The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published by Geoffrey Bles on October 16, 1950, with illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and has sold over 85 million copies — making it one of the ten best-selling books ever published in the English language. It was the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia to be published (though Lewis later considered The Magician’s Nephew to be first in internal chronology), and it remains the most famous, the most read, and the most argued about.
The Novel
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, evacuated from London during the Blitz, stay at the country house of Professor Kirke. Lucy discovers that the back of a wardrobe opens into Narnia — a land of talking animals, fauns, dwarves, and perpetual winter. The White Witch, Jadis, has frozen Narnia into an eternal winter without Christmas. Edmund betrays his siblings to the Witch for Turkish Delight. Aslan, the great lion — the true king of Narnia — returns, surrenders himself to the Witch to pay for Edmund’s treachery, dies on the Stone Table, and rises again, shattering the Table and defeating the Witch.
The Christian allegory is unmistakable and was deliberately intended by Lewis: Aslan’s death and resurrection parallel Christ’s; Edmund’s betrayal parallels Judas’s (or humanity’s); the Deep Magic represents the Law, and the Deeper Magic represents Grace. Lewis, unlike Tolkien (who disapproved of allegory), was perfectly comfortable with the parallel and acknowledged it freely.
Themes
Sacrifice and redemption — Aslan’s voluntary death to save Edmund is the novel’s theological core. Undeserved suffering, freely chosen, breaks the power of evil.
Childhood and faith — only children can enter Narnia. Adults (except Digory Kirke, who entered as a child) cannot see it. Lewis believed in the epistemological superiority of the child’s imagination over adult rationalism.
Good and evil — Lewis’s moral universe is absolute. The Witch is evil; Aslan is good; Edmund is forgiven; Peter is brave; Lucy is true. This moral clarity is either the book’s strength (for those who share Lewis’s worldview) or its limitation (for those who prefer ambiguity).
Collecting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
First edition (Geoffrey Bles, London, 1950): Green boards with gilt lettering. Dust jacket by Pauline Baynes.
Identification points:
- Geoffrey Bles imprint
- “1950” on title page
- Pauline Baynes illustrations throughout
- No later printings noted
Market values (with dust jacket):
- Fine in dust jacket: $30,000–$80,000
- Very good in dust jacket: $15,000–$40,000
- Without dust jacket: $2,000–$5,000
First American edition (Macmillan, New York, 1950): $5,000–$15,000 in dust jacket.
This is one of the most valuable children’s book first editions of the twentieth century, second only to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone among post-war titles. The 2005 Disney film adaptation boosted awareness and prices. Signed copies are exceptionally rare and command prices above $100,000.