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Having to spend the summer holidays with their odious cousin Eustace was just about the end for Edmund and Lucy. They were gazing dejectedly at the picture of the ship with the dragon prow when slowly it began to rock, and the wind to blow. In a flash, the frame disappeared and the three... read more

Summary edit see section history

Lucy, Edmund and their annoying cousin Eustace are sent off to Narnia for another adventure. This time they meet up with Prince Caspian and set sail on a mission to the end of the world on the ship the Dawn Treader.

Characters/People edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
  • “Child...no one is ever told what would have happened.”
    Aslan
  • “I call all times soon.”
    Aslan
  • “But there I have another name.”
    Aslan
  • “And thats the last thing I didn't hear from her”
    Aslan
  • “Fly! Fly! About with your ship and fly! Row, row, row for your lives away from the accursed shore.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
    Highlighted by 102 Kindle customers
  • “Then the lion said—but I don’t know if it spoke—'You will have to let me undress you.’
    Highlighted by 76 Kindle customers
  • Sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.
    Highlighted by 76 Kindle customers
  • “Oh, Aslan,” said Lucy. “Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?” “I shall be telling you all the time,” said Aslan. “But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.
    Highlighted by 75 Kindle customers
  • “Where sky and water meet, Where the waves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, To find all you seek, There is the utter East.
    Highlighted by 63 Kindle customers
  • It would be nice, and fairly nearly true, to say that “from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.” To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.
    Highlighted by 62 Kindle customers
  • “But who is Aslan? Do you know him?” “Well—he knows me,” said Edmund. “He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia.
    Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers
  • “Child,” said Aslan, “did I not explain to you once before that no one is ever told what would have happened?”
    Highlighted by 45 Kindle customers
  • “Use?” replied Reepicheep. “Use, Captain? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honor and adventure. And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honors.”
    Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers
  • THERE WAS A BOY CALLED EUSTACE Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.
    Highlighted by 35 Kindle customers
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Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Dawn Treader: A Narnian ship, sailing into the East; the setting of most of the story.
  • Galma: An island close by the Narnian shore.
  • Terebinthia: An island near to Narnia; is plagued by sickness when the Dawn Treader visits.
  • Seven Isles: Seven islands near Narnia, two of which are Muil and Brenn.
  • Lone Islands: Three islands near to Narnia, considered the farthest Eastern reaches of the known world. They consist of Felimath, Doorn, and Avra.
  • Dragon Island: A mountainous island where dragons live.
  • Burnt Island: A desert island near Dragon Island, where there are remains of huts, fires and other signs of habitation.
  • Coriakin's Island: The home of the Dufflepuds, ruled over by Coriakin, a fallen star.
  • Dark Island: A large, dense blackness upon the waters, described as a place where dreams come true -- not daydreams, but dreams, that is, nightmares.
  • Ramandu's Island: The last island before the Eastern end of the world, where travelers are welcomed by a feast fit for kings, provided every sunset by Aslan. Kept by Ramandu, a star at rest, and his daughter.
  • Silver Sea: The sea of lilies just before the Eastern end of the world.
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First Sentence edit see section history

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

Table of Contents edit see section history

1. The Picture in the Bedroom
2. On Board the Dawn Treader
3. The Lone Islands
4. What Caspian Did There
5. The Storm and What Became of It
6.The Adventures of Eustace
7. How the Adventure Ended
8. Two Narrow Escapes
9. The Island of the Voices
10. The Magician's Book
11.The Dufflepuds Made Happy
12.The Dark Island
13. The Three Sleepers
14. The Beginning of the End of the World
15. The Wonders of the Last Sea
16. The Very End of the World

Glossary edit see section history

  • cog: A Medieval ship with a rounded prow and stern.
  • dromond: A large, swift Medieval ship.
  • galleon: A large, two-masted ship.
  • carrack: A galleon used as a merchant vessel.
  • postern: A smaller door within a castle's main gate.
  • quoits: A game like horseshoes in which rings are thrown at a hanging peg.
  • astrolabe: An early navigational instrument.
  • orrery: A device for illustrating the relative position of the planets.
  • poltroonery: Cowardice.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • The Medieval Planets: (The Sun) In medieval cosmology, the sun was thought to be one of the planets orbiting the earth. This book is drenched with Solar motifs; the sun is mentioned often, especially right before or during important moments. The voyage itself is toward the utter East, and the rising sun, a fact the ship's name refers to. Gold, the metal associated with the sun, is an important element at two important junctures, and in both of them gold-lust, an effect of improperly received Solar influence, is confronted. Eustace gains new knowledge about himself and the world around him; the sun is associated with knowledge, philosophy and theology. Dragons are a major element; Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, was commonly known as a slayer of dragons.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 5 of 7 in The Chronicles of Narnia. (standard series)

Preceded by Prince Caspian, and followed by The Silver Chair.

This is book 510 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
This is book 22 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. C. S. Lewis (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Geoffrey Bles
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Date: 1952
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 223

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Recommended for children + 10 and also for Young Adults

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Prince Caspian

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Prince Caspian

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (New Revised Standard Version)

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

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