Michael Ward - The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens

Praise for Planet Narnia

With Planet Narnia , Michael Ward has established himself not only as the foremost living Lewis scholar, but also as a brilliant writer.... His cumulative case for reading the Narnia books in terms of the planets is overwhelming.... This introduction to a masterpiece is something of a masterpiece in its own right.

Times Literary Supplement

[ Planet Narnia ] is, to all appearances, a gamble of presumptuous proportions; but it pays off powerfully and persuasively... [Ward] makes a marvellous case... profound... striking... brilliant.

The Independent on Sunday

An argument which is at once subtle and sensible, a combination not often found in modern academic writing.... This is an outstanding guide not only to Narnia, but also to Lewiss thinking as a whole, and to the genial medieval world-view which he so much loved.

Books & Culture

I cannot contain my admiration. No other book on Lewis has ever shown such comprehensive knowledge of his works and such depth of insight. This will make Michael Wards name.

Walter Hooper, Literary adviser to the Estate of C. S. Lewis and author of C. S. Lewis, A Companion and Guide

Noting Michael Wards claim that he has discovered the secret imaginative key to the Narnia books, the sensible reader responds by erecting a castle of skepticism. My own castle was gradually but utterly demolished as I read this thoughtful, scholarly, and vividly-written book.

Alan Jacobs, Professor of English at Wheaton College and author of The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis

Michael Wards Planet Narnia is an example of a very rare species: a work of literary detection which, despite the breathtaking daring of its central thesis, is utterly convincing and compelling.... The pieces fall into place with the combined thrill of an aesthetic, intellectual and spiritual satisfaction.... Reading the Narnia books will, in the best sense, never be the same againnot that anything will be lost, but that an entire new layer of understanding will be present.

N. T. Wright, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews and author of Surprised by Hope

Michael Ward presents an absorbing, learned analysis of C. S. Lewiss bestselling and beloved series, the Chronicles of Narnia. Readily accessible to the average reader, Wards book reads so much like a detective story that its difficult to put down.

Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of The Question of God: C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud

This feat of scholarly detective work will absorb your attention from start to finish. Michael Ward proposes a heretofore unnoticed structure that unifies the Chronicles of Narnia, based on Lewiss lifelong engagement with medieval astrology.... The result is both surprising and persuasive.

Christianity Today

Brilliantly conceived. Intellectually provocative. Rhetorically convincing. A panegyric is not the usual way to begin a book review, but Michael Wards Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis is worthy of such praise. I do not mean to suggest it is a perfect book, yet what Ward attemptsthe first rigorously comprehensive reading of C. S. Lewiss Chronicles of Narniais magisterial... stimulating and engaging... important... thoughtful, informed, perceptive.... Every serious student of Lewis should buy Planet Narnia . In effect, it is the starting point from now forward for all serious scholarly discussions of the Chronicles of Narnia.

Christianity and Literature

An exciting synthesis of mystery story and literary scholarship... Ward is a master code-breaker.... He reveals previously overlooked connections by means of both broad brush-strokes and intricate details.... This procedure results in a grand literary adventure through the cosmos and through a great writers mind.... If more scholars wrote such enchanting prose and discovered such compelling secrets, we would take volumes of literary criticism to the beach for summer reading.

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

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The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens

Narnia is a trademark of C. S. Lewis (Pte) Ltd.

Copyright 2010 by Michael Ward. All rights reserved.

Based on the book Planet Narnia , previously published by Oxford University Press under ISBN 978-0-19-531387-1. Visit www.planetnarnia.com.

North American edition published with permission of Paternoster, a division of Authentic Media, Ltd.

Cover photograph of lion copyright memoossa/stock.xchng. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph of sky copyright by Sabine Fischer/phoenixstudios.de. All rights reserved.

Chapter opener illustrations by Timothy Botts. Copyright by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Astronomy diagram from Cosmographia by Peter Apian, c. 1585.

The Jupiter by Hans Sebald Beham. Copyright by The Warburg Institute. All rights reserved.

Photograph of Mars mural copyright Floriano Rescigno/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

Photograph of Apollo Sauroctonus by The Warburg Institute.

Photograph of Luna by The Warburg Institute.

Photograph of Mercury by kind permission of Christ Church, Oxford. Photograph by Michael Ward.

Venus painting by Bartholomeus van der Helst.

Photograph of Father Time by Carol Highsmith.

Illustration of Wisemen by Gustave Dore, The Dore Bible Illustrations. Copyright by Dover Publications. All rights reserved.

Author photo copyright 2010 by William Clayton, www.williamclayton.com. All rights reserved.

Designed by Erik M. Peterson

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible , King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ward, Michael, date.

The Narnia code : C.S. Lewis and the secret of the seven heavens / Michael Ward.

p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: Planet Narnia.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4143-3965-8 (sc)

1. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963. Chronicles of Narnia. 2. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963Religion. 3. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963Knowledge and learning. I. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963. Planet Narnia. II. Title.