Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis, 1951 Geoffrey Bles

     After their first trip into Narnia, Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter Pevensie find themselves back in the magical land when they are jerked away from their railway station as they travel to school for the year. In their absence, Telemarines have invaded Narnia and driven the Old Narnians into hiding.
     The Pevensies find themselves at the ruins of Cair Paravel, their former home. It has been centuries since they were last in Narnia and the castle has fallen beyond repair.
     Prince Caspian, the rightful king of Telmarine, has escaped from his Uncle Miraz's home at the birth of his new cousin. The king no longer has need for Caspian with an heir of his own, realizing this, Caspian flees into Narnia, is discovered and taken to the Old Narnians, the talking Animals and mythical creatures of Classic Narnia.
     When Miraz and his army appear nearby, Caspian and his companions flee to Aslan's How where they stage their defense, but are nearly defeated. At a pause in the battle the Narnians debate whether to use Queen Susan's horn to call for help, but are unsure where help will arrive. They send Pattertwig, a Squirrel, to Lantern Waste where the Pevensies first appeared in Narnia, and Trumpkin the dwarf to Cair Paravel where he is captured by the Telmarines and rescued by the Pevensies.
     The group travels to meet Caspian at Alsan's How, but lose their way. Lucy sees Aslan, but is ignored until He comes to her in a dream telling her to wake the others and follow him. Eventually she convinces her sister and brothers and they see first Aslan's shadow, then Aslan himself. Aslan sends Trumpkin, Peter, and Edmund ahead to deal with treachery afoot while He, Susan, and Lucy watch the woods come alive at Aslan's return.
     Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin arrive at the How as a black dwarf, hag, and wer-wolf try to convince Caspian to resurrect the White Witch to save Narnia and in the resulting struggle the three are killed. Peter then challenges Miraz to single combat. Goaded by his advisers, Miraz agrees and falls during the battle. His advisers shout that the Narnians cheated and order the army to attack, then stab Miraz in the back. The army is thrown back when the Living Wood comes alive and are blocked from retreat by the Great River where their bridge has been destroyed by the Narnian forces.
     At their surrender, Aslan offers the Telmarines the option of staying in Narnia under Caspian, or returning to Earth, where they came from. After some of the Telmarines travel through Aslan's magic door, the Pevensies return to Earth where their story began, just in time to catch their train to school.
     The Pevensie children are growing older; Peter and Susan discover they are too old to return to Narnia, and their faith is Aslan is challenged through the journey. The childlike joy with which they began their ventures into Narnia has faded into a more confident and more adult assurance allowing the children to take on the new roles facing them. Aslan still acts as a god-like figure appearing when times are at their worst and lifting the spirits of his followers, inspiring them to greater deeds. This story has some graphic violence, but was written for a third grade or older audience. Each new reading brings a different take on an old and familiar story.