READING AT THE WADE
ROLLAND HEIN, LEADER
FALL 2012

                                                           SYLLABUS

TIME AND PLACE: Saturdays, 10 - 11 a.m., meeting room, The Marion E. Wade Center, corner of Washington and Lincoln, Wheaton, IL.

TEXTS:  C. S. Lewis.  The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.                               HarperCollins.  
 George MacDonald.  At the Back of the North Wind.  Anamchara Books: Harding.

Note: Books are available at the Wheaton College Bookstore at 20% discount with coupon

DESCRIPTION:  Considered by many as George MacDonald’s most successful mythic tale, At the Back of the North Wind is the story of the nocturnal adventures of the child Diamond, a London cabman’s son who--in dreams occurring during periods of illness--is visited by the beautiful and mysteriously supernatural North Wind.   She takes him with her, sheltered amidst her long and lovely hair, as she performs providential errands, some of which excite Diamond’s dismay.  But to be at North Wind’s back is to be in tune with the nature of things, to see and know that God in his loving purposes oversees the creation of both prosperity and adversity in people’s lives (Isa 45:7) , that “although he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love, for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone” (Lam. 3:32, 33).   The story offers provocative  insights into the purposes of God’s working in His world.

The books for which C. S. Lewis is most well-known by the larger public today are the set for young people, The Chronicles of Narnia.  We will be reading the first two in the series.

READINGS:
Sept. 8:  At the Back of the North Wind, Chapters 1 - 4
15:  Chapters 5 - 9
22:  10 - 19
29:  20 - 30
Oct. 6: 31 - end
13:  The Magician’s Nephew, Chapters 1 - 5
20:  6 - 11
27:  12 - end
Nov. 3: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Chapters 1 - 6
10: 7 - 12
17: 13 - end