I first read The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis when I was about 10, some 60 plus years ago. And then my parents bought me the box set for my birthday. I still have it (see photo), I dip in and read them every now and then, and they’re literally falling apart. Especially The Silver Chair, my favourite.
The language is old-fashioned with its By Joves etc, and the gender stereotypes are clearly defined! But the girls are more heroes than the boys, especially Lucy, and girls today would come to no harm using her as a role model. Ditto the boys.
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The stories, with their range of characters, good and bad, Talking Beasts (good and bad), magicians, stars and so on, are completely engrossing even though you know every step of the adventure that Aslan sends you! And while I know (discovering it late to the game) that they are Christian allegories, those messages are hardly shoved down your throat, very subtly done.
I did have a little tremor at the end of The Last Battle, and my heart forever goes out to Susan, left behind in both worlds. Adore these books still.
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