Although not as intricate as Tolkien's Middle Earth, C. S. Lewis placed a lot of detail in his books, some of it easily missed on a first or second reading. Over the next few months I will be compiling a list of facts about the Narnia Chronicles; some you may already know while others might surprise you.
'The Last Battle' won the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature
Days before he died C. S. Lewis was planning to re-edit the seven Narnia books to clear up discrepancies
Puddleglum is based on C. S. Lewis' pessimistic gardener, Fred Paxford
Digory Kirke, Polly Plummer, Peter Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole were all killed in a serious railway accident in 1949
Roger Lancelyn Green suggested naming the seven book series as 'The Chronicles of Narnia'
In the US version of 'The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe' Lewis changed the name of the Witch's chief of secret police from Maugrim to Fenris Ulf
When C. S. Lewis was asked by one girl what happened to the merry-makers who were turned to stone in 'The Lion', he replied, "I thought people would take it for granted that Aslan would put it all right. I see now I should have said so."
C. S. Lewis considered calling 'The Last Battle', 'The Last King of Narnia' or 'Night Falls on Narnia'
Aslan is the Turkish word for 'lion'
Aslan is the only character to appear in all seven Narnia books
'Prince Caspian' has the subtitle 'The Return To Narnia'
C. S. Lewis considered at least four different titles for the sixth book in the Narnia series before choosing 'The Silver Chair'
According to C. S. Lewis' timeline, Narnia lasted for 2555 years before Aslan made an end to it in 'The Last Battle'
Wraggle is the only named satyr in the 'Chronicles of Narnia'. He fights against King Tirian in the Last Battle
Greenroof is the name of a summer month in Narnia
After Aslan, Edmund and Lucy appear in the most Narnia books (5 times each: LWW, HHB, PC, VDT, LB)
The world of Narnia is flat and not round
Some of the Narnian star constellations include the Ship, the Hammer and the Leopard
Tarva and Alambil are the two planets that appear in the Narnian night's sky
The planet of Tarva has the title "The Lord of Victory"
J. R. R. Tolkien criticised "The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe" so much that C. S. Lewis nearly didn't finish the book
Initially C. S. Lewis thought about illustrating "The Lion" himself. Eventually the professional artist Pauline Baines was chosen for the job
The 2,555 years of Narnian history stretch between the English years 1900 and 1949, a space of only 49 years
The first draft of "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe" has four child characters but they are called Ann, Martin, Rose and Peter
Reepicheep is the only character within the Chronicles not to die
C. S. Lewis dedicated 'The Horse and His Boy' to David and Douglas Gresham who were later to become his stepsons
The War Of Deliverance is the name given to the conflict fought between Prince Caspian and his army of Old Narnians and King Miraz and his Telmarines
Wild Frenzy is the name of a Narnian wild herb
Muil and Brenn are the only two named islands in the Seven Isles
There is a town in Italy called Narnia
The atheist Philip Pullman wrote his Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass) because he disliked the Chronicles of Narnia so much
'The Last Battle' is the only Narnia book which is not dedicated to anyone
The planet of Alambil has the title "The Lady of Peace"
The church where C. S. Lewis attended (Holy Trinity, Headington) has a glass window with scenes from the Narnia stories engraved in it.
In total 10 King Caspian's ruled Narnia.
There are four King Caspian's mentioned in the Narnia books (Caspian I, Caspian VIII, Caspian IX, Caspian X).
Calavar is a Calormene province governed by Kidrash Tarkaan.
When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy ruled Narnia the Splendour Hyaline was their royal ship.
Lewis borrowed from Roman mythology when he introduced Baccus and Silenus into the story of Prince Caspian.
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