A whole new world

I’ve seen the promised land. At least, I went to its entrance. And I can report that there is a distinct possibility that C S Lewis’ wardrobe in the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College does indeed lead to Narnia.

I spoke to a friendly receptionist called Rachel, who was most solicitous for the entirety of my visit there. She informed me that I would be allowed to take a photograph of the very wardrobe that C S Lewis wrote about in the Narnia series. Not only that, being the only visitor there at that time, I was allowed to open the doors and have a good look inside. The fur coats were there, the wardrobe was as magical as it should be with little slivers of light at the back through cracks in the wooden boards. It was perfect.

And might I add, at the back of the wardrobe, there was indeed something of a surprise, which means it actually might be possible that there is something beyond those fur coats. I can only say that you should go and see. Or ask me for the photo. But, I'm not sure. I mean, it may not work for everyone...

All I can say is, take a visit. The magic is in being able to touch and feel and look inside. On a more serious note, the center houses almost every book written by and about C S Lewis, a lot about Tolkein too, also G K Chesterton and others. I spoke to the archivist there, who helped set up the system in 2001 and she is also most friendly. (We need a few people like that in the UK; it really cheers your day up! And boy do we need cheering up in England. I mean, the weather.)

She opened up a file of facsimiles of C S Lewis' correspondence and it fell open on a handwritten letter that Lewis had written to a young reader. He simply wrote that although he sometimes writes in his books about things that were horrid, he had been in the trenches in the 1st World War, and he had seen things that were he to write about them, they would be too horrid (underlined) for anyone to read. The underline said it all.

So go there, and if you ask Rachel nicely, she may even take a picture of you next to the wardrobe...