C.S. Lewis Published ‘The Horse and His Boy’ 70 Years Ago Today
Today marks the 70th anniversary of The Horse and His Boy! Though it’s the third book in Narnia’s chronology, it was the fourth written and the fifth to be published in the series.
I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.”
Fun Facts about The Horse and His Boy
- The Horse and His Boy is the only book that doesn’t include comings and goings between Earth and Narnia, and it takes place entirely within the world of Narnia and its neighboring countries.
- Before settling on The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis considered several other titles, including The Horse Stole the Boy, The Desert Road to Narnia, Cor of Archenland, Over the Border, and Narnia and the North.
- In The Silver Chair, Lewis warmly reminisced about The Horse and His Boy in a scene where “a blind poet came forward and struck up the grand old tale of Prince Cor and Aravis and the horse Bree…”
- The book is dedicated to Douglas and David Gresham, who later became C.S. Lewis’s stepsons. In 2018, NarniaWeb had the opportunity to discuss The Horse and His Boy in-depth with Douglas Gresham.
- C.S. Lewis completed writing The Horse and His Boy in slightly over 3 months.
Do not by any means destroy yourself, for if you live you may yet have good fortune, but all the dead are dead like.”
Check out Talking Beasts: The Narnia Podcast for a chapter-by-chapter commentary on the book.
In the comments section below, let us know what you love about The Horse and His Boy—share your favorite scenes, quotes, and characters! Also, do you wish C.S. Lewis had chosen a different title for the book?
Happy Anniversary! Cor of Archenland and Over the Border would have been terrible names – glad Lewis kept HHB
I love how this book gives us a glimpse of Narnia from a different perspective. Seeing the story unfold in Calormen and Archenland adds so much depth and detail to the world. My favorite scene is when Aslan reveals how he’s been guiding Shasta all along—so powerful! And no, I think The Horse and His Boy is the perfect title! It captures the heart of the story so well.
Also, it’s amazing Lewis wrote it 3 months while also writing Dawn Treader during that same time! His creative juices were really flowing!
Not just one of my favorite Narnia books but one my favorite books of all time.
“To Narnia and The North” was always a fun rallying call for my siblings. Really love all the character dynamics and environments in Horse and His Boy!
I remember holding off on reading this book when i read the Chronicles because the setting seemed strange and un-Narnian… when I finally did read it (after reading the Last Battle, go figure!) I wondered why on Earth i’d waited so long!
I had no idea that Lewis considered other titles! The Desert Road to Narnia sounds intriguing, but I think The Horse and His Boy fits the spirit of the adventure perfectly.
Happy Birthday to The Horse and His Boy – “may he live forever!”
@Cleander, I actually was also put off at first that the setup for the book was different from that of the other books. I was scared I wouldn’t be able to relate to the main characters since they weren’t from this world like the Pevensies. But happily, that proved to be a nonissue. Shasta, Aravis, Bree and Hwin actually ended up being some of my favorite protagonists in the series.
@Col Klink, Exactly! Which I suppose is all a demonstration of Lewis’ skilled storytelling…
HHB is kind of an unique book for Narnia. We actually get see what happens during the Pevensies’ reign as well as the other countries in the world of Narnia- Calormen and Archenland.
Even it comes after LWW chronologically, it actually takes place during LWW. So HHB could be considered a midquel.
I thought HHB was a bit “odd” when I first read the Chronicles, precisely because it doesn’t feature any “comings and goings” between our world and Narnia, and it occurs within the timeframe of LWW, and of course, most of the action is not set in Narnia itself. But I warmed to it as the story went on, and now I love it as much as any of the other Chronicles. (I don’t like picking an absolute favourite, as every single one of the seven books has something special about it that I love!)
Minor inaccuracy in what’s written above, though:
‘In The Silver Chair, Lewis warmly reminisced about The Horse and His Boy in a scene where “a blind poet came forward and struck up the grand old tale of Prince Cor and Aravis and the horse Bree…”’
The Silver Chair was published *before* HHB, so technically that wasn’t “reminiscing”, but foreshadowing! Obviously it comes across as “reminiscing” if one reads the books in chronological order, but for those reading SC when it was first published in 1953, this was actually a well-placed teaser for the next book to come.
@Courtenay, from what I understand (which might be totally wrong), C. S. Lewis wrote The Horse and his Boy first whereas The Silver Chair was published first. (I’d also argue it’s better to read HHB first because reading SC first gives away Shasta’s real name and the reference to it feels like a crass commercial plugin. But that’s just me.)
I should also say that HHB perhaps has my favorite overall message- about Providence. In the book, you learn that Aslan has been there all that time- He was the lion who caused the wayward adventure, the cat who gave Shasta comfort when he was at the tombs, the Lion who scratched Aravis’s back to teach her a lesson. So much about providence there- when things may seem get out of hand, there is Someone looking out for you.
I know I’m a little late to the party here, but I love HHB so much that I wanted to chime in!
Courtenay, I agree with you completely that when I first read it as a kid, I viewed the book as odd and didn’t see how it really fit into the overall Narnia story. But I absolutely adore it now, of course because of all the profound themes you all mentioned, but also in part because of all the fun characters. The “core four” (Shasta, Aravis, Bree and Hwin) are such a unique and well-drawn set of protagonists. The look-in we get from Susan, Edmund and Lucy is so fun as well, and Corin is ridiculous in the best way. (Asking if he can box Rabadash? His wild story about all the people in Tashbaan he knocked down? “Does it ever get caught on a hook halfway down?” What a kid. I probably shouldn’t love him and his violent streak so much, but I find him hilarious.)