The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Although it was written nearly seventy years ago, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ still appears in the top ten favourite children’s books and has sold over 100 million copies in 47 different languages... For some readers, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ is an allegory of the story of Jesus. Many others view it simply as a good yarn. To discuss the religious message behind the book – and whether or not it really matters – Ernie is joined by three authors: Lucy Mangan, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Francis Spufford. Extracts are read by Julie Hesmondhalgh.
I was a bit wary when I started listening — the BBC isn't always kind to either religion or classic children's books (they recently did yet another hatchet job on another favourite of mine, Enid Blyton ) — but this whole discussion is very positive and really brings out why this is a special book and why its popularity continues. I would disagree with the claim that the child characters are "one-dimensional", but that's about the only assertion in there that I would call questionable! (And the point they're making is that this allows young readers to imagine themselves into the story, so it's not presented as a bad thing.)
All the speakers are very positive about the Christian basis of the story, too, which is one of the main themes of the discussion. They explain why it's not really "allegory" and do a great job of refuting critics' claims that the book is "propaganda" and "manipulative". They also really bring out a key element of what makes Narnia work for so many readers: it's so full of all the kinds of things Lewis himself took delight in (even if some of them are a bit incongruous!) and he draws us as readers in to take delight in them too. I'd never quite thought of it that way before, but that's so true!
In short, highly recommended for any Narnia fans who'd like to listen — it's about 28 minutes long and definitely worth the time.