The Magician's Nephew

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis is the sixth book published in The Chronicles of Narnia series but the first in terms of the series’ chronology. Published in 1955, the middle-grade fantasy novel is the prequel to the famous The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It deals with themes of Temptation and Its Consequences, Creative Selflessness Versus Destructive Pride, and the Loss of Innocence. Lewis was a famous British author and lay theologian, having written over 50 books for children and adults dealing with facets of the Christian faith. The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted into multiple plays and movies, one of which was awarded the Teen Choice Award for film. The Narnia series is widely renowned and loved by readers of all ages.

This guide refers to the Harper Collins illustrated e-book edition.

Plot Summary

The narrative opens in London, where Digory Kirke and his sick mother have just moved to the home of Digory’s Aunt Letty and Uncle Andrew, the brother and sister of Digory’s mother. Over a very wet summer holiday, Digory becomes great friends with Polly Plummer, the girl next door. The two invent adventures to keep themselves occupied, and in an attempt to sneak into an empty neighboring house through a series of attic tunnels, Digory and Polly end up in Digory’s uncle’s study. Uncle Andrew offers Polly a shining yellow ring as a gift, but when Polly touches it, she disappears. Uncle Andrew tells Digory that the rings are made from the dust of another world. The yellow rings transport people to other worlds, while the green rings bring them back. Since Polly does not have a green ring, Digory must use a yellow ring to find her and bring her back.

Digory finds Polly in a peaceful forest they call the “Wood between the Worlds.” They decide to explore, thinking that the multiple pools in the forest must lead to other worlds. The two end up in a lifeless world called Charn, where they come across the “Hall of Images,” a massive room containing statues of all the previous rulers. In the center of the room, there is a bell with an inscribed warning. In spite of the warning and Polly’s concerns, Digory rings the bell. The bell wakes up the last ruler in the line of statues, a beautiful but evil queen named Jadis.

Jadis escorts the children out of the collapsing palace, telling them the story of how she killed every other living being in Charn to maintain her throne. The children are terrified and want to escape, but the queen manages to travel with them to the Wood between the Worlds by grabbing Polly’s hair. Though they try to leave there, the queen—now called the Witch—grabs Digory’s ear and is transported to London with them.

While in London, the Witch secures Uncle Andrew as her servant and steals jewelry, a horse, and a cab. She then wrecks the cab and assaults a number of police officers. Digory and Polly use the rings to transport her out of London again, but accidentally bring Uncle Andrew, a cabby, and the cabby’s horse along with them. The group ends up in a completely empty world where nothing yet exists.

After standing in darkness for a while, they hear a voice singing, and the world emerges around them. The singer is a massive lion named Aslan. The Witch is frightened and runs away, but everyone else stands and watches in wonder as Aslan sings and creates stars, mountains, flowers, trees, rivers, and animals. Aslan chooses two of each kind of animal and designates them as “Talking Beasts,” giving them the ability to think and speak and charging them with caring for the world he created, called Narnia.

Digory catches up to Aslan and asks if he can help Digory’s sick mother. Aslan tells the animals that Digory is responsible for letting evil enter the pure world of Narnia and sends Digory on a task to protect Narnia. Digory, Polly, and a winged horse named Fledge travel to a beautiful, secluded garden. At the gates of the garden, there is a warning telling Digory to only enter through the gates and to retrieve fruit for another, not for himself.

Digory resists the temptation to take a bite of the fruit he picks and is leaving the garden when he sees the Witch a few paces away, having just eaten the fruit herself. She chases Digory out of the garden and tries to persuade him to eat the fruit. She tells him that it will give him everlasting life and offers to let him rule beside her. He resists, and she tells him that if he takes the fruit and returns to London, it would heal his mother, promising that no one would ever know. This tempts Digory, but he returns the fruit to Aslan. The fruit grows into a massive, beautiful tree that will protect Narnia for many years. The children attend the coronation of the new king and queen of Narnia, the Cabby and his wife.

Aslan rewards Digory for resisting temptation by giving him a fruit to bring to his mother to heal her. He then returns the two children and Uncle Andrew to London with instructions to bury the rings. Digory gives the fruit to his mother and buries the seed in the backyard with the rings. His mother’s health rapidly improves, and she, Digory, and Digory’s father, who was at sea, return to their country home. Digory and Polly remain friends for the rest of their lives. The King and Queen rule Narnia peacefully for many years. Eventually, a storm blows down the tree that grew from the seed in Digory’s backyard in London. He turns it into a wardrobe, which Lucy enters Narnia through in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.