Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis

Written by Michael Ward

Narrated by Nigel Patterson

For over half a century, scholars have labored to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganized Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery.

Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings, Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets-Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn-planets which Lewis described as "spiritual symbols of permanent value." Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality.

Planet Narnia is a groundbreaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977340627

Reviews for Planet Narnia

[Gavin J McGrath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An outstanding work: erudite, informed, and humane. Excellent narration !

[alberto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great exposition of deep significance of the Narnia books enduring appeal.

[Jeff Harlow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have loved C.S. Lewis since I was a boy. Ward’s insights have renewed my desire to read all of Lewis’s works afresh.

[Peter Bogdanoff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great narration of a truly groundbreaking book. I loved it.

[lachlanp-387269 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this fascinating and reasonably persuasive. The most interesting bit for me was getting an introduction to medieval cosmology.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A serious discussion of the Narnia and Perelandria novels in the light of the medieval literature that Lewis was involved with. Sometimes tedious, but full of useful cross references to the cosmology of the Seven planets known to the medieval mind. There is no hard science here, but a good deal of philosophy and reference checking. Only for the serious student, but not a bad example of its genre.

[chris_el-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a bit dense. Written in the style one would propound to a college class rather than for the general public. If you are interested in learning more about C.S Lewis this is not the book to check out. This is a scholarly analysis of the middle ages spiritual view of the heavens and how it is manifest in the Chronicles of Narnia and Lewis' other writings (the sci-fi trilogy gets plenty of analysis too). The author subsequently published another book called The Narnia Code that is supposed to be more accessible to the general public and I plan on checking that one out.

The author asks why the Chronicles of Narnia have been so beloved? Why did Lewis write them, a childless never married older man, were they a response to the difficulties he encountered in his debate on his book Miracles or was it an escape from the difficulties of apologetics? If there is a tie between the medieval idea of the cosmos and these books why didn't Lewis ever talk about it?

The initial and most of the chapters making up the book are pretty dense as he talks about each individual planet in the medieval cosmos and each of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia. But the closing chapters draws it all together very well.

I purchased my copy used and was happy to note it is autographed by the author.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book makes me want to reread the Narniad and The Space Trilogy again and pick up the stuff I missed. A excellent, engaging and enveloping read that improved my awareness of the richness of the medieval view of the cosmos.

[myopicbookworm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rarely has a book of literary criticism so gripped me. I found it fascinating and wished it had been longer.Ward's thesis seems at first sight to be far-fetched: linking the seven books of the Narnia Chronicles to the seven "planets" of medieval cosmology (Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Saturn). Yet he argues cogently not only for the validity of this schema, but also for the reasons why Lewis chose it, why he concealed it, and why no one has previously discovered it. The key comparisons for the analysis of planetary images in Narnia are Lewis's poetry, particularly the alliterative poem "The Planets", and the Cosmic Trilogy, especially That Hideous Strength, and Ward sheds useful light on the planetary imagery in these other works. But the discussion ranges far and wide among Lewis's writings, from Miracles to Studies in Words, the Oxford History of English Literature, and The Discarded Image, expounding Lewis's view of symbol and allegory, and showing how each of the seven books presents the spiritual character of the planet with which it is associated. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is permeated by images of joviality and the return of the rule of Jove, dispeller of winter; Prince Caspian is thoroughly martial; The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader' solar; while the deceptive influence of the moon pervades The Silver Chair. The mercurial qualities of quicksilver and of language (Viritrilbia in the Cosmic Trilogy) underlie The Horse and His Boy, the fertility of Venus is found in The Magician's Nephew, and the maleficence of Saturn is exemplified, and overcome, in The Last Battle. The astrological scheme does not detract from the books' Christological intent, for in each case, the Christ-figure Aslan is presented in the corresponding planetary aspect.Ward argues that Lewis would inevitably have concealed such a schema, both for literary-philosophical reasons (true Enjoyment is hindered by looking at rather than through the object of contemplation) and because of his own secretive tendencies; and that scholars less deeply familiar than Lewis with medieval imagery, or reluctant to engage seriously with astrology, have almost universally overlooked it. He also debunks the claim that Lewis retreated from apologetic into children's fiction after his debating defeat by the philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe, presenting the stories as outworkings in a different medium of Lewis's theological beliefs.The author's Lewisian wit -- for example, in coining the term "donegality" for the peculiar spiritual atmosphere of each book -- is occasionally irritating, but overall the book is well-argued and well-written, and the author's deep knowledge of Lewis's thought is constantly apparent. It is hard to see how anyone can now write a literary or theological study of Narnia without taking Ward's ideas very seriously indeed. MB 22-i-2009, rev. 2-ii-2009

[remikit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I recommend this book to lovers of Narnia and English Majors. He puts together a well thought out analysis of CS Lewis use of Medieval cosmology in the Narnian Chronicles and also discusses how it plays out in the Sci Trilogy - Perelandria through That Hideous Strength.