The Horse and His Boy (Narnia #3)

The Horse and His Boy – C.S. Lewis

Shasta is a boy living in the southern land of Calormen with a poor fisherman who treats him more like a servant than a son. When he overhears the fisherman agreeing to sell him as a slave to a powerful nobleman, Shasta decides to run away. Help comes from an unexpected source: the nobleman’s horse, Bree, turns out to be a talking horse from Narnia, who was captured as a foal and longs to return to the free lands of the north.

The Horse and His Boy, one of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, is set during the golden age when the Pevensie children rule Narnia as kings and queens. Shasta and Bree set off together on a dangerous journey north. Along the way they are joined by Aravis, a proud and courageous young Calormene noblewoman fleeing an arranged marriage, and her talking mare, Hwin.

Their journey takes them through the great city of Tashbaan, where Shasta is mistaken for a prince and overhears a plan by the Calormene prince Rabadash to launch a surprise attack on Narnia and its neighbor, Archenland. The four travelers must cross the desert in a race against time to warn the northern lands. Along the way, they learn about courage, humility and friendship, and Shasta discovers the truth about his own identity, guided by the mysterious presence of Aslan.

Exciting and full of adventure, the book stands somewhat apart from the other Narnia stories, with new characters and settings.

The Horse and His Boy is a classic adventure for children and families. Readers should note that its portrayal of the Calormenes reflects attitudes of its time that some modern readers find problematic.