It’s 75 years since the publication of C.S.Lewis’s classic children’s fantasy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In celebration, the West End stage version is touring in UK and Ireland throughout the year – its run in Cardiff finished a week ago, and it will be back in Wales, at Llandudno, in August. In this ATC we look at the continuing appeal of this story, look at the man behind it, and explore the use of an imagined world for conveying religious truth. We also discuss Philip Pullman, JK Rowling, and others.
We are joined in studio by three guests who’ve done a lot of thinking about story-telling – and written quite a bit themselves. Caleb Woodbridge, who’s based in Pontypridd, has been in publishing in a variety of roles for most of his career after focussing in children’s literature as a student. He delights in myth and legend, science fiction and fantasy, and not surprisingly he’s a Doctor Who fan. Hannah Hess, from Cardiff, has three children to keep her supplied with ideas for her writing, and to date she’s had four books published for young people, Callenlas Chronicles. And Catherine Butler is professor of English literature at Cardiff University, specialising in children's literature. She’s author of several monographs and editor of five academic volumes, and has published six novels for children and young adults.
Catherine Butler - People - Cardiff University