Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly called C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, poet, academic,medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, and Christian apologist. Born in Belfast, Ireland, he held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College), 1925–1954, and Cambridge University (Magdalene College), 1954–1963. He is best known both for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetic, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. Both authors served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and both were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings". According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptized in the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion) at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at the age of 32 Lewis returned to the Anglican Communion, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England". His faith had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.

In 1956, he married the American writer Joy Davidman, 17 years his junior, who died four years later of cancer at the age of 45. Lewis died three years after his wife, from renal failure, one week before his 65th birthday. Media coverage of his death was minimal; he died on 22 November 1963—the same day that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the same day another famous author, Aldous Huxley, died. In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of his death, Lewis will be honoured with a memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. The books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia have sold the most and have been popularized on stage, TV, radio, and cinema.

Plot Summary

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, often shortened to LWW, was written by C. S. Lewis and published in 1950. It records the adventure of four ordinary English children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie - who found their way into the magical land of Narnia by way of a wardrobe that they stumbled across in an old house.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobewas the first of the Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published, but it comes second in the chronological history of Narnia.

Because of the dangers of World War II , the four Pevensie children were sent away from London to the home of Professor Digory Kirke, who lived in a large old house with many rooms useful for hiding and exploration.

While exploring the house with her siblings, Lucy decided to investigate an old wardrobe she found in one of the remote rooms. Upon entering the wardrobe, Lucy found herself walking through trees, rather than the expected coats. She pressed on and found herself standing in the middle of a snowy wood next to a lamp-post, where she met Tumnus the Faun, who invited her to his home for tea. He later told her that he had intended to hand her over to the White Witch, the usurping Queen of Narnia. The faun, feeling guilty for what he had planned to do, helped Lucy find her way back to the wardrobe, despite the risk that the White Witch would find him out and punish him.

Later, Lucy tried to tell her siblings about the strange land she had found, but they did not believe her. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy returned to the country in the wardrobe, and Edmund followed her so he could go on teasing her about her "imaginary" country. Although he denied it when the older children asked him, soon all four of them had gone into the wardrobe and seen Narnia. Susan, the most sensible of them, wanted to return home, but Lucy convinced Peter that they needed to help her new friend, Mr. Tumnus, who was arrested.

The four children were soon found by Mr. Beaver, who took them home, introduced them to his wife Mrs. Beaver, and they had dinner. He told them of Aslan the Great Lion, and a Prophecy that said when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sat upon the four thrones at Cair Paravel, all Narnia would be put to rights.

While they were talking they found out that Edmund had slipped away and they decided to flee, after realizing that he would tell where they were to the White Witch.

On their journey, they met Father Christmas, who gave Lucy a cordial made from the juice of fireflowers that would heal others with a single drop, and a dagger, and gave Susan bow and arrows, and a horn which could bring help whenever it was blown; and Peter a sword and a shield.

Later, after they arrived at Aslan's Camp, while Susan and Lucy were having fun near the woods, two wolves attacked them. Susan called for help with her horn and Peter and Aslan came to their rescue. Peter killed Maugrim, one of the wolves, in his first fight, and Aslan let the other wolf go, followed by centaurs and eagles from Aslan's army. That wolf led them right to Edmund, whom they rescued.

Later, the Witch requested an audience with Aslan. There, she claimed that since Edmund was a traitor, according to the Deep Magic, his blood belonged to her. Eventually, she and Aslan went inside the tent, where they reached an agreement that she would kill him later that night, but renounce her claim on Edmund. Aslan eventually went, though without telling anyone. However Lucy and Susan saw him leaving, and followed. There, they saw Aslan being killed, after which the Witch's army left.

In the morning, just as they were about to leave, they heard the Stone Table crack. When they turned around to look, they saw Aslan standing before them, who revealed to them the Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time stated that when "a willing victim is killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and even death would start working backwards."

Afterwards, they went to the Witch's castle, and revived all the statues. Lucy found Mr. Tumnus, begged Aslan to revive him, and soon afterward she and the revived Faun were dancing happily. They then joined the battle between Aslan's army, and the Witch's, which had started earlier that morning.

When it was all over, after Aslan had killed the Witch, the children were crowned High King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.