Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry
Genres: Historical Fiction
College student Megs Devonshire sets out to fulfill her younger brother George’s last wish by uncovering the truth behind his favorite story. What transpires is a fascinating look into the bond between siblings and the life-changing magic of stories.
1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a seventeen-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it’s just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a “Where did Narnia come from?”
Despite her fear about approaching the famous author, who is a professor at her school, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with C. S. Lewis and his own brother Warnie, begging them for answers.
Rather than directly telling her where Narnia came from, Lewis encourages Megs to form her own conclusion as he shares the little-known stories from his own life that led to his inspiration. As she takes these stories home to George, the little boy travels farther in his imagination than he ever could in real life.
After holding so tightly to logic and reason, her brother’s request leads Megs to absorb a more profound “The way stories change us can’t be explained. It can only be felt. Like love.”
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora LeaA captivating, standalone historical novel combining fact and fictionAn emotional journey into the books and stories that make us who we areIncludes discussion questions for book clubs
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Review
In “Once Upon a Wardrobe,” Megs Devonshire grapples with the heartbreaking reality that her eight-year-old brother, George, is seriously ill and enchanted by C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Desperate to fulfill George’s dying wish to discover the origins of Narnia, Megs finds herself at the Kilns, the property of the famous author. Sitting on the fence, she contemplates approaching C.S. Lewis and is pleasantly surprised when both Jack and Warnie Lewis warmly invite her in for afternoon tea. As Jack shares poignant stories of their own childhood in Ireland, Megs becomes the bridge between the Lewis brothers’ past and her brother’s present, ultimately gifting George and herself a world of make-believe, fairy tales, and the solace found within the pages of a book. The narrative beautifully explores the profound love between siblings, the wonders of the natural world, and the enchantment nestled in both castles and the realms between book covers.
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