Once Upon a Wardrobe
Published on 28. October 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-4002-3283-3 (ISBN)
Description
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 question: "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 truth: "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 Lea
A captivating, standalone historical novel combining fact and fiction
An emotional journey into the books and stories that make us who we are
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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 question: "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 truth: "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 Lea
A captivating, standalone historical novel combining fact and fiction
An emotional journey into the books and stories that make us who we are
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Reviews / Votes
''Once Upon a Wardrobe' is a beautiful follow-up to 'Becoming Mrs. Lewis.' It's a love letter to books and stories with a meaningful message. Megs and her family learn that fantastical tales are more than mere ways to appease young children. Stories are nourishment for the souls that need joy the most, and sometimes they're the only thing that can help us understand life.' * The Washington Post * 'Full of magic, nostalgia and a sister's love, Coben calls this novel 'a love letter to those of us obsessed with C.S. Lewis's Narnia series.'' * TODAY * 'Patti Callahan's powerful and captivating new novel ponders how the events in C.S. Lewis' life, particularly his childhood, inspired him to create the magical and mythical world of Narnia and the cast of characters inhabiting it . . . Readers will reach for it again and again, eager to be reminded that love will prevail and imagination leads people down fantastical paths. Some books are read and forgotten soon after; others linger forever in one's mind, popping up from time to time when something relevant sparks the memory. ONCE UPON A WARDROBE is certainly the latter and will be cherished by anyone who reads it.' * BookReporter.com * 'This beautiful and soul-touching book is about death and dying, but it also reminds us that new chapters remain for those of us who are left behind.' * Historical Novel Society *More details
Edition
ITPE Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Focus
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
262 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4002-3283-3 (9781400232833)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Patti Callahan is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Globe and Mail bestselling novelist of fifteen novels, including Becoming Mrs. Lewis, Surviving Savannah, and Once Upon a Wardrobe. A recipient of the Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year, the Christy Book of the Year, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year, Patti is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series and podcast Friends & Fiction. Visit her online at www.patticallahanhenry.com; Instagram: @pattichenry; Facebook: @AuthorPattiCallahanHenry; Twitter: @pcalhenry.