Past Watchful Dragons: The Narnian Chronicles of C. S. Lewis

'Past Watchful Dragons' is a book about the inspiration behind C.S. Lewis's 'The Cronicles of Narnia' classic stories. Many may believe that the books are based on stories from 'The Bible'. Indeed they could be, but then again purhaps not. All books are open to interpretation, however Walter Hooper thinks differently. He certainly has some valid reasons for what he believes, and I agree with him. Before reading this book I read 'The Cronicles of Narnia' in the order they are meant to be read 'The Magician's Nephew', 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe', 'The Horse and His Boy', 'Prince Caspian', 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', 'The Silver Chair', 'The Last Battle'. This was not the order they were published in, and indeed you may see some slip ups if you follow the books as they were published. Interesting to note as well is the fact the history of C.S. Lewis's Narnia world was given a timeline very late. He didn't intend to write so many stories, and might have finished with 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', but he had to continue. 'The Last Battle' is a favorite of Walter Hooper's. I loved the ending to 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' best, and 'The Last Battle' is awesome with all seven books coming together. I'd be most interested in hearing from Narnia fans of the books and finding out what book they love best, and naturally if you enjoyed this book. "Past Watchful Dragons' shall give the reader an inkling of 'C.S. Lewis's thought process, and a glimpse into a secret journal he kept. That was the best part of the book for me. There might have been more, but it seems C.S. Lewis liked to burn his ideas after using them, or ideas he didn't use. This makes me think of Margaret Michell, the author of 'Gone With The Wind'. Very little is known about her as well, because most of her items are burned on request. I also think of George Orwell, author of 'Animal Farm', and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. It would have been very hard to write about issues that effect our every day lives in the early twentieth certury. So authors like C.S. Lewis, friend J.R.R Tolkien, and others I've mentioned, had to invent their own worlds to hide their real meanings. I find all of this aspect of writing fascinating. It would be wise to read 'The Cronicles of Narnia' first before this book. Some ideas might be hard to get your head around but I understood it. When I think of the Narnia books I don't think of 'The Bible'. I just think of some wonderful stories that will live on forever. I wish the same for this book as well. An unforgettable, very special read for anyone.

I love this little book. Besides having my favorite title of all-time for any book, it provides a lot of wonderful insight into CS Lewis' background and experience that led to him writing The Chronicles of Narnia. The title comes from the folowing Lewis quote: "I thought I saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralyzed much of my own religion since childhood. Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or about the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. An obligation to feel can freeze feeelings. And reverence itself did harm. The whole subject was associated with lowered voices; almost as if it were something medical. But suppose by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday school associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could." C.S Lewis certainly achieved his goal. Many non-beleivers reject not Christ and true Christianity but what they perceive them to be. Sometimes this error comes from a bad religious experience but more often people merely create a false idea of what Christianity is and then reject their own creation. Anyone who reads the Narnia books will certainly feel a love for Aslan. They may not even realize the parallels to Jesus but it can be the begininnning of understanding Christ. The author, Walter Hooper was Lewis' personal secretary for several years and thus is uniquely qualified to write this book. His access to Lewis' papers led to incusion of one of the greatest passages in the book: the "Lefay Fragment". This is an ealy form of the Magicians Nephew that Hooper discoverd . It is a fascinating to read. All in all a wonderful book. I'm surprised it is still out of print.

This book was exceptional and very helpful. I recommend it to anyone looking for more information about the Chronicles of Narnia or just as refernce. I have read all the books and this is truly informative and special. Every Narnia fan should try to get this book. I alsorecommend Paul F. Ford's-Companion to Narnia, it is 5 stars and is a good refernce encyclopedia about everything thing you need to know about Narnia and has beautiful illustrations.