by Sven » July 16th, 2009, 8:09 pm
The date of printing doesn't really matter. If you have the abridged edition, it will say so in the Preface, which in the abridged is only two paragraphs long as compared to the four long paragraphs of the unabridged.
There are two different versions of the unabridged book. One version was first published by Bodley Head in 1945, the other version by Macmillan in 1946. Over the years different new editions used one or the other. For example, in the UK in the early '80s, if you bought the hardcover you got one version, while the paperback was the other. The two have many, mostly minor differences, both in wording and formatting. The quickest way to tell which any particular edition is based on is to look at the end of the Preface. Under Lewis' name, if the date 'Christmas Eve, 1943' is included, it's based on the Macmillan 1946. If the date isn't included, it's based on the Bodley Head 1945. Another quick check is the second paragraph of chapter 13, Ransom's challenge in Latin. If the last word is veneris (with an 'r'), it's the Macmillan, if the last word is venenis (with an 'n'), it's the Bodley Head (to make it even more interesting, in the abridged it's venias) .
All the above and more can be found in Hooper's Companion & Guide.
Rat! he found breath to whisper, shaking. Are you afraid?
Afraid? murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love.
Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet -- and yet -- O, Mole, I am afraid!
Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship.