The Oxford home where Christian scholar and author C.S. Lewis wrote the popular The Chronicles of Narnia series is being designated as a historic landmark.
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C.S. Lewis Foundation
Lewis lived at The Kilns from 1930 until he died in 1963. It was at the Kilns where he wrote many of his works, from The Screwtape Letters to the Narnia series.
The Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board will be unveiling a special blue plaque at The Kilns on Saturday, July 26, to mark Lewis' contribution to scholarship and literature, according to a news release.
Lewis wrote a total of 40 books in his lifetime but is widely known for The Chronicles of Narnia, based on four children who lived with Lewis and his family as evacuees during the Second World War. The first installment of the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was adapted to the silver screen by Disney in 2005. In May 2008, the second book, Prince Caspian, also hit theaters.
Although his children's fiction books were widely popular, Lewis was also known as a Christian apologist. Lewis' books, including Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain and Miracles, which responded to common objections to Christianity proved him to be one of the most influential Christian apologists of his time.
To date, his books have sold over a 100 million copies.
"We have very stringent rules and only award blue plaques for the highest level of achievement," says Eda Forbes, secretary to the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques, which recognizes famous residences in Oxford with a permanently-installed plaque.
The Kilns is now a Christian study center owned by the C.S. Lewis Foundation in California.
Stan Mattson, founder and president of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, and Walter Hooper, Lewis' former secretary and literary advisor to his estate, will join in the plaque unveiling event.
While the plaque will be the latest addition to the restored Kilns, the estate still houses the period wardrobe that inspired the magical portal in Lewis' Narnia story.
Comments
I am glad to hear the the home of C.S. Lewis is now a historic landmark (the Kilns). However, the wardrobe which inspired the Narnia series is NOT located at the Kilns! For many years it has been a part of the Wade Collection at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). I saw it there many times while I was a student at Wheaton back in the late 70's/early 80's, and have seen it at the Wade Center several times in recent years. I contacted the Wade Center to verify the location of the wardrobe and they said that yes, the wardrobe is still "alive and well" at the Wade Center. If you go to their website and click on the Virtual Tour, you can see a picture of the wardrobe. I don't know what wardrobe, if any, is housed at the Kilns, but it is not the "Narnia" wardrobe!