C.S. Lewis and his brother Warren created an imaginary world called Boxen.
The brothers developed Boxen during their childhood in Belfast, combining two earlier inventions: Animal-Land, created by Warren, and India, created by Lewis. Their stories featured anthropomorphic animals, political institutions, wars, and elaborate histories. Lewis wrote and illustrated material connected with these invented lands while still young.
Boxen is significant because it shows that Lewis’s world-building began long before The Chronicles of Narnia. Its animals and political structures are not simply early versions of Narnia, however. Boxen was a separate childhood project, and its tone often reflected the brothers’ interest in history and government more than the mythic atmosphere of Narnia.
The name is sometimes confused with Narnia because both are fictional worlds associated with Lewis. Narnia was the setting of his published children’s fantasy series, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950. Boxen remained a private childhood creation during his lifetime.