Letter 1 New York Part 1

A/N The Chronicles are a journey, not just for the characters that Lewis gave us, but for a fanfic writer seeking to improve their own work. Before embarking on anything too fantastical, I wanted to dig deeper inside some heads. So am posting a series of letters from Susan to Peter from the period of 'Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' to just before 'The Final Battle.' Reflections and contextualising of events they cannot be a part of. And my first challenge is the Timeline. I've gone with Lewis' appraisal that VOTDT is set in 1942. For assuming the Pevensie children were evacuated to Professor Kirke in 1940 during the blitz, it is impossible for the Dawn Treader plot to take place "long ago in the war years" and for Susan to be still of school age and doing badly. I do wonder if Lewis first wanted a longer Earth time gap between 'Prince Caspian' and 'Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' though. Because Lucy is then excluded from Narnia aged about 10, being too old, when she is still younger than Susan was in LWW, the same goes for Edmond/Peter. Susan's arc is already forming. The flip side is that when Susan travels to America there is still a war on! Pearl Harbour has happened less than a year before. Travel must be limited and dangerous, so there really ought to be a very good reason for Mr Pevensie's visit to The States; maybe the inclusion of his wife and eldest daughter is some kind of diplomatic cover? The painting mentioned below is by Giorgio de Chirico, and is part of the Peggy Guggenheim collection although it was probably not actually in NYC at this time. Thank you to everyone who has clicked through, and the much appreciated comments to my previous piece. Any spelling or grammatical errors here are of course totally deliberate and intentional to help convey Susan's character!

New York City 29th July 1942

Dearest Pater,

Forgive me. I know I ought to have written sooner but simply had to send one to Lu first. That took me yonks because we have been so busy. Anyway I've still not received a letter for you yet. So I suspect our letters will cross over somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean (see, I do pay some attention in geography) how queer. The most important thing is that we arrived safe and unharmed; though because of the beastly war the boat was far less gay than Mother had hoped for. Father has already gone onwards for work. I can't tell you what he is doing, and even if I understood it, I probably would not be allowed to talk about it anyway. But he has travelled to Bethlehem with lots of drawings, only this Bethlehem is in Pennsylvania, Lu would get so confused.

Oh Peter, but America! You would not believe it. New York is simply amazing, faster, brighter and so modern, it makes London seem stuffy. Things just whizz past you and there is so much to look at that I am worried I am going to get knocked over, especially as they drive on the wrong side of the road here, as you well know. The skyscrapers really do feel like they go on forever, the cars are bigger, fatter and there is much more good food around. No powdered eggs for me! And there is chocolate too, except they call it candy, which is wrong because that makes me think of sherbet and gob stoppers, and Edmond. Don't tell me I'm being mean Pater, please. You know he can still be a silly little boy at times, I've seen it in your face, but of course you are too good to tell him. Let it be our secret.

Mother took me to have a fashionable hair cut last week, also we've been to the Guggenheim Gallery (I think I've spelt that right, you know me and letters.) and other ones too. The only painting I've seen that I really liked was called The Red Tower. The Tower itself sits on a very hot, empty landscape under a blue sky with no clouds at all. There are no people in the picture and you have no idea what the tower is for, or who built it. It reminds me somehow of Cair Paravel when Aslan first took us there, though it looks nothing like it. You can see in the picture, part of a statue of a man on a horse. Only if you squint a bit and pretend, that horse could be a lion.

Everyone in America is so polite to us and think our accents are 'just adorable.' Funny, because I never thought I had an accent until I came here. I honesty do understand I'm lucky and privileged to be in this country right now but what can I do about that? It would be very silly of me not to take advantage and make the most of this opportunity, like Mother says, especially as I don't have exams to worry about until next year, thank God. Which reminds me how is Professor Kirke? Such an awful shame he had to move. What else? Oh yes Mother is taking me to The Ambassador's party next week, she says she wants to teach me how young ladies should act in company. I half imagine that she was sacred I would get tangled up with the GIs if we had stayed in London much longer! She bought me some white gloves from Macy's which is a bit like Harrods, or thinks it is at least. I hope there will be a jazz band at the party, but I'm rather afraid there won't.

But the most amazing experience I've had in New York so far was when we first sailed in. Yes I know! I am writing this all wrong and out of order, I bet you're scowling at me Peter. What I wanted to say was how splendid it was to actually see The Statue Of Liberty in real life from the deck of our boat. I know you have seen pictures of it and on film in the cinema, but nothing quite gets you ready for that first sight. She is so beautiful and graceful, but defiant and powerful too, like she is daring the sea to try and knock her down. Of course Liberty is something we all have to think about these days, I wonder what they teach children in Germany and Japan about it? But the biggest thing I remember about the statue, even more than how utterly beautiful she is, was that she somehow reminded me of Tumnus, welcoming Lucy into a new land. And I haven't thought about him in ages, apart from in connection with that picture in the gallery I mean. Of course we were all in Narnia only last year, expect that was a later Narnia and that must have been a bit scary at first for Lucy.

When do you suppose Aslan will let the others go back in? I don't think it works the same way twice, well not once whatever has to be done has happened, anyway. If He calls for them during the hols they will probably have to take that awful Eustace with them (I was so lucky to get out of that one) and I can't see Aslan thinking much of Eustace at all.

"Young one, speak not those unkind words until you are fully able to understand what they mean," He would tell him or something like that. Actually, now that I think about it, we only ever got into Narnia when we were needed to achieve something there, it's not like dropping in on the Fortescue's for tea and scones now is it? So in a way I hope He doesn't have to use magic, because that will mean everything is fine and safe in Narnia and Caspian is doing a good job. It's just that if He waits too long, the magic may not work because Lucy and Ed will then be too old. Is that why Narnia time is so funny do you suppose? Did Ed say anything to you about it before you left, as he has always been interested in the time thing?

I do worry about Lu though, even more than when she was really small. Aslan won't want to let her back in many more times now, and when it stops that will break her heart. You must remember what it felt like when he told us. It was horrible, except a little bit of us inside knew it was right and proper and things had to be that way. At least that's how I felt. Well with Lu I reckon it is the other way around, a little bit of her will always want to go back to Aslan and the talking beasts in Narnia, whatever He tells her. It will be so embarrassing if she spends her life moping after something she can't have and not seeing what is in front of her. For I do believe this war will end one day and we will win, especially now the Americans are on our side. You have do don't you, or what is the point?

Your ever affectionate Sister

Susan