Annotated bibliography: reading about Narnia and about Lewis

• Three gateways in French: Duriez, Maxence, Fernandez.
• For the biography, begin with Lewis himself: “Surpris par la joie”.
• In English, Ford, Hooper and Ward are the authorities.

This bibliography complements the list of Lewis’s works (see our bibliography of C.S. Lewis). It presents only books about Narnia and about Lewis. The books in French come first. The marks out of 10 are those which the old site gave in 2005. Some titles are out of print and are to be found second-hand or in a library.

To begin: three guides in French

Colin Duriez, “Au cœur de Narnia” (Raphaël, Mont-Pèlerin, 2005). Translated from the English, it is the ideal travelling companion: a biography of Lewis, a presentation of the themes and the symbols, an alphabetical guide to the characters, the places and the events, and points of reference on the history and the geography of Narnia. Colin Duriez, a British specialist on Lewis and on Tolkien, writes simply and with warmth. It is the source of several texts by Marc Varidel on the old site. Mark from the old site: 8.5/10.

Philippe Maxence, “Le Monde de Narnia décrypté” (Presses de la Renaissance, 2005; reissued in 2021). An essay in three parts: Lewis’s life and path, a reading of the Chronicles centred on Aslan and on the Christian themes (creation, evil, sacrifice), then a dictionary of the names and the places. Accessible and clear, it commits itself to a resolutely Christian reading. The reader who wants a more nuanced approach will supplement it with other books.

Irène Fernandez, “Mythe, raison ardente. Imagination et réalité selon C. S. Lewis” (Ad Solem, 2005, 518 pages). The most ambitious book in French. A former pupil of the École normale supérieure, Irène Fernandez follows Lewis’s intellectual path, from a rationalism without God to faith, by way of his reflection on myth, that “myth become fact”. She shows how his tales, and Narnia first of all, give a foretaste of a joy that goes beyond this world. Demanding but luminous. Irène Fernandez was one of the guests on the Espace 2 programmes in December 2005. Mark from the old site: 9/10.

To go further, in French

Suzanne Bray, “À travers l’armoire magique : C. S. Lewis et l’univers de Narnia” (Farel, 2005, 64 pages). A short introduction by an academic who specialises in Lewis, ideal for a first encounter.

Suzanne Bray, “C. S. Lewis ou la vocation du best-seller” (Imago, 2007, 216 pages). A critical biography that enquires into the Lewis phenomenon: why did an Oxford professor, a Christian apologist, become a best-selling author in a world that is less and less Christian? Suzanne Bray teaches British literature and civilisation at the Université catholique de Lille. The book includes a bibliography of Lewis’s works in French.

Leanne Payne, “Présence réelle. La vision chrétienne du monde dans la pensée et l’imaginaire de C. S. Lewis” (Raphaël, 1998). A spiritual reading of Lewis’s work, centred on the imagination and the presence of God. Mark from the old site: 9/10.

Daniel Warzecha, “L’Imaginaire spirituel de C. S. Lewis. Expérience religieuse et imagination dans son œuvre de fiction” (L’Harmattan, 2010). An academic study of the way Lewis puts myth and fiction at the service of religious experience.

Paola Artero, The Chronicles of Narnia de C. S. Lewis : idéologie(s) et point(s) de vue dans les traductions françaises (thesis, Université Montpellier 3, 2018, available online). For the curious who want to compare the French translations.

J.R.R. Tolkien, “Faërie et autres textes” (Christian Bourgois, 2003; Pocket). Not a book about Lewis, but indispensable for understanding what united him with Tolkien: in it one finds the essay “Du conte de fées” and the poem Mythopoeia, written after their conversation of 1931.

Lewis in his own words

The best biography of Lewis’s youth is still his own. “Surpris par la joie” (Raphaël, 1998) tells of his childhood, his reading, his years of doubt and his conversion. “Apprendre la mort” (reissued by Cerf in 2023) is the journal of his mourning after the death of Joy Davidman. Both books are presented in the text from the old site reproduced below.

The reference works in English

• Paul F. Ford, Companion to Narnia (HarperSanFrancisco, revised edition 2005). The reference dictionary to Narnia, from A to Z.
• Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide (1996). A compendium of the life and the work, by Lewis’s former secretary.
• Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Biography (revised edition 2002). The biography written by a close friend, who followed the birth of Narnia closely.
• Michael Ward, Planet Narnia (Oxford University Press, 2008). The bold thesis according to which each Chronicle is placed under the sign of a planet of the medieval heavens.
• Alan Jacobs, The Narnian (2005). An intellectual biography, attentive to Lewis’s imagination.
• Colin Duriez, The C. S. Lewis Chronicles (BlueBridge, 2005). A biography in the form of a chronicle, very detailed on the Inklings.
• Alister McGrath, C. S. Lewis – A Life (2013). The major biography published for the fiftieth anniversary of his death. We know of no French translation of it.
• Douglas Gresham, Jack’s Life (Broadman & Holman, 2005). Lewis’s life told simply by his stepson, accessible to young readers.
• Richard Wagner, C. S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies (2005). Despite its title, an excellent guide to the links between Narnia and Christianity. Mark from the old site: 9/10.
• Humphrey Carpenter, The Inklings (1978). The group portrait of Lewis, Tolkien, Williams and their friends.
• David Downing, Into the Wardrobe (2005) and Peter Schakel, Reading with the Heart: The Way into Narnia (1979). Two good critical introductions; Schakel argues for reading in the order of publication.

Our advice according to your profile

• For a teenager or a family: Suzanne Bray (“À travers l’armoire magique”), then Colin Duriez.
• For a reader curious about the Christian dimension: Philippe Maxence, then Irène Fernandez.
• For a student: Irène Fernandez, Suzanne Bray (2007), Daniel Warzecha, then Ward and Ford in English.
• To know the man: “Surpris par la joie”, then Green and Hooper or McGrath.

See also

• Bibliography of C.S. Lewis
• What to read of Lewis after Narnia
• Sub-creation: Lewis, Tolkien and the art of inventing worlds
• The French editions of Narnia
• Narnia on the radio: Espace 2 week (December 2005)
• Credits and sources
• From Neuchâtel to our bookshops: eighty years of Lewis in French, and the books that are still missing
• Thirty-eight books in seven families: Lewis’s work arranged by genre