Once Upon a Wardrobe

I recently found Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan on a suggested list of books about the 1950s. I had read her book Becoming Mrs. Lewis some years back and enjoyed it well enough, so I thought I'd give this one a try.

It is a wonderful book. The story starts with George, an 8-year old boy with a bad heart and the knowledge that he is going to die, probably soon. He has recently read a new book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and absolutely loved it, and he wants to know more: where did Narnia come from? George has an older sister, Megs, who is attending one of the colleges at Oxford, and he asks her to find Mr. Lewis (who teaches at Oxford) and ask him where Narnia came from. 

Megs is a mathematician and loves numbers and figuring things out. She does not understand George's love of fantasy and his insistence that Narnia is real somehow. Because she loves him, Megs agrees to at least try talking with Mr. Lewis. And we discover that Once Upon a Wardrobe is really Megs's story, as she visits Mr. Lewis, learns about the role fantasy can play in the world -- neither more nor less important than her beloved math equations, and begins to see a bigger world than the one she knew.

The visits don't go exactly as Megs expected; Mr. Lewis answers her questions by giving her stories about his childhood, growing years, schooling, war years (both World Wars), and faith. Megs goes home and tells the stories to George, and so we get stories within the story. 

The book was fun to read, even the tough parts. The main story is well-written and interesting, and the stories-within-the-story are delightful and, so far as I know, quite accurate to Mr. Lewis's life. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Narnia.