Nylons, Lipstick, and Narnia: Rewriting Susan Pevensie in Fanfiction

The fate of Susan Pevensie, formerly Queen Susan of Narnia, is a controversial one. She is exiled from that land, disparaged both for her disbelief and her liking for nylons, lipstick, and invitations. In fanfiction, her fate is better.

When Octavia Cade began exploring Narnian fanfiction, she discovered that the Problem of Susan, as her canon fate is frequently referred to, is a central concern of many writers. This book is a study of some of those fanfics - deeply felt responses to a disappointing and alienating canon.

These stories are Susan-centric, but they are also stories of resistance, stories that take her "problematic" identification and explore it through a critical lens. They illustrate how fanfiction can engage with canon to reimagine Susan at the centre of her own narrative, instead of as a cautionary tale told solely through her absence.