Once upon a wardrobe

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Title :

Once upon a wardrobe / Patti Callahan.

Title:

Once upon a wardrobe

Author:

Henry, Patti Callahan

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

xxi, 292 pages 22 cm

ISBN:

9780785251729

9780785251743

Production / Publication Information:

Nashville : Harper Muse, [2021]

General Note:

Includes a note from Douglas Gresham and a note from the author (pages 273-278).

Includes discussion questions (pages 283-285).

Summary:

Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics. the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn't have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there's no way she can refuse. Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories, stories of Jack Lewis's life, which she takes home to George.Why won't Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot.

Language:

English

Genre:

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

Geographic Term:

Oxford (England) -- Fiction.

Worcestershire (England) -- Fiction.

Personal Subject:

Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Authors, English -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Brothers -- Fiction.

Sisters -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	F CALLAHAN	31990004997628	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	FIC HENRY	32114002658400	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	FICTION HENRY	31330009089040	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	YA/CALLAHAN	33934004448412	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	FICTION/CALLAHAN	33934004422698	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Boxford Town Library	FIC CALLAHAN	32115002156071	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	F CALLAHAN	32117002099780	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	FIC/CALLAHAN	31480011532410	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	FIC/CALLAHAN	31482003034280	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	CAL	32118001062209	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Essex - T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library	F CAL	32119000424283	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	FIC CALLAHAN	32120001350113	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	FIC HENRY	32121000891776	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	FIC CALLAHAN	30470001942092	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	FIC CALLAHAN	30470002166790	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	FIC/HENRY P	31479007496796	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	FIC CAL	31549004906854	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	NEW! F CALLAHAN, P	39965002473816	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library	FIC HENRY	31481005569228	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	FIC HEN	32124002119246	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	FIC CAL	31548003382422	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	CAL	32127001300352	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newburyport Public Library	FIC HENRY P	32128004024486	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	F HENRY	31478010183466	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	FIC HENRY	32129002464567	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	FICTION CALLAHAN	32132003281881	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Callahan (Becoming Mrs. Lewis) mines the life and work of C.S. Lewis in this enjoyable exploration of the power of imagination to see one through difficult times. In 1950 Worcester, England, eight-year-old George Devonshir, born with a weak heart, is often restricted to his bed, where he devours adventure and fantasy books. After he comes across The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, he asks his sister Megs, a student at Oxford, to ask C.S. Lewis, who is a don at her university, where the idea for Narnia came from. After being caught on Lewis's property mustering up the courage to knock on the door, she's invited into his home, where Lewis and his brother tell her the story of their lives. Lewis's childhood, Megs learns, has many parallels with George's: he was often ill and comforted himself with wildly imaginative stories. As Megs relates the stories to her brother, she comes to appreciate how fantasy and real life can interact in productive, beautiful ways. While Callahan's prose verges on saccharine--nearly every page contains a reminder of George's illness or his family's devotion to his happiness--the heartfelt characters will win over sentimental readers. Callahan's fans will love this. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

Eight-year-old George has a weak heart but big plans for his limited time. He's inspired by the recently published The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, and is sure that if he can learn how Narnia was created, he'll be content. He pleads with his sister Megs, a physics student at Oxford, to seek Lewis out and get the answers. Megs isn't really interested in stories, or in making friends, for that matter, but her brother is dear to her. She manages to meet the esteemed tutor and share George's request with him. Over several visits, Lewis tells Megs stories of his life, which she brings home to George. Along the way, and with the help of a handsome fellow student, she learns that truth lies both in physics and in fairy tales, and new worlds open for her family and herself. This is a heartwarming tale about the transformative power of books, with engaging and detailed descriptions. George's earnestness and imaginative nature uplift his family and will charm any reader who enjoys looking at the stories behind our favorite childhood stories.

Library Journal Review

Callahan (Becoming Mrs. Lewis) once again visits the life and works of C. S. Lewis in this enlightening novel of logic and imagination, faith, and reason. Eight-year-old George Devonshire, housebound with a fatal heart ailment, lives his life through his favorite books. Captivated by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, George wants his sister to ask C. S. Lewis where Narnia came from. Meg, a mathematics student at Oxford, is determined to find the answers her brother seeks. But Lewis won't give her the direct answer that her logical mind wants. Instead, he tells Meg a series of stories from his life, stories that may or may not solve the mystery of where his novels' world and characters were born. As she spends time with Lewis, Meg slowly begins to find her logical mind expanding to encompass a love of storytelling and imagination. Her remaining time with George becomes more precious, and Meg finds that his question has given her a truly priceless gift. VERDICT This enchanting novel of faith and hope is a must-read for fans of C. S. Lewis. Readers will be eager to return to the world of "The Chronicles of Narnia" with new insights.--Catherine Coyne, Mansfield P.L., MA