The Magician’s Nephew is the first story, chronologically, in C. S. Lewis’s Narnia classic series of books, though it was the sixth in order of publication. The book follows the early history of Narnia from its very beginning, with beautiful imagery evocative of the Biblical narrative of which it is clearly allegory. Some of the characters in the tale will be familiar to readers of the earlier published works, and some are entirely new, but all are creatively imagined and brought to life by Lewis’s skilled prose. Though the book was written for, and is simple enough to be understood by, children, it holds a depth of thought and meaning in which adults will also find satisfaction. The story is one of heroism and villainy, delight and loss, and such themes are timeless. The young protagonists must find their way through perils of both the physical and moral sort, and this diversity of plot is what has kept the book so enduring for so many years. An excellent read, whether a reader is young or old, has read the remainder of the Narnia books, or is just starting at story’s beginning without knowledge of the other published books.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 6 mild obscenities.

Note: the word “ass” used to refer to a foolish person (not tallied).

Violence/Gore: A few verbal threats; report of mass civilian casualties in war; a few fights with minor injury; an adult grabs a child by the hair; buildings are destroyed by an earthquake and crumbling; a vehicle is destroyed in an accident; a character whips a horse to make it faster.

Sex/Nudity: A married adult couple holds hands; a man considers to himself in a very non-descriptive way that a woman looks nice.

Mature Subject Matter:

War (reported); terminal illness (reported); theft (reported).

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Adult drinks wine; brandy is mentioned; cigars are mentioned.