Released in 1951, Prince Caspian was published in the UK 70 years ago. Telling the story of the four Pevensie children who haad returned to Narnia a year later after their previous adventure, it sees them shocked to discover how the mystical land they found in the back of a wardrobe had changed completely. With over 1300 years since Edmund, Peter, Lucy and Susan last stepped foot in the mystical land, the stakes are entirely different as a completely changed world is there to welcome them back.
The novel was the second of C.S. Lewis‘ series The Chronicles of Narnia but is chronologically set after novels later in the series such as The Magician’s Nephew.
After the successful 2005 adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian would also be adapted into a film in 2008, starring Ben Barnes as the titular Prince, as well as other adaptations into radio plays and more. It’s a pivotal book in a series that has now become one of the codifiers of children’s fantasy, and still one of my favourites in the franchise.
