The Horse and His Boy

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The Horse and His Boy

Recent edition cover
Author	C. S. Lewis
Illustrator	Pauline Baynes
Country	England
Language	English
Series	The Chronicles of Narnia
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publisher	Geoffrey Bles
Released	1954
Media Type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	The Silver Chair
Followed by	The Magician's Nephew

The Horse and His Boy is a novel by C.S. Lewis. It was published in 1954, making it the fifth of seven books published in Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia. The books in this series are sometimes ordered chronologically in relation to the events in the books as opposed to the dates of their original publication. In this alternate ordering, The Horse and His Boy is the third book, being a midquel of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although it was published after The Silver Chair, it was written before it, so in written order it is fourth. The story is also referred to as a story-within-a-story in the fourth published book, The Silver Chair. The Horse and His Boy is the only Narnia book which does not feature children from our world as the story's main characters, although the adult Queen Lucy, Queen Susan, and King Edmund, (all of whom first appear in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) do appear in the book.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Commentary 3 Notes and connections to other Narnia books 4 Film, TV or theatrical adaptations 5 External links

[edit] Plot summary

A young boy called Shasta has been found and raised by Arsheesh, a Calormene fisherman. Arsheesh agrees to sell the boy to a powerful Calormene feudal noble. Shasta is glad to hear that he is not the fisherman's true son, and awaits his new master in the donkey stable outside the fisherman's house. As he muses aloud, the noble's stallion, Bree, begins to talk to Shasta, who is astounded. Together the pair decide to escape a life of servitude in Calormen by riding north for Narnia. They meet another pair of escaping travellers, Aravis, a young Calormene aristocrat, and her talking horse, Hwin. Aravis is fleeing a forced marriage to the Tisroc's grand vizier

When the four arrive at the capital city of Calormen, Tashbaan, they are forced to travel through it. They encounter a procession of visiting Narnian royalty, who see Shasta and mistake him for Corin, a prince of Archenland, who was traveling with the Narnians but had run away. Shasta is too scared to protest. He discovers that the Narnians are planning to escape from Calormen for fear of being kept prisoner if Queen Susan refuses to marry the Calormene prince, Rabadash. When Shasta is alone, the real Prince Corin climbs through the window; he takes his rightful place and Shasta escapes.

Meanwhile, Aravis has been spotted by her noblewoman friend Lasaraleen, but warns the girl not to tell anyone that she has seen her. Lasaraleen agrees, although she cannot understand why Aravis would want to leave the luxurious life of the Calormene nobility. She helps Aravis to escape through the palace, although en route the two narrowly avoid running into the Tisroc and take refuge in one of his private rooms. They briefly hide behind a sofa, and overhear the Tisroc giving his son permission to attack Archenland as a means of later invading Narnia.

Once outside the city, Aravis rejoins Shasta and the Horses. The four of them make the unpleasant journey across the desert to try and warn the people of Archenland and Narnia that the Calormenes are coming to wage war on them. A pursuing lion (later revealed to be Aslan) forces the travellers into moving at great speed, although in the process, Aravis is injured (in punishment for her mistreatment of her former servant) and the horses become exhausted. These three rest with an old hermit while Shasta continues alone. He meets and warns the Archenland army, who are able to defeat the Calormenes. King Lune of Archenland sees that Shasta is really Cor, the long lost elder twin of Prince Corin and heir to the throne. Aravis and Cor live in Archenland thereafter and eventually marry years later.

[edit] Commentary

Shasta resembles Moses in much the same way that some of Lewis' other Narnia books resemble events in the life of Jesus.

The association of Cor with horses, and his twin brother Corin with boxing, recalls the traditional associations of the Spartan twins Castor and Pollux of Greek mythology.

The relationship between Aravis and Lasaraleen is similar to the dynamic between the sisters Antigone and Ismene in Greek tragedy.

[edit] Notes and connections to other Narnia books

While The Horse and His Boy was the fifth book published (and third one in chronological order), it was actually the fourth book written (See Paul E. Ford's Companion to Narnia). This is why The Silver Chair contains two references to the adventures in The Horse and His Boy. In addition, both books have strong female characters: Aravis, and Jill Pole in The Silver Chair.

Corin, Cor (or Shasta) and Aravis all appear in the great reunion in The Last Battle.

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media currently retain the option to make The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy in the future.

[edit] External links

• The Horse and His Boy publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database