(no subject)

[42itous]

Now that my kid is approaching the age I was when I read the Narnia books, I finally decide I ought to find a replacement for my copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which somebody stole off my desk in 3rd grade. I had a boxed set of hardcovers, the 1970 edition with jacket illustrations by Roger Hane, whose style I credit with igniting my love for much of Leo & Diane Dillon's work. I read the whole set in first grade, followed by many repeated readings of TLTW&TW, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Magician's Nephew.

Anyhow, I just searched for the missing volume on abebooks.com, and the only copy it found is listed for $64.64, plus an additional $20.67 for shipping it from Thetford, UK. Oy. I don't need it that badly, but now I'm more upset than ever at the 3rd-grade classmate who helped themselves to Book 1 from my desk while I was out at recess.

Comments

[elainetyger]

I think it would be more meaningful to get a cheaper edition, which will be a reminder of growth to adulthood, and the loss/casting off of childhood things that were enjoyable and those that were not. Much like the children when they had to come back from being royalty in Narnia and be children in England again.

I hope you and the wee one enjoy the journey.

[42itous]

I did eventually find a hardcover at a much more affordable price which will fit in the boxed set, even if the cover art doesn't match. (This after first finding two affordable hardcover editions that are too big to fit in the box.)

With any other series (for instance, the Prydain books), I wouldn't hesitate to buy her a brand-new boxed set. Unfortunately, the Narnia books are now numbered in chronological order of the story, as opposed to the order they were originally published in, which means that whole generations of children are reading The Magician's Nephew as book 1 and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as book 2, etc, which is a travesty.