In What Order Should the Narnia Books Be Read?

Narnia Reading Order

Is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or The magician ’ mho Nephew the foremost book in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis ? Why are there multiple orders ? Answers below…
Publication Order
The books were primitively published in this decree :

1. 1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
   2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951)
   3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
   4. The Silver Chair (1953)
   5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
   6. The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
   7. The Last Battle (1956)

Chronological Order

erstwhile after the death of C. S. Lewis, british editions of the books began appearing that were numbered according to the rate the stories take place :

1. The Magician’s Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

The Switch to Chronological Order
For many years, both orders were in photographic print. american editions used publication order while british editions were numbered chronologically .
chronological order became the worldwide standard after HarperCollins took over the publish in 1994 .
So, which book should I read first?
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book to be written and published, is by and large considered the best introduction to Narnia by scholars and fans alike .
“ Most scholars disagree with [ the decision to re-number the books ] and find it the least close to Lewis ’ s deepest intentions, ” says Dr. Paul F. Ford, writer of Companion to Narnia .
On the official web site of C. S. Lewis, Dr. Charlie W. Starr claims that “ Lewis scholars about universally harmonize ” that the original published arrange is lake superior. He suggests that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is more initially captivating than The magician ’ sulfur Nephew, that certain lines in Lion do not make smell when the book is not read inaugural, and that Nephew has greater mythic power when take as a prequel .
Why were the books re-numbered chronologically?
initially, HarperCollins included this explanation in the books :

The HarperCollins editions of The Chronicles of Narnia have been re-numbered in submission with the original wishes of the author, C. S. Lewis .

In by and by editions, the explanation was revised to :

Although The sorcerer ’ mho Nephew was written several years after C. S. Lewis beginning began The Chronicles of Narnia, he wanted it to be read as the first gear book in the series. HarperCollins is glad to present these books in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred .

What did C. S. Lewis actually say?
In 1957, an 11-year-old male child named Lawrence Krieg was preparing to read the Narnia books for a second meter. Lawrence wondered if he should re-read them chronologically, but his mother felt he should stick with the original published order. so, Lawrence wrote a letter to the writer and received this answer :

“ I think I agree with your rate for reading the books more than with your mother ’ randomness. The series was not planned ahead as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and however didn ’ metric ton think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite surely it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. so possibly it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. ”
C. S. Lewis, 4/23/57

This letter is cited by readers on both sides of the controversial decision to re-number the books. Proponents see this as clear validation Lewis wanted the books read in chronological order. Opponents point out that Lewis suggested the ordain “ does not matter identical much ” in the same letter and he could have re-numbered the books himself if he truly wanted to .
Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis ( “ Jack ” ), said :

“ [ HarperCollins ] asked, ‘ What orderliness do you think we ought to do them in ? ’ And I said, ‘ Well … I actually asked Jack himself what order he preferred and thought they should be read in. And he said he thought they should be read in the orderliness of Narnian chronology. ’ So I said, ‘ Why wear ’ thymine you go with what Jack himself wanted ? ’ So, it ’ south my fault basically—the order of Narnian chronology. And I ’ megabyte not the least bit ashamed of it. ”
Douglas Gresham

The Movies
Walden Media ’ s Narnia movies followed the original published order :

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ( 2005 )
2. prince Caspian ( 2008 )
3. The voyage of the Dawn Treader ( 2010 )

Where should Netflix ’ s Narnia reboot beginning ? here is what we think…

Do you prefer in publication or chronological order?
Listen to our podcast discussion on the issue.