Why we’re all nostalgic for Narnia

IT seems the magic of Narnia hasn’t worn off for adults just yet – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has topped a list of children’s books that grown-ups most want to revisit.

C S Lewis’s 1950 classic pipped Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden to the number one spot in the poll.

The Railway Children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Animal Farm also made it into the top ten.

The survey found that three in five of us have wanted to revisit a book from our childhood, while two-thirds say reading helps us sleep. Hope Bastine, psychologist for bedding website Simba, which ran the poll, said: ‘Children’s classics like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe play a fantastic role in transporting us back to a magical part of our youth and could play more of a role in helping us to sleep than many of us realise.’

Actor Bill Nighy, who is working with Simba, added: ‘A story doesn’t stop being delicious when we become adults.’