Narnia Books

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the 1950 fantasy tale by CS Lewis and the best loved of the Narnia Chronicles, came second in the survey carried out by the Cartoon Network, followed by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, published in 1883.

Tolkien also makes the list with the Lord of the Rings (#6) and the Hobbit (#8).

Richard Purtill, a former professor of philosophy at Western Washington University, sets out to answer those questions. His new book offers a clear, systematic assessment of Lewis’ lasting achievement.

At the heart of Lewis’ body of work — from “Miracles” to “The Chronicles of Narnia” to “The Screwtape Letters” — Purtill finds a rare combination of imaginative, moral and intellectual talents.

This is a big book. It’s not to be read at one sitting. It’s for dipping in and out. Lewis was plainly a hugely gifted man and I found his letters endlessly fascinating. When he’s writing to his fellow Christians he can be profundity itself. In one he describes an evening spent with fellow theologians (including Tolkien) mulling over Matthew 7:14.

Walden, a relative newcomer to the movie industry, envisages another business opportunity in Narnia: educational publishing, school workshops and teacher training.