Prince Caspian (BBC Radio Collection: Chronicles of Narnia)

Once again we are taken back to the magical lands of Narnia in the clever, ironic and fantastical Prince Caspian, the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia. This edition, published in celebration of the centenary of CS Lewis, is a highly collectible addition to any treasured Narnia library. With hand-coloured illustrations by Pauline Baynes exquisitely capturing the pure essence of Narnia, this edition of Prince Caspian will live long in the memory and on the bookshelf. --Susan Harrison

Reader Reviews:

Caspian - king of Narnia (9/9 people found this helpful)

At the start of the book, we are with the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who are waiting for connecting trains at a railway station in the course of their journey back to their respective boarding schools when they feel the pull of the magic and are drawn into Narnia and find that more than a thousand years have passed since they reigned there as kings and queens. In this book there are some new characters: Prince Caspian is the true king of Narnia, whose evil uncle, King Miraz, has snatched the throne. Caspian gathers an army of the Old Narnians and fights for his crown. Miraz is also a Telmarine like Caspian but is cruel and harsh. He tolerates Caspian as the next king but when his wife gives birth to a son, he wants to kill Caspian so his son can be the future ruler. Doctor Cornelius is Caspian's tutor. He tells Caspian in secret that the stories of old Narnia are true and that he is half-Dwarf. He helps Caspian to escape the castle and later returns to his aid in the forest to help the creatures of Narnia defeat Miraz. Trumpkin is a red-Dwarf who helps Caspian defeat Miraz. When he is captured by Miraz's soldiers and taken to Cair Paravel in exile, he meets the Pevensie children and leads them to Caspian. Nikabrik is a black-Dwarf in Caspian's army. He wants to fight Miraz by calling up the White Witch, with the black magic of a hag and a werewolf. However, he, the hag and the werewolf are killed. Trufflehunter is a badger who aids Caspian in his struggle. He helps Caspian and saves him from the storm in the forest by taking him in to his den.

The Return to Narnia (0/0 people found this helpful)

"Prince Caspian" is chronologically the fourth book in the Narnia series but the second written by CS Lewis. It sees the return of the four Pevensie children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - who first entered the enchanted land of Narnia in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

In this second instalment, the four children aid Prince Caspian who must fight his Uncle Miraz for his rightful place as king, and restore Narnia as the land of the free where talking animals and magical creatures can once again live in harmony with humans.

"Prince Caspian" follows the classic theme of the weak overcoming the strong for justice and freedom. In this sense, the book has a predictable plot and suffers the "sequel syndrome" of not being as fresh or enchanting as the original. What it does have are memorable characters including Doctor Cornelius, Caspian's mysterious mentor; Trufflehunter the loyal badger; Trumpkin the agnostic but brave dwarf and Repeecheep the valiant mouse (though he does not truly shine and earn his reputation as one of the most loved characters from the entire series until the next book, "The Voyage of the Dawntreader"). There are also scenes that although seem minor when you read them, will stay with you long after you've read the last chapter, including when Caspian learns the truth about Miraz from Cornelius and when Caspian is reunited his old nanny.

This book is subtitled as "The Return to Narnia" and I think that perhaps this should have been used as the main title. The book for me serves only as an introduction to Prince Caspian who does not develop into a fully rounded character until the next title in the series. In this book, the focus is still very much on the Pevensie children and "their" return. It deals with their faith, relationships and struggles far more strongly than Caspian's. For instance it is Peter and not Caspian who must face Miraz in the ultimate battle.

But that aside, "Prince Caspian" is an enjoyable read and sets the scene very nicely for "The Voyage of the Dawntreader".

Yeats for children? (0/0 people found this helpful)

The basic plot of the book is that of Hamlet: the wicked uncle who murders the rightful sovereign and steals the kingdom from the true heir. However, this usurpation is embedded within a larger usurpation, in which the mythic wonders of old Narnia are suppressed by the grey regimentation imposed by invaders from Telmar. The hero Caspian, helped by the four Pevensey children, vindicates the right in both the smaller and the larger dispute.

Contrary to what is so often supposed, the Narnia world is not in itself a representation either of Christianity or of the Christian Heaven. It is the world of mythology and imagination, which (on Lewis' view) like all worlds can be a gateway to Heaven. In this light, the Telmarine regime in Narnia typifies what Lewis saw as the modern suppression of, and horror of, the romantic imagination as well as of religion. The official line is that the talking animals of Old Narnia never existed; nevertheless, the areas where they live are allowed to be taken over by impenetrable forest, and feared and avoided by the human population. When Caspian mentions the old legends, his uncle Miraz sternly forbids him to mention them again, or even think of them.

The book could equally be read as a critique of colonialism, and in particular of the tendency of power to invent the past and obliterate previous cultures. The history taught in Telmarine schools is "duller than the truest bit of history you ever read, and more untrue than the most exciting adventure story".

In all this, there seems to me to be a flavour of romantic Irish nationalism, on the lines of W B Yeats or Augusta Gregory, which I am surprised that none of the critics has picked up. Narnia is said to look somewhat like parts of Northern Ireland, and the liberation of Narnia, especially the coming of Dionysus, is strongly reminiscent of the ending of Stephens' "The Crock of Gold", a book Lewis is known to have admired. (See "Period Criticism", in ''Of This and Other Worlds''.)

Unlike Yeats, Lewis does not let the cause run away with him, and warns that Dionysus would be dangerous if Aslan were not there to keep him in check. The book has an important warning about the dangers of revolution. The dwarf Nikabrik is condemned for being willing to ally himself to the White Witch or "anyone or anything that will batter these cursed Telmarine barbarians", typifying the revolutionary beliefs that the end justifies the means and that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The conclusion is optimistic: the Telmarines (read: the Protestant Ascendancy) are invited to stay in Narnia provided they are willing to live with the animals as equals, and many take advantage of the offer.

THERE ARE OLD NARNIANS, AND BOLD NARNIANS, BUT NO OLD BOLD NARNIANS (0/0 people found this helpful)

It is a bleak time for the Narnians of old. The talking animals are all in hiding and men who call themselves Telmarines are ruling the land. The men of Telmar are afraid of and hostile to talking animals, the dryads and hamadryads, the naiads, centaurs, dwarves, and satyrs. They fear them and have tried to destroy them. The woods are silent and the dryads sleep, dreaming of a free Narnia and better times. But the memories of old, free Narnia are alive and are passed on in secret. The nurse of Prince Caspian is just one who knows the exciting secrets of old, and there are many others. And so it happens that the young prince comes to love the old that is hidden more than the new that he will rule. But although the stories of old may feed the soul, they are dangerous to know. And that is the start of the prince's dangers and adventures. He may call on those free creatures who are in hiding, they may rally to his call, but will they be strong enough to overthrow their oppressors? He has one more magical link with the past, and he will use it at the moment of greatest need - the magical horn of Queen Susan bringing unknown help to those who use it, which has been preserved as a relic by the faithful.

The Chronicles of Narnia begin, as everyone knows, with `The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. This story, `Prince Caspian', is probably best read second in the sequence as it is a continuation of the original four's adventures. The High King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy are summoned by magic back to Narnia to aid Prince Caspian in time of crisis. The story of `The Magician's Nephew' goes back to the beginning of Narnian time and a little earlier in our world's time to tell how Narnia was created in the first place, and it is probably best read about fifth or sixth in the sequence, but at any rate before `The Last Battle' which tells how Narnia ends and is more frightening than the rest. The best loved of all the stories is probably `The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', partly because it is the longest and richest story in the series and is supremely well written. It is very easy to read but full of interweaving plots, and thrills on land and sea, and full of hard realities like how people behave while thirsty on short water rations and no land in sight. It is the jewel of the set, and fits perfectly in the middle. Reading about prince Caspian will help set the jewel in your mind.

`Prince Caspian' is also an interesting story because it explains so much of the magic of Narnia, and gives those who wish to see an insight into politics, history (ours and Narnia's), battles, and human psychology. It is particularly revealing to see what a prince's education involves: some literature, some mathematics, some social graces, some skills in entertainment and music, some politics. Some people do not like this story because it is about a war, but it really is about what leads up to war, what happens after, and how the individuals involved all react and cope. The actual fighting is a small part of the whole, unlike a modern action film which is heavy on the fighting and light on the people. Having said that, the storyline is one of the simplest in the set as we stay almost all the time with the four children together, who quickly resume their adult roles once in Narnia. When things threaten to overwhelm the brave few, Aslan is at hand but to their surprise he is not always easy to see.

The War of Deliverance (4/7 people found this helpful)

PRINCE CASPIAN begins a year after the events of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE; the Pevensies' years in Narnia having taken only a few moments of our world's time. As they sit together waiting to catch trains to their respective boarding schools, without warning they're pulled into another world that they don't recognize - a deserted island dominated by a ruined castle. This presents a very serious problem, as between them they have only two bag lunches and the clothes they stand up in - very thin supplies for being stranded for an unknown length of time in strange country. (Lewis' own wartime experiences and peacetime hiking expeditions enabled him to write about such things very realistically.)

Only gradually do they realize that this country is the familiar made strange. It is their own capital of Cair Paravel, after untold centuries have washed over it - enough to turn the peninsula on which it once stood into an island. As they walk through the royal treasury and remember what once happened - from years of chess games with fauns to the talking moles who planted the now-wild orchard grown up to the castle gates - there's a compelling mixture of fascinating nostalgia and heartbreak, remembering all the splendour of the years of restoring Narnia to a free and happy country now reduced to crumbling ruins, where even the magical gifts from the first breaking of the hundred years' winter have been abandoned to dust and silence.

When the first humans the Pevensies have seen in this sadly transformed Narnia appear, they have come to murder a dwarf by drowning him in the sea. Rescuing him, the Pevensies learn that Trumpkin represents the survivors of old Narnia, while the humans represent the worst of the new Narnia, the Telmarines who invaded the leaderless country centuries ago and silenced its magic however they could.

However, the new Narnians are people, not monsters - in the generations since the conquest, many have never learned of Narnia's true history, such as Prince Caspian, whose story Trumpkin relates to the Pevensies. Caspian, the only son of the previous king, loved the tales of the old Narnia he was told as a child by the nurse who was the only person who loved him (his childless uncle Miraz merely tolerated Caspian as an heir of his own blood). When his nurse was dismissed for teaching him such stories, Caspian expected only misery from his new tutor - only to learn to his terror and delight that Doctor Cornelius was part dwarf, and that the old Narnia slumbered under its oppression but had not been destroyed. This is particularly well handled, and is characteristic of the difference between PRINCE CASPIAN and its illustrious predecessor. In THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, Narnia was a magical country oppressed by a magical enemy, and the Pevensies were isolated non-magical elements. Here is Narnia is a disenchanted land where magic has been smothered, and the humans have done almost as much damage to themselves, with lies to explain why they fear the sea from which Aslan always entered his kingdom and the forests which once gave battle.

Cornelius' hope was that when Caspian came to the throne he would not only be a good lord to the Telmarines but might unite the old and the new Narnia, waking the slumbering spirits of the trees and the waters and restoring the rights of Narnia in hiding. Their hopes have had to be prematurely put into action, however, as Miraz' queen has given birth to a son, marking the end of his tolerance for the boy who has a better claim to the throne than the man who sits on it.

In helping Caspian to flee Miraz' castle, Cornelius gave Caspian Susan's magical horn and unwittingly sent Caspian straight into the hands of the old Narnians. Deciding this is their best chance, they have begun gathering for war to gain Caspian his throne and the old Narnians their ancient rights, and Susan's horn was sounded because of its magical properties of bringing strange help to whoever uses it - although the return of ancient kings and queens once more in childhood was something even stranger than Cornelius might have dreamed of.

The War of Deliverance and the reawakening of Narnia do not follow the same pattern as the war against the White Witch, and may come as a surprise to first-time readers in terms of what does happen. PRINCE CASPIAN also has rather more complicated relationships on both sides than were seen in THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, as both sides are divided as to their goals and how best to achieve them. The vicious politics of Miraz' court are something from which Caspian has been sheltered, but become more apparently later in the story - the Telmarines are far from being a united people under his rule, and several lords who helped put him on the throne are not blind to the fact that they could act as kingmakers once again. As for the Narnians, some have given up any hope of Aslan and have little use for humans, and have despaired to the point of allying with darker forces.

Final points worthy of note:
- Lewis' talent for writing superlative dialogue, as in other books, occasionally is most noteworthy for some of the villains. The council scene at Aslan's How - once the hill of the Stone Table - just as Trumpkin arrives with Peter and Edmund is particularly impressive.
- Last but never least, PRINCE CASPIAN introduces one of the greatest heroes and chivalrous knights of Narnian history: Reepicheep, chief of the Talking Mice.

Prince Caspian (BBC Radio Collection: Chronicles of Narnia)

C. S. Lewis

Editorial Review: