Sculpted by Ross Wilson, the statue is a life-sized figure of C S Lewis opening a Victorian wardrobe, a gateway to Narnia. The statue was unveiled in November 1998, the centenary of the birth of C S Lewis.
Charles Staples, or 'Jack', Lewis was born in Ballyhackamore, east Belfast, in 1898 and spent his formative years in the city. Living on the city’s Circular Road he attended nearby Campbell College, but was sent to boarding school in England after the death of his mother.
After serving in the First World War, where he was injured, he settled at Oxford University where he was to tutor medieval and renaissance English literature.
Here he wrote the six-book Chronicles of Narnia, which have gone on to sell some 65 million copies worldwide. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is the second in the series and traces the fortunes of a group of Second World War evacuees who discover a fantastical world through a wardrobe in their new home.
When the Pevensie family are evacuated out to the country, they are unaware of the adventure they will encounter. During a game of hide and seek, the youngest daughter, Lucy discovers a wardrobe which transports her to the land of Narnia. Covered in snow, Narnia is full of weird and wonderful creatures, but is watched over by the evil White Witch, Jadis. When all four Pevensie children end up through the wardrobe, they discover that it was meant to be, as two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam must join with the mighty lion, Aslan to defeat the evil White Witch.
Tomorrow, we shall be back to Queen's University.
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