Born on 29 November 1898 in Belfast, Clive Staples Lewis flew the nest when he began his education at Wynyard School in Watford, and spent the majority of his years in England, but his ties with Northern Ireland never wavered.

Remembered as one of Ireland’s literary geniuses, Lewis possessed the magical ability to transport one to another sphere without ever having to leave the room.

He understood the importance of storytelling, having said: “We read to know we are not alone.” With such knowledge, he was gifted in creating fictional characters who were not always human, and yet we were able to identity with them and their situations.

The Chronicles of Narnia is Lewis’s most famous work, which he began writing in 1939. Only Harry Potter has outsold these fantasy novels. Lewis found his inspiration for the magical realm in the rugged Mourne Mountains, situated in Co Down.

“I have seen landscapes, notably in the Mourne Mountains and southwards which under a particular light made me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge,” Lewis wrote in his essay, On Stories. “I yearn to see County Down in the snow, one almost expects to see a march of dwarfs dashing past. How I long to break into a world where such things were true.”

The Ulsterman’s ability to create an imaginary world that engages children and adults alike, while being able to merge a deeper truth to the tale, stresses the remarkable manner in which the cogs of his mind laboured.

“What Aslan meant when he said he had died is, in one sense, plain enough. Read the earlier book in this series called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and you will find the full story of how he was killed by the White Witch and came to life again. When you have read that, I think you will probably see that there is a deeper meaning behind it. The whole Narnian story is about Christ,” Lewis wrote.

Queen’s University, Belfast, has a range of Lewis’s materials in their procession, including several early editions of his work, and the university ensures that Lewis’s legacy and his links to Belfast and Northern Ireland, remain alive by providing easy access to the resources.

Letters inscribed by Lewis were donated to Queen’s University by Rev Acworth. His father, Captain Bernard Acworth, corresponded with Lewis from 1944 to 1960, and The McClay Library has a reading room named for Lewis. The space is decorated with references to Narnia, including a special door to enter the reading room, which echoes the wardrobe door from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

One may say that the author’s death had been overshadowed by the assassination of American President John F Kennedy, who also died on 22 November 1963, but nothing will outshine Lewis’ legacy, as he leaves behind a portal to an enchanted kingdom, and words of wisdom which are golden in a world that can often be grey. CL