54 pages 1 hour read

C. S. Lewis

The Magician's Nephew

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1955

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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “The Wrong Door”

The narrator explains that this story shows how relations between this world and Narnia began. The narrative begins in a long row of London houses that are all stuck together. This is where Polly Plummer lives, and one day while she is playing in the garden behind her house, a boy sticks his head over the fence of the neighboring garden. Polly is surprised to see him because no children live in that house, only an old brother and sister named Mr. and Miss Ketterley.

The boy’s face is dirty, and he had obviously been crying. He tells Polly that his name is Digory and that he is upset because he used to live in the country and have a pony, but now he must live in London with his aunt and uncle, who often behaves erratically, because his father is in India and his mother is sick and dying. Polly realizes that Digory is going to cry again, so she changes the subject and asks if Digory’s uncle truly has a mental health condition. Digory admits that he doesn’t know, but he knows that something must be going on with blurred text
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