The Silver Chair is the sixth novel of the Narnia series, but when it was published in 1953 it was the fourth book. It was adapted by the BBC in 1990. A film version is reportedly being made. (Don't hold your breath waiting for it.)
Like most of the books, the plot starts when people from our world find themselves in Narnia. Unlike the others, the Pevensies are nowhere to be seen. Instead the main characters are Eustace Scrubb, whose experience on the Dawn Treader has made him a much nicer boy, and Jill Pole, who's never appeared in earlier books.
As usual years have passed in Narnia. Caspian is now an old man, Trumpkin is mostly deaf and even more crabby than before, and Caspian's nameless wife is long dead. His son Rilian has mysteriously disappeared. So Aslan calls Jill and Eustace, gives Jill four signs she mustn't forget, and sends them to find Rilian. Their trip takes them to never-before-seen parts of Narnia, accompanied by a member of a never-before-seen species: Puddleglum, a wonderfully, well, glum Marsh-wiggle.
The book isn't quite as good as the earlier installments. When I first read it I was disappointed the Pevensies were barely even mentioned. The Marsh-wiggles are sadly underused. They're mentioned only in this book (The Last Battle doesn't count), and Puddleglum is the only one who ever actually appears. C. S. Lewis had a habit of creating fascinating parts of Narnia's world and then never elaborating on them. (The same thing happened with the winged horses way back in The Magician's Nephew.)
But it has enough good points for it to be my third-favourite book. It gives a glimpse of how large the world of Narnia really is; something that's easy to forget when Narnia itself is usually the focus of the stories. And Puddleglum is one of my favourite characters in the whole series. His delightfully gloomy comments are always good for a laugh 😆
Is it available online?: Not as far as I know.
Rating: 7/10.
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