The Chronicles of Narnia
Series of children's fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. Except in "The Horse and His Boy", the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in "The Magician's Nephew" to its eventual destruction in "The Last Battle".
"The Chronicles of Narnia" is considered a classic of children's literature and is Lewis's best-selling work, having sold 120 million copies in 47 languages. The series has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film, and video games.
Background and conception.
Although Lewis originally conceived what would become "The Chronicles of Narnia" in 1939 (the picture of a Faun with parcels in a snowy wood has a history dating to 1914), he did not finish writing the first book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" until 1949. "The Magician's Nephew", the penultimate book to be published, but the last to be written, was completed in 1954. Lewis did not write the books in the order in which they were originally published, nor were they published in their current chronological order of presentation. The original illustrator, Pauline Baynes, created pen and ink drawings for the "Narnia" books that are still used in the editions published today. Lewis was awarded the 1956 Carnegie Medal for "The Last Battle", the final book in the saga. The series was first referred to as "The Chronicles of Narnia" by fellow children's author Roger Lancelyn Green in March 1951, after he had read and discussed with Lewis his recently completed fourth book "The Silver Chair", originally entitled "Night under Narnia".
Lewis described the origin of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in an essay entitled "It All Began with a Picture":
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />The "Lion" all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: "Let's try to make a story about it."
Shortly before the start of World War II, many children were evacuated to the English countryside in anticipation of attacks on London and other major urban areas by Nazi Germany. As a result, on 2 September 1939, three school girls named Margaret, Mary and Katherine came to live at The Kilns in Risinghurst, Lewis's home three miles east of Oxford city centre. Lewis later suggested that the experience gave him a new appreciation of children and in late September he began a children's story on an odd sheet of paper which has survived as part of another manuscript:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
This book is about four children whose names were Ann, Martin, Rose and Peter. But it is most about Peter who was the youngest. They all had to go away from London suddenly because of Air Raids, and because Father, who was in the Army, had gone off to the War and Mother was doing some kind of war work. They were sent to stay with a kind of relation of Mother's who was a very old professor who lived all by himself in the country.
In "It All Began with a Picture" C. S. Lewis continues:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />At first, I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time. Apart from that, I don't know where the Lion came from or why he came. But once he was there, he pulled the whole story together, and soon he pulled the six other Narnian stories in after him.
Although Lewis pleaded ignorance about the source of his inspiration for Aslan, Jared Lobdell, digging into Lewis's history to explore the making of the series, suggests Charles Williams's 1931 novel "The Place of the Lion" as a likely influence.
The manuscript for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was complete by the end of March 1949.
Name.
The name "Narnia" is based on Narni, Italy, written in Latin as "Narnia". Green wrote:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />When Walter Hooper asked where he found the word 'Narnia', Lewis showed him "Murray's Small Classical Atlas", ed. G.B. Grundy (1904), which he acquired when he was reading the classics with Mr [William T.] Kirkpatrick at Great Bookham [1914–1917]. On plate 8 of the Atlas is a map of ancient Italy. Lewis had underscored the name of a little town called Narnia, simply because he liked the sound of it. Narnia – or 'Narni' in Italian – is in Umbria, halfway between Rome and Assisi.
Publication history.
"The Chronicles of Narnia's" seven books have been in continuous publication since 1956, selling over 100 million copies in 47 languages and with editions in Braille.
The first five books were originally published in the United Kingdom by Geoffrey Bles. The first edition of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was released in London on 16 October 1950. Although three more books, "Prince Caspian", "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Horse and His Boy", were already complete, they were not released immediately at that time, but instead appeared (along with "The Silver Chair") one at a time in each of the subsequent years (1951–1954). The last two books ("The Magician's Nephew" and "The Last Battle") were published in the United Kingdom originally by The Bodley Head in 1955 and 1956.
In the United States, the publication rights were first owned by Macmillan Publishers, and later by HarperCollins. The two issued both hardcover and paperback editions of the series during their tenure as publishers, while at the same time Scholastic, Inc. produced paperback versions for sale primarily through direct mail order, book clubs, and book fairs. HarperCollins also published several one-volume collected editions containing the full text of the series. As noted below (see Reading order), the first American publisher, Macmillan, numbered the books in publication sequence, whereas HarperCollins, at the suggestion of Lewis's stepson, opted to use the series' internal chronological order when they won the rights to it in 1994. Scholastic switched the numbering of its paperback editions in 1994 to mirror that of HarperCollins.
Books.
The seven books that make up "The Chronicles of Narnia" are presented here in order of original publication date:
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950).
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", completed by the end of March 1949 and published by Geoffrey Bles in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1950, tells the story of four ordinary children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, Londoners who were evacuated to the English countryside following the outbreak of World War II. They discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke's house that leads to the magical land of Narnia. The Pevensie children help Aslan, a talking lion, save Narnia from the evil White Witch, who has reigned for a century of perpetual winter with no Christmas. The children become kings and queens of this new-found land and establish the Golden Age of Narnia, leaving a legacy to be rediscovered in later books.
"Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia" (1951).
Completed after Christmas 1949 and published on 15 October 1951, "Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia" tells the story of the Pevensie children's second trip to Narnia, a year (on Earth) after their first. They are drawn back by the power of Susan's horn, blown by Prince Caspian to summon help in his hour of need. Narnia as they knew it is no more, as 1,300 years have passed, their castle is in ruins, and all Narnians have retreated so far within themselves that only Aslan's magic can wake them. Caspian has fled into the woods to escape his uncle, Miraz, who has usurped the throne. The children set out once again to save Narnia.
"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (1952).
Written between January and February 1950 and published on 15 September 1952, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" sees Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their priggish cousin, Eustace Scrubb, return to Narnia, three Narnian years (and one Earth year) after their last departure. Once there, they join Caspian's voyage on the ship "Dawn Treader" to find the seven lords who were banished when Miraz took over the throne. This perilous journey brings them face to face with many wonders and dangers as they sail toward Aslan's country at the edge of the world.
"The Silver Chair" (1953).
Completed at the beginning of March 1951 and published 7 September 1953, "The Silver Chair" is the first Narnia book not involving the Pevensie children, focusing instead on Eustace. Several months after "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", Aslan calls Eustace back to Narnia along with his classmate Jill Pole. They are given four signs to aid them in the search for Prince Caspian's son Rilian, who disappeared ten years earlier on a quest to avenge his mother's death. Fifty years have passed in Narnia since the events from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"; Eustace is still a child, but Caspian, barely an adult in the previous book, is now an old man. Eustace and Jill, with the help of Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, face danger and betrayal on their quest to find Rilian.
"The Horse and His Boy" (1954).
Begun in March and completed at the end of July 1950, "The Horse and His Boy" was published on 6 September 1954. The story takes place during the reign of the Pevensies in Narnia, an era which begins and ends in the last chapter of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". The protagonists, a young boy named Shasta and a talking horse named Bree, both begin in bondage in the country of Calormen. By "chance", they meet and plan their return to Narnia and freedom. Along the way they meet Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also fleeing to Narnia.
"The Magician's Nephew" (1955).
Completed in February 1954
and published by Bodley Head in London on 2 May 1955, "The Magician's Nephew" serves as a prequel and presents Narnia's origin story: how Aslan created the world and how evil first entered it. Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer stumble into different worlds by experimenting with magic rings given to them by Digory's uncle. In the dying world of Charn they awaken Queen Jadis, and another world turns out to be the beginnings of the Narnian world (where Jadis later becomes the White Witch). The story is set in 1900, when Digory was a 12-year-old boy. He is a middle-aged professor by the time he hosts the Pevensie children in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" 40 years later.
"The Last Battle" (1956).
Completed in March 1953 and published 4 September 1956, "The Last Battle" chronicles the end of the world of Narnia. Approximately two hundred Narnian years after the events of "The Silver Chair", Jill and Eustace return to save Narnia from the ape Shift, who tricks Puzzle the donkey into impersonating the lion Aslan, thereby precipitating a showdown between the Calormenes and King Tirian. This leads to the end of Narnia as it is known throughout the series, but allows Aslan to lead the characters to the "true" Narnia.
Reading order.
Fans of the series often have strong opinions about the order in which the books should be read. The issue revolves around the placement of "The Magician's Nephew" and "The Horse and His Boy" in the series. Both are set significantly earlier in the story of Narnia than their publication order and fall somewhat outside the main story arc connecting the others. The reading order of the other five books is not disputed.
When first published, the books were not numbered. The first American publisher, Macmillan, enumerated them according to their original publication order, while some early British editions specified the internal chronological order. When HarperCollins took over the series rights in 1994, they adopted the internal chronological order. To make the case for the internal chronological order, Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham, quoted Lewis's 1957 reply to a letter from an American fan who was having an argument with his mother about the order:
I think I agree with your [chronological] order for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote "The Lion" I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote "P. Caspian" as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done "The Voyage" I felt quite sure it would be the last, but I found I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.
In the 2005 HarperCollins adult editions of the books, the publisher cites this letter to assert Lewis's preference for the numbering they adopted by including this notice on the copyright page:
Although "The Magician's Nephew" was written several years after C. S. Lewis first began "The Chronicles of Narnia", he wanted it to be read as the first book in the series. HarperCollins is happy to present these books in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred.
Paul Ford cites several scholars who have weighed in against this view and continues, saying, "Most scholars disagree with this decision and find it the least faithful to Lewis's deepest intentions." Scholars and readers who appreciate the original order believe that Lewis was simply being gracious to his youthful correspondent and that he could have changed the books' order in his lifetime had he so desired. They maintain that much of the magic of Narnia comes from the way the world is gradually presented in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"—that the mysterious wardrobe, as a narrative device, is a much better introduction to Narnia than "The Magician's Nephew", where the word "Narnia" appears in the first paragraph as something already familiar to the reader. Moreover, they say, it is clear from the texts themselves that "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was intended to be read first. When Aslan is first mentioned in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", for example, the narrator says that "None of the children knew who Aslan was, any more than you do"—which is nonsensical if one has already read "The Magician's Nephew". Other similar textual examples are also cited.
Doris Meyer, author of "C. S. Lewis in Context" and "Bareface: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's Last Novel", writes that rearranging the stories chronologically "lessens the impact of the individual stories" and "obscures the literary structures as a whole". Peter Schakel devotes an entire chapter to this topic in his book "Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis: Journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds", and in "Reading with the Heart: The Way into Narnia" he writes:
The only reason to read "The Magician's Nephew" first […] is for the chronological order of events, and that, as every story teller knows, is quite unimportant as a reason. Often the early events in a sequence have a greater impact or effect as a flashback, told after later events which provide background and establish perspective. So it is […] with the "Chronicles". The artistry, the archetypes, and the pattern of Christian thought all make it preferable to read the books in the order of their publication.
Main characters.
Aslan.
Aslan, the Great Lion, is the titular lion of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books. He is also the only character to appear in all seven books. Aslan is a talking lion, the King of Beasts, son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea. He is a wise, compassionate, magical authority (both temporal and spiritual) who serves as mysterious and benevolent guide to the human children who visit, as well as being the guardian and saviour of Narnia. C. S. Lewis described Aslan as an alternative version of Jesus as the form in which he may have appeared in an alternative reality. In his book "Miracles", C.S. Lewis argues that the possible existence of other worlds with other sentient life-forms should not deter or detract from being Christian:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />[The universe] may be full of lives that have been redeemed in modes suitable to their condition, of which we can form no conception. It may be full of lives that have been redeemed in the very same mode as our own. It may be full of things quite other than life in which God is interested though we are not.
Pevensie family.
The four Pevensie siblings are the main human protagonists of "The Chronicles of Narnia". Varying combinations of some or all of them appear in five of the seven novels. They are introduced in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (although their surname is not revealed until "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"), and eventually become Kings and Queens of Narnia reigning as a tetrarchy. Although introduced in the series as children, the siblings grow up into adults while reigning in Narnia. They go back to being children once they get back to their own world, but feature as adults in "The Horse and His Boy" during their Narnian reign.
All four appear in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian"; in the latter, however, Aslan tells Peter and Susan that they will not return, as they are getting too old. Susan, Lucy, and Edmund appear in "The Horse and His Boy"—Peter is said to be away fighting giants on the other side of Narnia. Lucy and Edmund appear in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", where Aslan tells them, too, that they are getting too old. Peter, Edmund, and Lucy appear as Kings and Queens in Aslan's Country in "The Last Battle"; Susan does not. Asked by a child in 1958 if he would please write another book entitled "Susan of Narnia" so that the entire Pevensie family would be reunited, C. S. Lewis replied: "I am so glad you like the Narnian books and it was nice of you to write and tell me. There's no use just asking me to write more. When stories come into my mind I have to write them, and when they don't I can't!"
Lucy Pevensie.
Lucy is the youngest of the four Pevensie siblings. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan, and of all the human characters who visit Narnia, Lucy is perhaps the one who believes in Narnia the most. In "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", she initiates the story by entering Narnia through the wardrobe, and (with Susan) witnesses Aslan's execution and resurrection. She is named Queen Lucy the Valiant. In "Prince Caspian", she is the first to see Aslan when he comes to guide them. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", it is Lucy who breaks the spell of invisibility on the Dufflepuds. As an adult in "The Horse and His Boy", she helps fight the Calormenes at Anvard. Although a minor character in "The Last Battle", much of the closing chapter is seen from her point of view.
Edmund Pevensie.
Edmund is the second child to enter Narnia in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", where he falls under the White Witch's spell from eating the Turkish delight she gives him. Instantiating the book's Christian theme of betrayal, repentance, and subsequent redemption via blood sacrifice, he betrays his siblings to the White Witch, but quickly realizes her true nature and her evil intentions, and is redeemed by the sacrifice of Aslan's life. He is named King Edmund the Just. In "Prince Caspian" and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", he supports Lucy; in "The Horse and His Boy", he leads the Narnian delegation to Calormen and, later, the Narnian army breaking the siege at Anvard.
Susan Pevensie.
In "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", Susan accompanies Lucy to see Aslan die and rise again. She is named Queen Susan the Gentle. In "Prince Caspian", however, she is the last of the four to believe and follow Lucy when the latter is called by Aslan to guide them. As an adult queen in "The Horse and His Boy", she is courted by Prince Rabadash of Calormen, but refuses his marriage proposal, and his angry response leads the story to its climax. In "The Last Battle", she has stopped believing in Narnia and remembers it only as a childhood game, though Lewis mentioned in a letter to a fan that he thought she may eventually believe again: "The books don't tell us what happened to Susan… But there is plenty of time for her to mend, and perhaps she will get to Aslan's country in the end—in her own way."
Peter Pevensie.
Peter is the eldest of the Pevensies. In "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", he kills Maugrim, a talking wolf, to save Susan, and leads the Narnian army against the White Witch. Aslan names him High King, and he is known as Peter the Magnificent. In "Prince Caspian", he duels the usurper King Miraz to restore Caspian's throne. In "The Last Battle", it is Peter whom Aslan entrusts with the duty of closing the door on Narnia for the final time.
Eustace Scrubb.
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a cousin of the Pevensies, and a classmate of Jill Pole at their school Experiment House. He is portrayed at first as a brat and a bully, but comes to improve his nasty behaviour when his greed turns him into a dragon for a while. His distress at having to live as a dragon causes him to reflect upon how horrible he has been, and his subsequent improved character is rewarded when Aslan changes him back into a boy. In the later books, Eustace comes across as a much nicer person, although he is still rather grumpy and argumentative. Nonetheless, he becomes a hero along with Jill Pole when the pair succeed in freeing the lost Prince Rilian from the clutches of an evil witch. He appears in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", "The Silver Chair", and "The Last Battle".
Jill Pole.
Jill Pole is a schoolmate of Eustace Scrubb. She appears in "The Silver Chair", where she is the viewpoint character for most of the action, and returns in "The Last Battle". In "The Silver Chair", Eustace introduces her to the Narnian world, where Aslan gives her the task of memorising a series of signs that will help her and Eustace on their quest to find Caspian's lost son. In "The Last Battle", she and Eustace accompany King Tirian in his ill-fated defence of Narnia against the Calormenes.
Professor Digory Kirke.
Digory Kirke is the nephew referred to in the title of "The Magician's Nephew". He first appears as a minor character in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", known only as "The Professor", who hosts the Pevensie children when they are evacuated from London and defends Lucy's story of having found a country in the back of the wardrobe. In "The Magician's Nephew", the young Digory, thanks to his uncle's magical experimentation, inadvertently brings Jadis from her dying homeworld of Charn to the newly created world of Narnia; to rectify his mistake, Aslan sends him to fetch a magical apple which will protect Narnia and heal his dying mother. He returns in "The Last Battle".
Polly Plummer.
Polly Plummer appears in "The Magician's Nephew" and "The Last Battle". She is the next-door neighbour of the young Digory Kirke. She is tricked by a wicked magician (who is Digory's uncle) into touching a magic ring which transports her to the Wood between the Worlds and leaves her there stranded. The wicked uncle persuades Digory to follow her with a second magic ring that has the power to bring her back. This sets up the pair's adventures into other worlds, and they witness the creation of Narnia as described in "The Magician's Nephew". She appears at the end of "The Last Battle".
Tumnus.
Tumnus the Faun, called "Mr Tumnus" by Lucy, is featured prominently in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and also appears in "The Horse and His Boy" and "The Last Battle". He is the first creature Lucy meets in Narnia, as well as the first Narnian to be introduced in the series; he invites her to his home with the intention of betraying her to Jadis, but quickly repents and befriends her. In "The Horse and His Boy", he devises the Narnian delegation's plan of escape from Calormen. He returns for a brief dialogue at the end of "The Last Battle". Lewis's initial inspiration for the entire series was a mental image of a faun in a snowy wood; Tumnus is that faun.
Caspian.
Caspian is first introduced in the book titled after him, as the young nephew and heir of King Miraz. Fleeing potential assassination by his uncle, he becomes leader of the Old Narnian rebellion against the Telmarine occupation. With the help of the Pevensies, he defeats Miraz's army and becomes King Caspian X of Narnia. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", he leads an expedition out into the eastern ocean to find Seven Lords, whom Miraz had exiled, and ultimately to reach Aslan's Country. In "The Silver Chair", he makes two brief appearances as an old, dying man, but at the end is resurrected in Aslan's Country.
Trumpkin.
Trumpkin the Dwarf is the narrator of several chapters of "Prince Caspian"; he is one of Caspian's rescuers and a leading figure in the "Old Narnian" rebellion, and accompanies the Pevensie children from the ruins of Cair Paravel to the Old Narnian camp. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", we learn that Caspian has made him his Regent in Narnia while he is away at sea, and he appears briefly in this role (now elderly and very deaf) in "The Silver Chair".
Reepicheep.
Reepicheep the Mouse is the leader of the Talking Mice of Narnia in "Prince Caspian". Utterly fearless, infallibly courteous, and obsessed with honour, he is badly wounded in the final battle but healed by Lucy and Aslan. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", his role is greatly expanded; he becomes a visionary as well as a warrior, and ultimately his willing self-exile to Aslan's Country breaks the enchantment on the last three of the Lost Lords, thus achieving the final goal of the quest. Lewis identified Reepicheep as "specially" exemplifying the latter book's theme of "the spiritual life". Reepicheep makes one final cameo appearance at the end of "The Last Battle", in Aslan's Country.
Puddleglum.
Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle guides Eustace and Jill on their quest in "The Silver Chair". Though always comically pessimistic, he provides the voice of reason and as such intervenes critically in the climactic enchantment scene.
Shasta / Cor.
Shasta, later known as Cor of Archenland, is the principal character in "The Horse and His Boy". Born the eldest son and heir of King Lune of Archenland, and elder twin of Prince Corin, Cor was kidnapped as an infant and raised as a fisherman's son in Calormen. With the help of the talking horse Bree, Shasta escapes from being sold into slavery and makes his way northward to Narnia. On the journey his companion Aravis learns of an imminent Calormene surprise attack on Archenland; Shasta warns the Archenlanders in time and discovers his true identity and original name. At the end of the story he marries Aravis and becomes King of Archenland.
Aravis.
Aravis, daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, is a character in "The Horse and His Boy". Escaping a forced betrothal to the loathsome Ahoshta, she joins Shasta on his journey and inadvertently overhears a plot by Rabadash, crown prince of Calormen, to invade Archenland. She later marries Shasta, now known as Prince Cor, and becomes queen of Archenland at his side.
Bree.
Bree (Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah) is Shasta's mount and mentor in "The Horse and His Boy". A Talking Horse of Narnia, he wandered into Calormen as a foal and was captured. He first appears as a Calormene nobleman's war-horse; when the nobleman buys Shasta as a slave, Bree organises and carries out their joint escape. Though friendly, he is also vain and a braggart until his encounter with Aslan late in the story.
Tirian.
The last King of Narnia is the viewpoint character for much of "The Last Battle". Having rashly killed a Calormene for mistreating a Narnian Talking Horse, he is imprisoned by the villainous ape Shift but released by Eustace and Jill. Together they fight faithfully to the last and are welcomed into Aslan's Kingdom.
Antagonists.
Jadis, the White Witch.
Jadis, commonly known during her rule of Narnia as the White Witch, is the main villain of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" and "The Magician's Nephew"—the only antagonist to appear in more than one Narnia book. In "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", she is the witch responsible for the freezing of Narnia resulting in the Hundred Year Winter; she turns her enemies into statues and kills Aslan on the Stone Table, but is killed by him in battle after his resurrection. In "The Magician's Nephew", she is wakened from a magical sleep by Digory in the dead world of Charn and inadvertently brought to Victorian London before being transported to Narnia, where she steals an apple to grant her the gift of immortality.
Miraz.
King Miraz is the lead villain of "Prince Caspian". Prior to the book's opening he has killed King Caspian IX, father of the titular Prince Caspian, and usurped his throne as king of the Telmarine colonizers in Narnia. He raises Caspian as his heir, but seeks to kill him after his own son is born. As the story progresses he leads the Telmarine war against the Old Narnian rebellion; he is defeated in single combat by Peter and then murdered by one of his own lords.
Lady of the Green Kirtle.
The Lady of the Green Kirtle is the lead villain of "The Silver Chair", and is also referred to in that book as "the Queen of Underland" or simply as "the Witch". She rules an underground kingdom through magical mind-control. Prior to the events of "The Silver Chair", she has murdered Caspian's Queen and then seduced and abducted his son Prince Rilian. She encounters the protagonists on their quest and sends them astray. Confronted by them later, she attempts to enslave them magically; when that fails, she attacks them in the form of a serpent and is killed.
Rabadash.
Prince Rabadash, heir to the throne of Calormen, is the primary antagonist of "The Horse and His Boy". Hot-headed, arrogant, and entitled, he brings Queen Susan of Narnia—along with a small retinue of Narnians, including King Edmund—to Calormen in the hope that Susan will marry him. When the Narnians realize that Rabadash may force Susan to accept his marriage proposal, they spirit Susan out of Calormen by ship. Incensed, Rabadash launches a surprise attack on Archenland with the ultimate intention of raiding Narnia and taking Susan captive. His plan is foiled when Shasta and Aravis warn the Archenlanders of his impending strike. After being captured by Edmund, Rabadash blasphemes against Aslan. Aslan then temporarily transforms him into a donkey as punishment.
Shift the Ape.
Shift is the most prominent villain of "The Last Battle". He is an elderly Talking Ape—Lewis does not specify what kind of ape, but Pauline Baynes' illustrations depict him as a chimpanzee. He persuades the naïve donkey Puzzle to pretend to be Aslan (wearing a lion-skin) in order to seize control of Narnia, and proceeds to cut down the forests, enslave the other Talking Beasts, and invite the Calormenes to invade. He loses control of the situation due to over-indulging in alcohol, and is eventually swallowed up by the evil Calormene god Tash.
Narnian geography.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" describes the world in which Narnia exists as one major landmass encircled by an ocean. Narnia's capital sits on the eastern edge of the landmass on the shores of the Great Eastern Ocean. This ocean contains the islands explored in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". On the main landmass Lewis places the countries of Narnia, Archenland, Calormen, and Telmar, along with a variety of other areas that are not described as countries. The author also provides glimpses of more fantastic locations that exist in and around the main world of Narnia, including an edge and an underworld.
Influences.
Lewis's life.
Lewis's early life has parallels with "The Chronicles of Narnia". At the age of seven, he moved with his family to a large house on the edge of Belfast. Its long hallways and empty rooms inspired Lewis and his brother to invent make-believe worlds whilst exploring their home, an activity reflected in Lucy's discovery of Narnia in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Like Caspian and Rilian, Lewis lost his mother at an early age, spending much of his youth in English boarding schools similar to those attended by the Pevensie children, Eustace Scrubb, and Jill Pole. During World War II many children were evacuated from London and other urban areas because of German air raids. Some of these children, including one named Lucy (Lewis's goddaughter) stayed with him at his home The Kilns near Oxford, just as the Pevensies stayed with The Professor in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".
Influences from mythology and cosmology.
Drew Trotter, president of the Center for Christian Study, noted that the producers of the film "" felt that the books' plots adhere to the archetypal "monomyth" pattern as detailed in Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces".
Lewis was widely read in medieval Celtic literature, an influence reflected throughout the books, and most strongly in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." The entire book imitates one of the immrama, a type of traditional Old Irish tale that combines elements of Christianity and Irish mythology to tell the story of a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld.
"Planet Narnia".
Michael Ward's 2008 book "Planet Narnia" proposes that each of the seven books related to one of the seven moving heavenly bodies or "planets" known in the Middle Ages according to the Ptolemaic geocentric model of cosmology (a theme to which Lewis returned habitually throughout his work). At that time, each of these heavenly bodies was believed to have certain attributes, and Ward contends that these attributes were deliberately but subtly used by Lewis to furnish elements of the stories of each book:
In "The Lion" [the child protagonists] become monarchs under sovereign Jove; in "Prince Caspian" they harden under strong Mars; in "The "Dawn Treader"" they drink light under searching Sol; in "The Silver Chair" they learn obedience under subordinate Luna; in "The Horse and His Boy" they come to love poetry under eloquent Mercury; in "The Magician's Nephew" they gain life-giving fruit under fertile Venus; and in "The Last Battle" they suffer and die under chilling Saturn.
Lewis's interest in the literary symbolism of medieval and Renaissance astrology is more overtly referenced in other works such as his study of medieval cosmology "The Discarded Image", and in his early poetry as well as in "Space Trilogy". Narnia scholar Paul F. Ford finds Ward's assertion that Lewis intended "The Chronicles" to be an embodiment of medieval astrology implausible, though Ford addresses an earlier (2003) version of Ward's thesis (also called "Planet Narnia", published in the "Times Literary Supplement"). Ford argues that Lewis did not start with a coherent plan for the books, but Ward's book answers this by arguing that the astrological associations grew in the writing:
Jupiter was... [Lewis's] favourite planet, part of the "habitual furniture" of his mind... "The Lion" was thus the first example of that "idea that he wanted to try out". "Prince Caspian" and "The "Dawn Treader"" naturally followed because Mars and Sol were both already connected in his mind with the merits of the Alexander technique... at some point after commencing "The Horse and His Boy" he resolved to treat all seven planets, for seven such treatments of his idea would mean that he had "worked it out to the full".
A quantitative analysis on the imagery in the different books of "The Chronicles" gives mixed support to Ward's thesis: "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", "The Silver Chair", "The Horse and His Boy", and "The Magician's Nephew" do indeed employ concepts associated with, respectively, Sol, Luna, Mercury, and Venus, far more often than chance would predict, but "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Prince Caspian", and "The Last Battle" fall short of statistical correlation with their proposed planets.
Influences from literature.
George MacDonald's "Phantastes" (1858) influenced the structure and setting of "The Chronicles". It was a work that was " a great balm to the soul".
Plato was an undeniable influence on Lewis's writing of "The Chronicles". Most clearly, Digory explicitly invokes Plato's name at the end of "The Last Battle", to explain how the old version of Narnia is but a shadow of the newly revealed "true" Narnia. Plato's influence is also apparent in "The Silver Chair" when the Queen of the Underland attempts to convince the protagonists that the surface world is not real. She echoes the logic of Plato's Cave by comparing the sun to a nearby lamp, arguing that reality is only that which is perceived in the immediate physical vicinity.
The White Witch in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" shares many features, both of appearance and character, with the villainous Duessa of Edmund Spenser's "Faerie Queene", a work Lewis studied in detail. Like Duessa, she falsely styles herself Queen; she leads astray the erring Edmund with false temptations; she turns people into stone as Duessa turns them into trees. Both villains wear opulent robes and deck their conveyances out with bells. In "The Magician's Nephew" Jadis takes on echoes of Satan from John Milton's "Paradise Lost": she climbs over the wall of the paradisal garden in contempt of the command to enter only by the gate, and proceeds to tempt Digory as Satan tempted Eve, with lies and half-truths. Similarly, the Lady of the Green Kirtle in "The Silver Chair" recalls both the snake-woman Errour in "The Faerie Queene" and Satan's transformation into a snake in "Paradise Lost".
Lewis read Edith Nesbit's children's books as a child and was greatly fond of them. He described "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" around the time of its completion as "a children's book in the tradition of E. Nesbit". "The Magician's Nephew" in particular bears strong resemblances to Nesbit's "The Story of the Amulet" (1906). This novel focuses on four children living in London who discover a magic amulet. Their father is away and their mother is ill, as is the case with Digory. They manage to transport the queen of ancient Babylon to London and she is the cause of a riot; likewise, Polly and Digory transport Queen Jadis to London, sparking a very similar incident.
Marsha Daigle-Williamson argues that Dante's "Divine Comedy" had a significant impact on Lewis's writings. In the Narnia series, she identifies this influence as most apparent in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair". Daigle-Williamson identifies the plot of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" as a Dantean journey with a parallel structure and similar themes. She likewise draws numerous connections between "The Silver Chair" and the events of Dante's "Inferno".
Colin Duriez, writing on the shared elements found in both Lewis's and J. R. R. Tolkien's works, highlights the thematic similarities between Tolkien's poem "Imram" and Lewis's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".
Influences on other works.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" is considered a classic of children's literature.
Influences on literature.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" has been a significant influence on both adult and children's fantasy literature in the post-World War II era. In 1976, the scholar Susan Cornell Poskanzer praised Lewis for his "strangely powerful fantasies". Poskanzer argued that children could relate to "Narnia" books because the heroes and heroines were realistic characters, each with their own distinctive voice and personality. Furthermore, the protagonists become powerful kings and queens who decide the fate of kingdoms, while the adults in the "Narnia" books tended to be buffoons, which by inverting the normal order of things was pleasing to many youngsters. However, Poskanzer criticized Lewis for what she regarded as scenes of gratuitous violence, which she felt were upsetting to children. Poskanzer also noted Lewis presented his Christian message subtly enough as to avoid boring children with overt sermonizing.
Examples include:
Philip Pullman's fantasy series, "His Dark Materials", is seen as a response to "The Chronicles". Pullman is a self-described atheist who wholly rejects the spiritual themes that permeate "The Chronicles", yet his series nonetheless addresses many of the same issues and introduces some similar character types, including talking animals. In another parallel, the first books in each series – Pullman's "Northern Lights" and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" – both open with a young girl hiding in a wardrobe.
Bill Willingham's comic book series "Fables" makes reference at least twice to a king called "The Great Lion", a thinly veiled reference to Aslan. The series avoids explicitly referring to any characters or works that are not in the public domain.
The novel "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson has Leslie, one of the main characters, reveal to Jesse her love of Lewis's books, subsequently lending him "The Chronicles of Narnia" so that he can learn how to behave like a king. Her book also features the island name "Terabithia", which sounds similar to Terebinthia, a Narnian island that appears in "Prince Caspian" and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Katherine Paterson herself acknowledges that Terabithia is likely to be derived from Terebinthia:
I thought I had made it up. Then, rereading "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C. S. Lewis, I realized that I had probably gotten it from the island of Terebinthia in that book. However, Lewis probably got that name from the terebinth tree in the Bible, so both of us pinched from somewhere else, probably unconsciously."
Science-fiction author Greg Egan's short story "Oracle" depicts a parallel universe in which an author nicknamed Jack (Lewis's nickname) has written novels about the fictional "Kingdom of Nesica", and whose wife is dying of cancer, paralleling the death of Lewis's wife Joy Davidman. Several Narnian allegories are also used to explore issues of religion and faith versus science and knowledge.
Lev Grossman's "New York Times" best-seller "The Magicians" is a contemporary dark fantasy about an unusually gifted young man obsessed with Fillory, the magical land of his favourite childhood books. Fillory is a thinly veiled substitute for Narnia, and clearly the author expects it to be experienced as such. Not only is the land home to many similar talking animals and mythical creatures, it is also accessed through a grandfather clock in the home of an uncle to whom five English children are sent during World War II. Moreover, the land is ruled by two Aslan-like rams named Ember and Umber, and terrorised by The Watcherwoman. She, like the White Witch, freezes the land in time. The book's plot revolves heavily around a place very like the "wood between the worlds" from "The Magician's Nephew", an interworld waystation in which pools of water lead to other lands. This reference to "The Magician's Nephew" is echoed in the title of the book.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has said that she was a fan of the works of Lewis as a child, and cites the influence of "The Chronicles" on her work: "I found myself thinking about the wardrobe route to Narnia when Harry is told he has to hurl himself at a barrier in King's Cross Station – it dissolves and he's on platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and there's the train for Hogwarts." Nevertheless, she is at pains to stress the differences between Narnia and her world: "Narnia is literally a different world", she says, "whereas in the Harry books you go into a world within a world that you can see if you happen to belong. A lot of the humour comes from collisions between the magic and the everyday worlds. Generally there isn't much humour in the Narnia books, although I adored them when I was a child. I got so caught up I didn't think CS Lewis was especially preachy. Reading them now I find that his subliminal message isn't very subliminal." "New York Times" writer Charles McGrath notes the similarity between Dudley Dursley, the obnoxious son of Harry's neglectful guardians, and Eustace Scrubb, the spoiled brat who torments the main characters until he is redeemed by Aslan.
The comic book series "Pakkins' Land" by Gary and Rhoda Shipman in which a young child finds himself in a magical world filled with talking animals, including a lion character named King Aryah, has been compared favorably to the "Narnia" series. The Shipmans have cited the influence of C.S. Lewis and the "Narnia" series in response to reader letters.
Influences on popular culture.
As with any popular long-lived work, contemporary culture abounds with references to the lion Aslan, travelling via wardrobe and direct mentions of "The Chronicles". Examples include:
Charlotte Staples Lewis, a character first seen early in the fourth season of the TV series "Lost", is named in reference to C. S. Lewis. "Lost" producer Damon Lindelof said that this was a clue to the direction the show would take during the season. The book "Ultimate Lost and Philosophy", edited by William Irwin and Sharon Kaye, contains a comprehensive essay on "Lost" plot motifs based on "The Chronicles".
The second SNL Digital Short by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell features a humorous nerdcore hip hop song titled "Chronicles of Narnia (Lazy Sunday)", which focuses on the performers' plan to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at a cinema. It was described by "Slate" magazine as one of the most culturally significant "Saturday Night Live" skits in many years, and an important commentary on the state of rap. Swedish Christian power metal band Narnia, whose songs are mainly about the "Chronicles of Narnia" or the Bible, feature Aslan on all their album covers. The song "Further Up, Further In" from the album "Room to Roam" by Scottish-Irish folk-rock band The Waterboys is heavily influenced by "The Chronicles of Narnia". The title is taken from a passage in "The Last Battle", and one verse of the song describes sailing to the end of the world to meet a king, similar to the ending of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader". C. S. Lewis is explicitly acknowledged as an influence in the liner notes of the 1990 compact disc.
During interviews, the primary creator of the Japanese anime and gaming series "Digimon" has said that he was inspired and influenced by "The Chronicles of Narnia".
Its influence extends even to fan fiction: under the pen name Edonohana, Rachel Manija Brown wrote "No Reservations: Narnia", which imagined Anthony Bourdain exploring Narnia and its cuisine in the style of his "No Reservations" TV show and book. Bourdain himself praised the fic's writing and "frankly a bit frightening" attention to detail.
Christian themes.
Lewis had authored a number of works on Christian apologetics and other literature with Christian-based themes before writing the "Narnia" books. The character Aslan is widely accepted by literary academia as being based on Jesus Christ. Lewis did not initially plan to incorporate Christian theological concepts into his "Narnia" stories. Lewis maintained that the "Narnia" books were not allegorical, preferring to term their Christian aspects a "supposition".
"The Chronicles" have, consequently, a large Christian following, and are widely used to promote Christian ideas. However, some Christians object that "The Chronicles" promote "soft-sell paganism and occultism" due to recurring pagan imagery and themes.
Criticism.
Consistency.
Gertrude Ward noted that "When Lewis wrote "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", he clearly meant to create a world where there were no human beings at all. As the titles of Mr. Tumnus' books testify, in this world human beings are creatures of myth, while its common daily reality includes fauns and other creatures which are myth in our world. This worked well for the first volume of the series, but for later volumes Lewis thought up plots which required having more human beings in this world. In "Prince Caspian" he still kept the original structure and explained that more humans had arrived from our world at a later time, overrunning Narnia. However, later on he gave in and changed the entire concept of this world – there have always been very many humans in this world, and Narnia is just one very special country with a lot of talking animals and fauns and dwarves etc. In this revised world, with a great human empire to the south of Narnia and human principality just next door, the White Witch would not have suspected Edmund of being a dwarf who shaved his beard – there would be far more simple and obvious explanations for his origin. And in fact, in this revised world it is not entirely clear why were the four Pevensie children singled out for the Thrones of Narnia, over so many other humans in the world. […] Still, we just have to live with these discrepancies, and enjoy each Narnia book on its own merits."
Accusations of gender stereotyping.
In later years, both Lewis and the "Chronicles" have been criticised (often by other authors of fantasy fiction) for gender role stereotyping, though other authors have defended Lewis in this area. Most allegations of sexism centre on the description of Susan Pevensie in "The Last Battle" when Lewis writes that Susan is "no longer a friend of Narnia" and interested "in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations".
Philip Pullman, inimical to Lewis on many fronts, calls the "Narnia" stories "monumentally disparaging of women". His interpretation of the Susan passages reflects this view:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Susan, like Cinderella, is undergoing a transition from one phase of her life to another. Lewis didn't approve of that. He didn't like women in general, or sexuality at all, at least at the stage in his life when he wrote the Narnia books. He was frightened and appalled at the notion of wanting to grow up.
In fantasy author Neil Gaiman's short story "The Problem of Susan" (2004), an elderly woman, Professor Hastings, deals with the grief and trauma of her entire family's death in a train crash. Although the woman's maiden name is not revealed, details throughout the story strongly imply that this character is the elderly Susan Pevensie. The story is written for an adult audience and deals with issues of sexuality and violence and through it Gaiman presents a critique of Lewis's treatment of Susan, as well as the problem of evil as it relates to punishment and salvation.
Lewis supporters cite the positive roles of women in the series, including Jill Pole in "The Silver Chair", Aravis Tarkheena in "The Horse and His Boy", Polly Plummer in "The Magician's Nephew," and particularly Lucy Pevensie in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Alan Jacobs, an English professor at Wheaton College, asserts that Lucy is the most admirable of the human characters and that generally the girls come off better than the boys throughout the series (Jacobs, 2008: 259). In her contribution to "The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy", Karin Fry, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, notes that "the most sympathetic female characters in "The Chronicles" are consistently the ones who question the traditional roles of women and prove their worth to Aslan through actively engaging in the adventures just like the boys." Fry goes on to say:
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Nathan Ross notes that "Much of the plot of 'Wardrobe' is told exclusively from the point of view of Susan and Lucy. It is the girls who witness Aslan being killed and coming back to life – a unique experience from which the boys are excluded. Throughout, going through many highly frightening and shocking moments, Susan and Lucy behave with grown up courage and responsibility. Their experiences are told in full, over several chapters, while what the boys do at the same time – preparing an army and going into battle – is relegated to the background. This arrangement of material clearly implies that what girls saw and did was the more important. Given the commonly held interpretation – that Aslan is Jesus Christ and that what the girls saw was a no less than a reenacting of the Crucifixion – this order of priorities makes perfect sense".
Taking a different stance altogether, Monika B. Hilder provides a thorough examination of the feminine ethos apparent in each book of the series, and proposes that critics tend to misread Lewis's representation of gender. As she puts it "...we assume that Lewis is sexist when he is in fact applauding the 'feminine' heroic. To the extent that we have not examined our own chauvinism, we demean the 'feminine' qualities and extol the 'masculine' – not noticing that Lewis does the opposite."
Accusations of racism.
In addition to sexism, Pullman and others have also accused the Narnia series of fostering racism. Over the alleged racism in "The Horse and His Boy", newspaper editor Kyrie O'Connor wrote:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />While the book's storytelling virtues are enormous, you don't have to be a bluestocking of political correctness to find some of this fantasy anti-Arab, or anti-Eastern, or anti-Ottoman. With all its stereotypes, mostly played for belly laughs, there are moments you'd like to stuff this story back into its closet.
Gregg Easterbrook, writing in "The Atlantic", stated that "the Calormenes, are unmistakable Muslim stand-ins", while novelist Philip Hensher raises specific concerns that a reader might gain the impression that Islam is a "Satanic cult". In rebuttal to this charge, at an address to a C. S. Lewis conference, Devin Brown argued that there are too many dissimilarities between the Calormene religion and Islam, particularly in the areas of polytheism and human sacrifice, for Lewis's writing to be regarded as critical of Islam.
Nicholas Wanberg has argued, echoing claims by Mervyn Nicholson, that accusations of racism in the books are "an oversimplification", but he asserts that the stories employ beliefs about human aesthetics, including equating dark skin with ugliness, that have been traditionally associated with racist thought.
Critics also argue whether Lewis's work presents a positive or negative view of colonialism. Nicole DuPlessis favors the anticolonial view, claiming "the negative effects of colonial exploitations and the themes of animals' rights and responsibility to the environment are emphasized in Lewis's construction of a community of living things. Through the negative examples of illegitimate rulers, Lewis constructs the 'correct' relationship between humans and nature, providing examples of rulers like Caspian who fulfil their responsibilities to the environment." Clare Etcherling counters with her claim that "those 'illegitimate' rulers are often very dark-skinned" and that the only "legitimate rulers are those sons and daughters of Adam and Eve who adhere to Christian conceptions of morality and stewardship – either white English children (such as Peter) or Narnians who possess characteristics valued and cultivated by the British (such as Caspian)."
Adaptations.
Television.
Various books from "The Chronicles of Narnia" have been adapted for television over the years.
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was first adapted in 1967. Comprising ten episodes of thirty minutes each, the screenplay was written by Trevor Preston, and directed by Helen Standage.
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was adapted again in 1979, this time as an animated cartoon co-produced by Bill Melendez and the Children's Television Workshop, with a screenplay by David D. Connell.
Between 1988 and 1990, the first four books (as published) were adapted by the BBC as three TV serials. They were also aired in America on the PBS/Disney show WonderWorks. They were nominated for a total of 16 awards, including an Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" and a number of BAFTA awards including Best Children's Programme (Entertainment/Drama) in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Film.
Walden Media.
Sceptical that any cinematic adaptation could render the more fantastical elements and characters of the story realistically, Lewis never sold the film rights to the "Narnia" series. In answering a letter with a question posed by a child in 1957, asking if the Narnia series could please be on television, C. S. Lewis wrote back: "They'd be no good on TV. Humanised beasts can't be presented to the "eye" without at once becoming either hideous or ridiculous. I wish the idiots who run the film world [would] realize that there are stories which are for the "ear" alone."
The first novel adapted was "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Released in December 2005, ' was produced by Walden Media, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and directed by Andrew Adamson, with a screenplay by Ann Peacock, Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. The second novel adapted was '. Released in 2008, it was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson, with Screenwriters including Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. In December 2008, Disney pulled out of financing the remainder of the "Chronicles of Narnia" film series. However, Walden Media and 20th Century Fox eventually co-produced "", which was released in December 2010.
In May 2012, producer Douglas Gresham confirmed that Walden Media's contract with the C.S. Lewis Estate had expired, and that there was a moratorium on producing any "Narnia" films outside of Walden Media. On 1 October 2013, it was announced that the C.S. Lewis Company had entered into an agreement with the Mark Gordon Company to jointly develop and produce "". On 26 April 2017, Joe Johnston was hired to direct the film. In October, Johnston said filming is expected to begin in late 2018. In November 2018, these plans were halted because Netflix had begun developing adaptations of the entire series.
Netflix.
On 3 October 2018, the C.S. Lewis Company announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to new film and television series adaptations of the "Narnia" books. According to "Fortune", this was the first time that rights to the entire "Narnia" catalogue had been held by a single company. Entertainment One, which had acquired production rights to a fourth "Narnia" film, also joined the series. Mark Gordon, Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber were announced as executive producers.
Radio.
The BBC produced dramatisations of all seven novels starting in the late 1980s and running into the 90s starring Maurice Denham as Professor Kirke. They were Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 In the UK. BBC Audiobooks released both audio cassette and compact disc versions of the series.
Between 1998 and 2002, Focus on the Family produced radio dramatisations by Paul McCusker of the entire series through its Radio Theatre programme. Over one hundred performers took part including Paul Scofield as the storyteller and David Suchet as Aslan. Accompanied by an original orchestral score and cinema-quality digital sound design, the series was hosted by Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham and ran for just over 22 hours. Recordings of the entire adaptation were released on compact disc between 1999 and 2003.
Stage.
Many stage adaptations of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" have been produced over the years.
In 1984, Vanessa Ford Productions presented "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at London's Westminster Theatre. Adapted by Glyn Robbins, the play was directed by Richard Williams and designed by Marty Flood. The production was later revived at Westminster and The Royalty Theatre and went on tour until 1997. Productions of other tales from "The Chronicles" were also staged, including "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (1986), "The Magician's Nephew" (1988) and "The Horse and His Boy" (1990).
In 1997, Trumpets Inc., a Filipino Christian theatre and musical production company, produced a musical rendition of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" that Douglas Gresham, Lewis's stepson (and co-producer of the Walden Media film adaptations), has openly declared that he feels is the closest to Lewis's intent. The book and lyrics were written by Jaime del Mundo and Luna Inocian, while the music was composed by Lito Villareal.
The Royal Shakespeare Company premiered "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1998. The novel was adapted as a musical production by Adrian Mitchell, with music by Shaun Davey. The show was originally directed by Adrian Noble and designed by Anthony Ward, with the revival directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace. Well received by audiences, the production was periodically re-staged by the RSC for several years afterwards.
In 2022, The Logos Theater, of Taylors, South Carolina, created a stage adaptation of "The Horse and His Boy", with later performances at the Museum of the Bible and Ark Encounter.
Notes.
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References.
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Jaren Jackson
American basketball player (born 1967)
Jaren Walter Jackson Sr. (born October 27, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals of the Southland Conference. A shooting guard born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jackson played at Georgetown University from 1985 to 1989 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance. He was never drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) but played 13 seasons for multiple teams. He is best known for his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, who he helped win their first NBA championship in 1999.
Career.
Traveling swingman (1989–1997).
Upon graduating, Jackson was not drafted, but was first signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Nets in 1989. That year he played in only 28 games, and the following season would play in the Continental Basketball Association and the World Basketball League. He had a very short stint with the Golden State Warriors before signing with the Los Angeles Clippers for whom he played just 34 games in the 1992–93 season. The following year, he was signed and played just 29 games for the Portland Trail Blazers, but he was waived by Portland and picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers, where he started his first NBA game on December 17, 1994. Jackson would again be waived and wouldn't return to action until the following year for another very short stint with the Houston Rockets before being signed by the Washington Bullets prior to the 1996–97 season.
It was with the Bullets that Jackson played his longest NBA season, as he played in 75 games for the season as backup to Calbert Cheaney, with an average of 5 points a game and a career-high 53 three-point field goals.
San Antonio Spurs (1997–2001).
In the offseason, following a playoff loss to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls, Jackson signed with the San Antonio Spurs, who had suffered a lottery season the previous year but featured superstar David Robinson and the first pick in the 1997 draft, Tim Duncan. The 1997–98 season would prove to be a personal best for Jackson, as he started in 45 of 82 games and averaged a career-high 8.8 points a game and a new career high of 112 three-pointers for the year. Jackson also saw his most significant playoff action, as the Spurs won in the first round of the playoffs before losing in the conference semifinals. Jackson started in 8 of 9 playoff games and increased his scoring average to 10.2 points for the postseason.
The following year would be shortened to 50 games as a result of a league lockout, but the Spurs would continue to use Jackson as its main back up shooting guard behind veteran Mario Elie. Jackson would play in 47 games, starting in 13 and averaged 6.4 points a game. The Spurs would win the number one seed in the playoffs led by Robinson and Duncan, and open the playoffs with a 3–1 first-round win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, before dominating and sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in 4 games of the conference semifinals. Against the Lakers Jackson played well, scoring 22 points in game 3 followed by 20 points in game 4 to close the series in which he hit 6 three-point shots. The Spurs would next faced Portland in the conference finals, but were once again dominant, with teammate Sean Elliott hitting a crucial three-point shot to win game 2 and Jackson scoring 19 points in game 3. The Spurs completed another sweep, and would face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. Jackson scored 17 points in his first Finals game, and the Spurs would win both games in San Antonio before heading to New York. Despite a win by the Knicks at home in game 3, the Spurs proved simply too dominating, and would win the next two games in Madison Square Garden to win the series and the NBA Championship. Jackson scored 11 points in the title clinching 5th game, and averaged 8.2 points throughout the title run.
Jackson would once again serve as the main backup at shooting guard for the defending champion Spurs the following season, playing in 81 games and starting in 12. The Spurs would end up losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Suns mostly due to a season-ending injury to Duncan, and Jackson only played two games in the series. In the 2000–01 season, the Spurs won the best record in the league before losing in the conference finals, but Jackson only played in 16 games for the season and did not play in the postseason as the team had brought in younger guards such as Derek Anderson.
Retirement.
Jackson was signed to play for the Orlando Magic for the latter portion of the 2001–02 season, and played in 9 regular season games and 3 playoff games before retiring.
Coaching career.
Jackson coached in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Gary Steelheads during the 2005–06 season and Pittsburgh Xplosion during the 2006–07 season.
Jackson had served as assistant coach of Fort Wayne Mad Ants with their first season in NBA Development League (D-League) before coaching their second season. Jackson returned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for the 2014–15 season.
Since retiring as a player, Jackson has held several basketball coaching positions at both the college and minor league level. He has been the head coach of the Saint John Millrats of the National Basketball League of Canada.
Jackson was named the head coach of the National Basketball League of Canada's Ottawa SkyHawks on November 25, 2013.
On January 19, 2021, the Westchester Knicks announced that they had hired Jackson as assistant coach.
On May 5, 2023, the University of the Incarnate Word announced that Jackson is being added as an assistant coach by new head coach Shane Heirman.
Personal life.
Jackson married fellow Hoya Terri Carmichael Jackson, the director of operations at the Women's National Basketball Players Association. They are the parents of Jaren Jackson Jr., who played college basketball for Michigan State before being selected 4th overall in the 2018 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
References.
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Jaren Jackson Jr.
American basketball player (born 1999)
Jaren Walter Jackson Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1999), nicknamed "the Block Panther", "The Alliteration", and also known by his initials JJJ, is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. Jackson was selected by Memphis with the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft. In 2023, he was named to his first NBA All-Star team, later winning Defensive Player of the Year that same season. Jackson is renowned for his defensive dominance, particularly his exceptional rim protection; he has led the league in blocks per game for two consecutive seasons.
Early life.
Jaren Walter Jackson Jr. was born on September 15, 1999, in Plainfield, New Jersey.
Jaren started his high school career with Park Tudor School in Indianapolis. He played varsity for three years, where he averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Jackson won two IHSAA state basketball championships while at Park Tudor. He was teammates with future Xavier University standout and future professional basketball player Trevon Bluiett. He then transferred to La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana for his senior year, where he met Jordan Poole and started for their varsity squad.
Recruiting.
Jackson was appraised for being one of the top players in the 2017 graduating class. Scout.com ranked Jackson the fifth-best player nationally, first at his position and second overall in the Midwest region. 247Sports ranked him 7th nationally, being 4th in his position. ESPN ranked him 8th in the ESPN 100, being 2nd in his position and 2nd regionally.
Jackson was recruited by a number of notable programs, including Michigan State, Notre Dame, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, and several more. He was invited to partake in the McDonald's All-American Game played on March 29, 2017.
College career.
On September 15, 2016, Jaren Jackson Jr. announced his intentions to play for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He signed the letter of intent on November 9, 2016. Jackson made his collegiate debut on November 10, 2017, recording 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in a blowout 98–66 win over North Florida. Four days later, he recorded a then-season-high 19 points in an 88–81 loss to #1-ranked Duke. On December 5, Jackson put up 11 points and a career-high 8 blocks in a 62–52 win over Rutgers. Four days later, he recorded 17 points and another career-high 13 rebounds in a blowout 88–63 win over Southern Utah. On January 22, 2018, Jackson recorded a then-season-high 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks in an 87–74 win over Illinois. On February 13, he put up a career-high 27 points in a blowout 87–57 win over Minnesota. At the end of the regular season for Michigan State, he was named both the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Big Ten's All-Freshman Team, and the All-Big Ten's Third Team. On April 2, Jackson declared his entry into the 2018 NBA draft, where he was considered a potential top-tier lottery selection.
Professional career.
Memphis Grizzlies (2018–present).
2018–2021: early years.
On June 21, 2018, Jackson was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2018 NBA draft. On July 1, 2018, he signed a multi-year, rookie-scale contract with the Grizzlies. On March 29, 2019, Jackson was shut down for the remainder of the season due to a deep bruise to his right thigh.
On December 13, 2019, Jackson scored a career-high 43 points, including 9 three-pointers (which tied a franchise record set by Mike Miller in 2007) in a 127–114 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On January 30, 2020, Jackson was suspended for one game without pay for leaving the bench during an altercation between the Grizzlies and the New York Knicks. On January 28, Jackson recorded a career-high 7 blocks in a 104–96 win over the Denver Nuggets. On August 4, 2020, Jackson suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in a 99–109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans hosted in the Bubble and was expected to miss the remainder of the 2019–20 season.
On December 16, 2020, the Grizzlies announced that they had exercised the team option on Jackson. On April 21, 2021, Jackson made his return, putting up 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Two days later, Jackson scored a season-high 23 points in a 130–128 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. After a series of play-in tournament wins, the Grizzlies qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They faced the top-seeded Utah Jazz during their first round series. On May 31, Jackson scored a postseason career-high 21 points in a 120–113 Game 4 loss. The Grizzlies would eventually lose the series in five games.
2021–2023: Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star selection.
On October 18, 2021, Jackson signed a four-year, $105 million extension with the Grizzlies. On January 9, 2022, Jackson scored 21 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in a 127–119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 16, during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Jackson logged 12 points and seven blocks in a 130–117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His seven blocks set a Grizzlies franchise record for most blocks in a playoff game, surpassing Marc Gasol's 6 on May 13, 2013. The Grizzlies eventually defeated the Timberwolves in six games, with Jackson recording 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a 114–106 Game 6 win. During the Grizzlies' second-round series, they faced the Golden State Warriors. On May 1, Jackson scored a playoff career-high 33 points, alongside ten rebounds, in a 117–116 Game 1 loss. The Grizzlies wound up losing the series in six games to the Warriors, who went on to win the NBA Finals. Jackson finished the 2021–22 season leading the NBA in blocks per game at 2.3 and finished with the most blocks that season with 177 blocks, 40 more than the second-place finisher. For his efforts, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
On June 30, 2022, Jackson underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot and was ruled out for four-to-six months. After missing the first 14 games of the 2022–23 season, he made his season debut on November 15, recording seven points, six rebounds and five blocks in a 113–102 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 12, Jackson recorded a career-high eight blocks, alongside 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists, in a 128–103 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On January 5, 2023, he scored a season-high 31 points, alongside ten rebounds and three blocks, in a 123–115 win over the Orlando Magic. On February 2, Jackson was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game as a reserve forward for the Western Conference. On April 5, Jackson scored a season-high 40 points, along with nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks in a 138–131 overtime loss against the New Orleans Pelicans. On 9 April, Jackson finished the regular season as the league leader in blocks for the second year in a row, averaging a career-high 3 blocks per game. On April 16, in the opening game of the playoffs Jackson scored a game-high 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field in a 128–112 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis lost the series in six games. During the playoffs, Jackson was named for the first time the Defensive Player of the Year, and was named for the second consecutive time to the NBA All-Defensive First team.
National team career.
Jackson was a member of the United States national team that competed in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They finished fourth in that tournament.
Personal life.
He is the son of former professional basketball coach and former NBA player Jaren Jackson and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson.
References.
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Mark Tillmon
American basketball player
Mark Anthony Tillmon (born February 11, 1968) is an American former basketball professional player.
High school career.
Tillmon was born in Little Rock, Arkansas but attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. where he was a teammate of Perry Carter, another highly recruited player. Tillmon had a successful career at Gonzaga, being regarded as one of the best guards of his class. He averaged 22.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists during his senior year, he was selected to the "Parade" All-America fourth team and was named a McDonald's All-American. In the 1986 McDonald's All-American Boys Game he did not score, going 0/3 from the field and 0/1 from the free throw line. He also played in the Capital Classic, another high school All-Star game, where he had a much better performance, scoring 18 points shooting 9/16. He was considered a reliable scorer with good playmaking skills.
College career.
Tillmon was undecided about his college choice until April; he later committed to Georgetown. During his first year of college Tillmon earned a starting spot on the team, playing 33 games and starting 25 of them. He finished as the third top scorer of his team and was selected in the All-Big East Freshman Team at the end of the 1986–87 season. He had struggled with his shooting during his freshman year, but his second season saw improved percentages, especially in his 3-point shooting, where he went from .311 to .402. His scoring average also improved, and Tillmon was the second best scorer behind Charles Smith. In his junior year Tillmon lost his spot to Jaren Jackson, who became the starting shooting guard for the Georgetown 1988–89 season: Tillmon's minutes dropped to 18.9 per game, being Jackson's backup.
His senior year of college was his best. He started all the games and saw career highs in all statistical categories, especially his scoring: with 19.8 points per game he was the primary offensive threat of that year's Georgetown team. At the end of the season he was in the All-Big East First Team and he was also named an NCAA All-American Honorable Mention.
Professional career.
Tillmon was automatically eligible for the 1990 NBA draft, but he went undrafted. After the draft he joined the Utah Jazz as a free agent for the preseason, but he was the last player to be cut and he did not make the final roster. Tillmon was drafted with the 30th overall pick in the 1990 CBA Draft by the Quad City Thunder. He played 9 games for the Thunder, and then transferred to the San Jose Jammers where he played for the remained of the season. He played the first part of the 1991–92 CBA season with the Bakersfield Jammers, but the team was disbanded in the middle of the season and Tillmon transferred to the Albany Patroons where he played the remaining games.
In 1992 he signed with Liga ACB team Elosúa León where he played a whole season, starting 19 of the 22 games he played averaging 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Elosúa León replaced Tillmon with Michael Anderson in January 1993, and after the European experience Tillmon decided to return in the United States, playing two more seasons in the CBA before retiring.
References.
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1987–88 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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The 1987–88 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1987–88 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 16th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 20-10, 9-7 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1988 Big East men's basketball tournament, but they lost to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals. They advanced to the second round of the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament before losing to Temple.
Season recap.
Sophomore guard Mark Tillmon had shot only 39% from the field the previous season, but he improved to 47% this year and became the second Georgetown player to shoot 40% or better from three-point range since the institution of the three-point shot the previous year. He was the team's top scorer in three non-conference and six Big East games. Sophomore guard Dwayne Bryant, meanwhile, led the team in assists but otherwise had a difficult season, starting only 16 games, shooting only 37% from the field, and scoring in double figures only twice. He would, however, make a remarkable comeback the next season.
After spending his freshman and sophomore years as a reserve shooting guard with only modest success, senior and team co-captain Perry McDonald had moved to forward during his junior season and emerged as one of Georgetown's top scoring threats, rebounders, and defenders. When he returned from playing on a gold-medal United States team at the World University Games in the summer of 1987, it seemed to observers that he was poised to be the major driver of Georgetown's 1987-88 offense. However, Thompson chose to emphasize the offensive play of Georgetown' guards on this season's team, and McDonald's playing time fell by 10 percent. Despite this, he led the team in scoring six times and in rebounding 16 times. For the season, he averaged 10.1 points per game despite taking 70 fewer shots than the year before, and he also averaged 6.3 rebounds per game.
Junior forward Jaren Jackson also had spent his first two years strictly as a reserve. This year, after an 0-for-9 effort from the field against Hawaii Loa in the season's opening game, he recovered to score in double figures five times during December 1987. He then returned to limited duty as a reserve, starting only six games all season. His breakout game would not come until the very end of the regular season.
Like McDonald and Jackson, guard Charles Smith had spent his first two years as an unheralded reserve, seeing only two starts in his first 63 games, but had suddenly and dramatically emerged at the end of the previous season as a potent offensive force in Georgetown's defeat of Ohio State in the second round of the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. After touring Australia with a Big East all-star team during the summer of 1987, leading that team in points, assists, and steals, he returned for his junior year with a transformed career, appearing in all 30 games and starting 16 of them, with 75 assists and 71 steals and averaging 15.7 points per game. In the first nine games of the season, he scored in double figures six times. After the Hoyas fell behind at Miami in the tenth game, Smith led the Hoyas in a comeback win in which he shot 8-for-12 from the field and scored 22 points. It began a 34-game streak across two seasons in which he scored in double figures in every Georgetown game for the next year and nine days.
As January 1988 wore on, Smith scored 20 points at DePaul and 21 at Boston College. On January 24 at Syracuse, Georgetown had come back from a nine-point deficit to take the lead, with Tillmon scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds, when Syracuse guard Sherman Douglas scored a basket with nine seconds left in the game to give the Orangemen a 68-67 lead. Georgetown had no time-outs left and no time to set up a play, so with eight seconds remaining the 6-foot-0 (183-cm) Smith single-handedly took the ball from the backcourt, through the entire Syracuse defense, and to the basket, scoring the winning field goal with a finger roll to give the Hoyas a last-second 69-68 upset victory over the 14th-ranked Orangemen. In February, Smith had a 28-point performance at Seton Hall, and four days later the Hoyas pulled out another last-second upset win over now-11th-ranked Syracuse, beating the Orangemen 71-69 at the Capital Centre.
The Big East had developed a reputation for strong rivalries, physical play, and, increasingly, fighting. On January 6, 1988, Pittsburgh and Georgetown met at the Capital Centre and the 14th-ranked Hoyas upset the No. 2 Panthers. During the game, a fight broke out between Tillmon and Pittsburgh's Nate Bailey, a benches-clearing brawl followed, and the teams came away from the incident bearing grudges against each other. On February 20, 1988, the Hoyas again met Pittsburgh, this time at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With four seconds remaining in the game and the Panthers leading 70-65, Perry McDonald and Pittsburgh's Jerome Lane became entangled with one another while fighting for a rebound under the basket, and McDonald's elbow struck Lane. Lane responded with a roundhouse right, and McDonald – a two-time Gold Glove boxing champion in Louisiana – retaliated. Fights immediately also broke out between Hoya sophomore center Sam Jefferson and Pittsburgh senior forward Demetreus Gore and between Georgetown junior forward Johnathan Edwards and Panthers senior forward Charles Smith (not to be confused with Georgetown's Charles Smith), and another benches-clearing brawl ensued. Angry Pittsburgh fans came onto the floor, Thompson pulled the Hoyas off the court, and the game did not continue. Postgame, Thompson had to separate the teams when the fight almost resumed in the hallway between the opposing locker rooms. The ugly incident, coming on the heels of the fight at the Capital Centre the previous month, prompted Big East Commissioner Dave Gavitt to convene a committee to recommend measures to reduce fighting and other unsportsmanlike behavior in the conference. Sportswriters and opposing fans accused Georgetown players of being thugs, and Thompson took to the media to defend the team, saying that the fights were not entirely Georgetown's fault.
The Hoyas closed out the regular season with a double-overtime 102-98 win against Seton Hall in which Tillmon scored 35 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Jaren Jackson finally had his breakout game that afternoon; after nearly three seasons of limited play and limited scoring, he shot 12-for-17 (70.6%) from the field and 11-for-12 (91.7%) from the free-throw line to score a career-high 38 points. This final victory in regular-season conference play gave the Hoyas a 9-7 record and third-place finish in Big East play. They received a bye in the first round of the 1988 Big East men's basketball tournament, but they lost their first game of the tournament to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals.
The Hoyas were the No. 8 seed in the East Region of the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – the 10th of 14 consecutive Georgetown NCAA tournament appearances. In the first round, they faced the No. 9 seed, Louisiana State. Jackson continued his sudden emergence as one of Georgetown's top offensive threats, scoring 20 points. With the game tied 63-63 with three seconds left to play, Charles Smith got the inbounds pass after a Georgetown timeout and, unable to find an open teammate, put up a 30-foot (9.1-meter) shot that scored to give Georgetown a 66-63 last-second win. The win allowed the Hoyas to advance to the second round, in which the East Region's No. 1 seed and eventual champion, No. 1-ranked Temple, defeated them 74-53 in a game in which Jaren Jackson scored 13 points. Jackson's offensive surge in the final games of the year raised his average for the season to 8.7 points per game and changed his career, placing him in a position to excel the following season.
By the mid-1908s, brawls like those between Pittsburgh and Georgetown in the winter of 1988 had become an increasing problem in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball games, with few consequences because of a lack of rules governing consequences for fighting. During the 1988 off-season, the NCAA established Rule 19, which mandated a one-game suspension for any player involved in an on-court fight and a season-long suspension for any player fighting a second time during the year. With Rule 19 – later renumbered as Rule 10.7 – in force, brawls have become rare.
Roster.
Source
Rankings.
Source
1987–88 Schedule and results.
Sources
Notes.
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References.
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2017–18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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The 2017–18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 23rd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.
With a win over Illinois on February 20, 2018, the Spartans secured a share of the Big Ten title, their first regular season title since 2012. On February 25, the Spartans defeated Wisconsin to win the Big Ten title outright, their first outright regular season title since 2009. It marked the Spartans eighth regular season title under Izzo. The Spartans finished the season 30–5, 16–2 in Big Ten play to win the regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they beat Wisconsin in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semifinals. The Spartans received a bid to the NCAA tournament, their 21st consecutive trip under Izzo, as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated No. 14 Bucknell in the first round before losing to No. 11-seeded Syracuse in the second round. As a result, the Spartans failed to make the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year, a first for the Spartans with Izzo as head coach. The 16 Big Ten wins for the Spartans marked a school record and the 30 overall wins was only the fourth time in school history that the Spartans had won at least 30 games (all under Izzo).
Following the season, Miles Bridges announced he would sign with an agent and declared for the NBA draft. A few days later, Jaren Jackson Jr. also announced he would enter the draft and sign with an agent.
Previous season.
The Spartans finished the 2016–17 season 20–15, 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Penn State in the second round before losing to Minnesota in the quarterfinals. They received a bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region, their 20th consecutive appearance in the Tournament. They defeated No. 8-seeded Miami in the first round before losing to No. 1-seeded Kansas in the second round. The 15 losses by MSU were the second most ever under Tom Izzo, behind only his 16 losses in his first season as head coach at MSU.
The Spartans were led by freshmen Miles Bridges, 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and Nick Ward, 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Offseason.
Recruiting class.
2017 recruiting class.
On September 15, 2016, five-star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. announced that he would attend Michigan State. He is the son of former NBA player Jaren Jackson Sr. Jackson was listed as the eighth best player in the 2017 final rankings by ESPN. On September 30, 2016, four-star power forward Xavier Tillman committed to MSU. He was considered the best player in the state of Michigan in the 2017 class. Tillman was ranked No. 71 in the 2017 final rankings by ESPN. Tillman and Jackson signed National Letters of Intent on November 9, 2016. With just these two signings, MSU's class was listed as the 14th best in the country by ESPN and 17th by rivals.com.
Two-star point guard Jack Hoiberg, son of Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, announced he would attend Michigan State as a preferred walk-on. On May 30, the school announced that two-star shooting guard Brock Washington would join the Spartans as a preferred walk-on in 2017.
Early offseason rankings.
In April, 2017, most early pollsters included Michigan State in the preseason top 25 for the 2017–18 season. These included ESPN (No. 12), "Sports Illustrated" (No. 8), Yahoo! Sports (No. 11), "USA Today" (No. 16), NBC Sports (No. 3), CBS Sports (No. 3), "Sporting News" (No. 5) and Bleacher Report (No. 12). Most of the projections assumed Miles Bridges would not return to East Lansing for his sophomore season. "USA Today" noted that "leading scorer Miles Bridges is NBA-bound." The "Sporting News" summarized: "Bridges hasn’t announced his decision yet, but Spartans fans aren’t holding their breath (he’s expected to be a lottery pick)." Following the deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft, many media outlets released updated early top 25 rankings for the 2017–18 season. MSU was a consensus top three team by every major outlet: NBC Sports (No. 1), Fox Sports (No. 2), "Sporting News" (No. 2), ESPN (No. 3), CBS Sports (No. 3), and Yahoo! Sports (No. 3).
Returning players.
On April 13, 2017, Miles Bridges, considered an NBA lottery pick, announced he would not enter the NBA draft and would return to MSU as a sophomore. His return led many to project MSU as a Final Four contender for the 2017–18 season. Losing only seniors Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III, the Spartans returned eight of their top 10 players from the prior season. Bridges was also considered a potential candidate for National Player of the Year upon the announcement of his return to Michigan State. The Spartans returned 78% of their scoring and 81% of their rebounding from the previous year.
On May 8, redshirt graduate student Ben Carter was granted a sixth year of eligibility after the NCAA granted his medical hardship waiver. The Spartans had one remaining open scholarship for the 2017–18 season after Carter was granted eligibility. After missing out on late recruiting targets (Brian Bowen, Mark Smith, and Brandon McCoy), the Spartans had one remaining open scholarship. It was confirmed on August 24, 2017, that the last remaining scholarship would be given to former walk-on Connor George, son of Cathy George, MSU's volleyball coach at the time.
Transfers.
On May 11, 6-foot-11, 220-pound center Braden Burke announced he would transfer to Michigan State from Robert Morris and be a preferred walk-on. Burke will have to sit out the 2017–18 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Preseason.
On the first day of practice, September 29, 2017, Tom Izzo announced that Lourawls "T