Prince Caspian

This page refers to the novel. For the upcoming film, see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. For the literary character, see Caspian X. "Prince Caspian" is also the name of the final track of Phish's album Billy Breathes.

Prince Caspian

Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	C. S. Lewis
Illustrator	Pauline Baynes
Language	English
Series	The Chronicles of Narnia
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Geoffrey Bles
Publication date	1951
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	195 pp
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	The Horse and His Boy
Followed by	The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, first published in 1951. It is the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, though in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler The year is 1941. The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are waiting for connecting trains at a railway station in the course of their journey back to their respective boarding schools when they feel the pull of the magic and are drawn into Narnia and find that more than a thousand years have passed since they reigned there as kings and queens (in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).

They arrive at the ruins of Cair Paravel on a small island at the shores of the Eastern Sea. They go exploring in the treasury and discover the gifts they received from Father Christmas. Edmund did not get a gift so he takes a sword, and they cannot find Susan's horn, which she lost on their last day in Narnia. They soon afterwards rescue a dwarf called Trumpkin from summary execution (it was to have been pretended that he had fallen victim to "ghosts"). He explains that much of the old magic has been lost and the land has been "civilized" under the domain of a race of men from Telmar, and that the Telmarines fear and shun the lands around Cair Paravel. The old inhabitants of the kingdom, talking animals and dwarfs and other fantastic creatures, have been driven into the wild and unfriendly parts of the land to live in hiding.

Prince Caspian's nurse is dismissed for telling him tales about old Narnia. The Prince then gets a new teacher, Dr. Cornelius. One night the old man wakes Caspian, ostensibly to show him a rare planetary conjunction on the top of a deserted tower; but in fact to tell him that he is half dwarf half human and that old Narnia really exists. Caspian is thrilled but Cornelius urges him to caution, and further such lessons are sporadic and conducted with the utmost secrecy.

Later, Dr. Cornelius awakens Caspian with the urgent news that Queen Prunaprisma has produced an heir and that Miraz (formerly childless, and at least tolerant to the notion of passing the throne to his nephew) would now kill him to assure his own son's succession. Cornelius gives Caspian the magical horn Susan had lost ages before. Caspian flees the castle, but while riding through a forest during a storm, he hits his head on a tree branch and falls off.

A talking badger and two dwarfs (one of them Trumpkin; the other named Nikabrik), who have gone into hiding, find him and take care of him. They show him to the "old Narnians" who invite him to a council of war at the Dancing Lawn. Dr. Cornelius comes to the Lawn and says that the King has been apprised of Caspian's flight and is coming in search of him. The Old Narnians are soon drawn into the struggle against the usurping Telmarine, Miraz, as Caspian vows to be their loyal King. A guerilla war ensues but goes badly. Caspian and the Old Narnians flee to Aslan's How where they set camp. Miraz's army surround the mound of earth that now covers the Stone Table where Aslan died for Edmund, and although this will be a redoubtable stronghold, long-term defeat appears inevitable. With the promise that it will bring magical aid, Prince Caspian blows the horn of Queen Susan, which (unknown to him) brings the Pevensies to Narnia. Trumpkin says that he'll go to Cair Paravel and see if the four came. En route he is captured, accounting for his arrival at the island after the Pevensies arrive.

The four children and dwarf travel to Aslan's How. On their way they meet Aslan, the great lion. Acting on his direction, Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin go to the aid of Caspian and fight a hag, werewolf, and dwarf (Nikabrik - his patience with Caspian exhausted) that were thinking of calling upon the evil White Witch, Jadis for support in the battle. Susan and Lucy aid Aslan as he restores the Dryads, Naiads, Hamadryads, and Silvans and frees them from their bonds so they will have more people for the battle.

The duel ends with Peter winning because Miraz tripped and appeared to be unconscious. One of Miraz's close advisors then declares treachery has been committed.Then battle ensues between the two armies. Miraz is killed by Lord Glozelle who had been plotting against him with another advisor named Lord Sopespian before the combat. At first the Old Narnians were few in numbers but Aslan had awakened the tree- and river-spirits. After an initially fierce struggle the Telmarines are routed to the Ford of Beruna. Aslan crowns Caspian as King of Narnia. A mouse chieftain called Reepicheep is brought to Aslan, grievously wounded, and Lucy uses her still-viable healing cordial to save his life. But the mouse has lost his tail and he pleads for it; and his plea is backed by all his people who are willing to sacrifice their own tails rather than see their leader deprived of his dignity. Aslan restores his tail, moved by their loyalty and mindful of the kindness that his kind showed him at the Stone Table. The children return to their own world through a door made out of three sticks by Aslan (many of the Telmarines also go through this door to their own world). Aslan tells Peter and Susan that they can never visit Narnia again because they are too old.

Caspian reappears (as King Caspian) in the two following books in the series: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader andThe Silver Chair and makes a brief appearance in the end of The Last Battle.

Character list

• Peter Pevensie is the oldest of the Pevensie siblings. He doesn't believe Lucy's talk of seeing Aslan at first, but later, Aslan appears and he apologizes. He fights King Miraz in single combat, but during their battle Miraz stumbles and falls and is stabbed to death by one of his own treacherous advisors.
• Susan Pevensie is the second oldest of the Pevensie children. Se doesn't believe Lucy's talk of seeing Aslan at first, but later, Aslan appears and she apologizes. She helps Aslan free the Old Narnians.
• Edmund Pevensie is the third Pevensie child. He believes Lucy and follows her, mentioning that in their first adventure they didn't believe her and she turned out to be right. He fights alongside Caspian's army of old Narnians.
• Lucy Pevensie is the youngest Pevensie child. Lucy is the first to see Aslan again. She helps Aslan free the Old Narnians.
• Aslan is the lion, and keeps everything on a balance in Narnia. He awakens the Old Narnians and gathers them to fight for Caspian. Later, he gives Reepicheep his tail back, when it has been chopped off during battle. He also crowns Caspian as the rightful king of Narnia.
• Prince Caspian is the prince whose evil uncle, King Miraz, and snatched the throne of Narnia. Caspian gathers an army of the Old Narnians and fights for his crown. Caspian reappears (as King Caspian) in the two following books in the series: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader andThe Silver Chair and makes a brief appearance in the end of The Last Battle.

Commentary

There are several prevalent themes in this book. One is apostasy, as Narnia has come under the rule of sovereign who has no legitimate claim to the throne, and when Caspian is crowned king, he receives authority from the High King Peter. Another is faith, particularly evident in the scene where Aslan appears to the children, and only Lucy can see him at first; gradually, however, each of the other children trusts her and begins to see for himself or herself.

The book also deals with the controversial subject of war, though Lewis handles this touchy subject with a great deal of thoughtfulness. War is not glorified, but ever-present as a part of the reality of the situation; chivalry (in Reepicheep especially) honour and courage are all glorified, while treachery is condemned. The end of the book takes a sharp turn away from the seriousness of the battle by introducing the renewal of Narnian festivity and joviality.

Besides those topics, the book also deals with the struggle that Caspian has with his uncle throughout the book; the basic plot is that of Hamlet. He, Caspian, is continually coping with the fact that a lot of the native Narnians despise him for his uncle's actions; Caspian has been against those decisions since his uncle fired his first teacher for teaching him about the Golden Age of Narnia.

The book could be read as a critique of colonialism, and in particular the tendency of power to invent the past and obliterate previous cultures. The official line in Telmarine Narnia is that Aslan and the talking animals of Old Narnia never existed, and the history taught in schools is "duller than the truest bit of history you ever read, and more untrue than the most exciting adventure story". In particular there is a flavour of Irish nationalism: the liberation of Narnia, especially in its Dionysiac elements, is strongly reminiscent of the ending of Stephens' "The Crock of Gold", a book Lewis is known to have admired.

Film, TV, theatrical or musical adaptations

The BBC adapted Prince Caspian in its 1989 miniseries (see The Chronicles of Narnia (TV miniseries). The second in the series of films from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, titled The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, is planned for a theatrical release on May 16, 2008.

The Book was the inspiration for a song of the same name on the Phish album Billy Breathes.

External links

• Prince Caspian title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database