Once Upon a Wardrobe

From New York Times bestselling novelist Patti Callahan, author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis, comes a story set in 1950 Oxford, where a student asks C. S. Lewis the question her dying brother can't stop asking: Where did Narnia come from?

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 and seriously ill, 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."

Once Upon a Wardrobe is a captivating historical novel that deftly combines fact and fiction. Perfect for book clubs, it includes discussion questions and a note from Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis's stepson. It is a story about the books that shape us and the love that outlasts every ending.

An Indie Next Pick | ". . . a must read for fans of C. S. Lewis." --Library Journal, STARRED review | "It's a love letter to books and stories . . ." --THE WASHINGTON POST