placed there. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Kipling, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, Robert Burns, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and many many many more writers have memorials there.

nIdeas and characters in the Narnia books were influenced by Greek and Roman myths, British and Irish fairy tales, and Christian Bible stories.

Apparently the candy that Narnia
character Edmund loved so much
was the rose-flavored red candy
pictured above. But there are other
types and flavors of Turkish Delight
(pictured below).

nThe candy called Turkish Delight really does exist – but many people report that it is disgusting! Here is an article about the candy.