Once Upon a Wardrobe
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
College student Megs Devonshire sets out to fulfill her younger brother George’s last wish by uncovering the truth behind his favorite story. What transpires is a fascinating look into the bond between siblings and the life-changing magic of stories.
1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a seventeen-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it’s just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a question: “Where did Narnia come from?”
Despite her fear about approaching the famous author, who is a professor at her school, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with C. S. Lewis and his own brother Warnie, begging them for answers.
Rather than directly telling her where Narnia came from, Lewis encourages Megs to form her own conclusion as he shares the little-known stories from his own life that led to his inspiration. As she takes these stories home to George, the little boy travels farther in his imagination than he ever could in real life.
After holding so tightly to logic and reason, her brother’s request leads Megs to absorb a more profound truth: “The way stories change us can’t be explained. It can only be felt. Like love.”
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora LeaA captivating, standalone historical novel combining fact and fictionAn emotional journey into the books and stories that make us who we areIncludes discussion questions for book clubs
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Callahan (Becoming Mrs. Lewis) mines the life and work of C.S. Lewis in this enjoyable exploration of the power of imagination to see one through difficult times. In 1950 Worcester, England, eight-year-old George Devonshir, born with a weak heart, is often restricted to his bed, where he devours adventure and fantasy books. After he comes across The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, he asks his sister Megs, a student at Oxford, to ask C.S. Lewis, who is a don at her university, where the idea for Narnia came from. After being caught on Lewis's property mustering up the courage to knock on the door, she's invited into his home, where Lewis and his brother tell her the story of their lives. Lewis's childhood, Megs learns, has many parallels with George's: he was often ill and comforted himself with wildly imaginative stories. As Megs relates the stories to her brother, she comes to appreciate how fantasy and real life can interact in productive, beautiful ways. While Callahan's prose verges on saccharine—nearly every page contains a reminder of George's illness or his family's devotion to his happiness—the heartfelt characters will win over sentimental readers. Callahan's fans will love this.
