Ok. I am SOOOO confused. I’m about to begin this series for the first time ever, and I have seen the controversy over what order to read the books in.
There’s the order in which they were written:
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader”
4. The Horse and His Boy
5. The Silver Chair
6. The Last Battle
7. The Magician’s Nephew
There’s the supposed chronological order:
1. The Magician’s Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader”
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle
And there’s the publication order:
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian (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)
What on Earth am I supposed to do? This is worse than the Star Wars movies. I’ve read compelling arguments for all three orders… but I still have no idea! I mean, I’m kind of leaning most towards the publication order, but I don’t know if it’s the best!! Plus, the Barnes and Noble leatherbound classic (from Kimberly!!) has them in chronological order. Ahhh!
I figured I’d go to the experts: you. How did you read the Narnia books? Have you read them in multiple orders? I need to know the best order for a Narnia newbie.
Hi Jana, thanks for visiting my blog, I’m now a new follower of yours :)
I read Narnia in the chronological order and the plot definitely made sense that way. I haven’t tried it the other ways, but that way definitely worked!
I’m of the same mind as Sam – I read the books in chronological order and it worked for me, because everything made sense time-wise. But then again, I’ve never read them in any other way either, so I can’t tell you whether either of the other two are better choices. I’d recommend reading them chronologically, though!
Steph @ The Novlist
I read them in the chronological order and it made perfect sense that way! For me it really built up the experience as it starts with the creation of Narnia and then the story unravels from there. But I haven’t tried it any other way, so who knows, it might be better… But I just can’t imagine reading something out of chronological order, so like the other two ladies, I recommend just reading them chronologicallly.
I read them in the order they were written, as that is how the set I bought in 1965 was presented. Personally, I can’t imagine not starting with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (I’ve always read them in that order for school purposes also). Read this way, as the author intended, The Magician’s Nephew offers delightful back story and surprises later on.
I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe first because that’s the first one I heard of. Then I went back to The Magician’s Nephew, then The Horse and His Boy, and went on chronologically. It made perfect sense for me. And thanks for stopping by my blog!
Same. I loved having the foundation of LWW, then finding out the back story in Magician’s Nephew. It wasn’t confusing to read LWW first, then MN, and proceed chronologically from there. (I’m reading Silver Chair this week!)
I’m pretty sure I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe first, but I have no idea which book I read second and third and so on… Sorry to be of so little help!
I hope you’ll enjoy the stories no matter what order you end up reading the books in!
Lexxie
I have absolutely no idea haha. I actually really want to give this series a try because I’ve only even seen the movies. I MAY have read the books as a kid but I don’t remember them at all.
My experience with the classics was different from yours….but I do plan to read some of the ones you’ve mentioned.
Here’s MY ARMCHAIR BEA POST
Publication order! I’ve read it both publication and chronological, and I think pub works better. The plot makes sense either way, but it’s nifty when you go back and forth in time.
This post–I love it, because I am a HUGE Narnia fan. The series is my favorite EVER and I routinely snatch up books ABOUT Narnia because I like it exploring it so much. I’m pretty sure I first read the series(in 3rd/4th grade) in NO particular order because it was just whatever the library had available at the time. BUT I personally prefer the chronological order. Not so much because I think The Magician’s Nephew NEEDS to come first(I think it also works quite well as the 6th book that one reads in the series), but mainly because of the placing of The Horse and His Boy. I really think that one works best when read after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and before Prince Caspian. Really though, either order allows you to make sense of the story as a whole.
You need to read “Once Upon A Wardrobe” by Callahan!! (After you read the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). Personally, I loved The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, read it first, have it and re-read it often. I think it’s the best book in the series!
You’ll love this intro post – dinnerguest? :)CS Lewis !
Magician’s Nephew sets the stage for the rest . Relax, read and enjoy!
and enjoy BEA too! HapPy to meet you ;)
I had this same dilemma when I started this series! I’m betting that C.S. Lewis intentionally made it confusing, haha.
While I have only read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so far, I think I decided that I was going to read it in publication order. I was originally going to read it chronologically, but I just settled on publication. I can’t tell you why…but I did! Haha.
So funny–I just got the Narnia box set! It is packaged in chronological order so I’m going to go with that. However I have a feeling I’ll be re-reading these books often so maybe I’ll try a different order next time!
I read them in the chronological order which made the most sense to me and I was able to understand them best!
I read somewhere a long time ago that C.S. Lewis stated he wanted them in the order they were originally written, though of course I can’t find that quote now…
I’ve only read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but if I were to read the rest, I think I would do it in the order he wrote them. Just to stay true to his original intent.
The Wiki page has some interesting arguments or the different orders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia#Reading_order
Oh gosh, I don’t even know what happened with my Narnia books. Completely skipped the whole idea of reading “chronologically” which didn’t really work well for me. However, I’m pretty sure that the chronological order is the way the books are intended to be read. But I wouldn’t know since (1) I read them in a random order and (2) I didn’t finish them. I should probably get to them soon…
Happy reading! :) And perhaps once you’re done, you can check out the movies! They were great!
Ok, here’s the deal. I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first THeN read The Magicians Nephew. I was happy with that order. Having read the entire chronicles more than once (I love to read them annually) I would suggest you read Magicians Nephew first then The Lion, witch, wardrobe. It is the prequel, or whatever, it’s supposed to be read first BUT it deals with different characters so you don’t have to read it first! I think you shouldn’t read it later than second though. Then it’s too confusing. So to by publication date either, that’s not really necessary for these books.
Hope I helped! Here’s a link to my classics post (I included Narnia in my recommendations!) I have the complete chronicles on Narnia and out of curiousity, I checked the order in my book… They put The Magicians Nephew first. :)
Dee @ Dee’s Reads
I’m of the same mind as many others – read them chronologically and am happy with that order. I think it makes the most sense that way.
I have a boxed set of the books and they are ordered chronologically, so I assume that is how they are meant to be read? Although since the publication dates do not match with the chronological dates I suppose it shouldn’t matter.
I think I’ve only read them in chronological order as well. So I think that’s the way to go.
I follow you on Twitter but first time blog visitor.
Publication order! Or at any rate, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe first, and then Prince Caspian, and then Dawn Treader, and then Silver Chair. And then you could backtrack to the Magicians Newphew if you felt like it, and then The Horse and His Boy is optional (I like it lots, but it’s more an extra) and finally the Last Battle, which is the most disappointing book in the series…
Hi Jana! thanks for dropping by my site ^_^
I haven’t read my Narnia book yet haha but I watched some of the films and I would most likely read them in chronological order I hope that helps also read whatever makes you happy. ^_^
I read publication order-I think TLTWATW is the best and most accessible so it’s fun to start with that one. I would definitely not read order in which they were written as it would be very weird to end on The Magician’s Nephew.
I think that CS Lewis once said to a young reader of his that he thinks you should read them in publication order. If you wanted to read them again then you can do it in chronological order. When I was younger the series used to be numbered in the publication order and that’s how I read them. Made perfect sense to me that way. A lot of the books don’t even have the same characters and they jump around in time a lot. My vote is for publication order. :) (at least the first time through).
I read them in the order they are in the bind up and how how are you a newbie this is by far the best middle grade addictive series that i loved. The movies how i wish their were more of them. I even watched i think it was pbs that had the show. Anyway stop stressing and just pick up lion witch and the wardrobe and go meet Aslan and please do tweet me on how amazing you think it is. @tweetybugshouse
Apologies for resurrecting such an old thread but anytime I see this subject come up I have to chime in.
While ultimately the reading order doesn’t matter (just read them!) I believe publication order is the best. This lays out the story in the order that Lewis intended. The series was reprinted during his lifetime so if he wanted it changed he had ample opportunity, yet chose to keep it in the original publication order. The argument for chronological order stems from a letter that Lewis responded to from a fan asking about reading order and suggesting that chronological perhaps was best. While Lewis responded in agreement with the boy, most scholars tend to think that he was simply being kind to a young fan. Additionally, there are passages in The Magician’s Nephew that allude to the reader already being familiar with Aslan, which they would not be if they read that book first.
On a personal note, when I first read them (in publication order) there were parts of the later books that connected back to the earlier ones in ways that delighted my young brain. It made me realize what literature could achieve and the power of non-linear narratives. In fact, the Narnia chronicles are one of the most impactful reading experiences of my life and one of the motivations that drove me to major in English literature.
Ultimately, read them in whatever order speaks to you but I would argue that publication order is best.
Hi, Mark! Never apologize for reviving old conversations. :) I love it when this happens.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply to this post! I didn’t know about the letter C.S. Lewis’s young fan wrote to him. What a cool little tidbit. I bet that boy was so delighted to receive a response! Thanks for teaching me something new!
I did decide to read this series in publication order, and I’m so glad I did. It’s such a wonderful series. :)
Jana, I found your discussion when trying to explain that the books are far superior to the movies. I read them in 1967 in chronological order. I turned 11 when I was reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I reread in HS and was amazed at how differently I saw things. The series is beautifully written and I have reread them from start to finish every few years, seeing something new each time. Enjoyed the BBC version from the 1980’s. The filmography of the Disney versions is beautiful as well as the soundtrack. However I rate the books first, BBC second. Whichever way you read the books you cannot go wrong. Also please reread a few years later to see what you missed the first time.
Go for the chronological order you won’t be disappointed
Absolutely go for chronological order. It fills the world with so much more depth and history.
57 years ago when I read them as a kid, I went with publication order because of course that’s all there was. I’ve kept that order now in reading them to my grandchildren, primarily for nostalgia. Any reading order though will be magical but I do feel The Last Battle should be the last read.
Definitely NOT the publication order.
The L W & W is possibly the best for younger readers to get hooked, followed by the Nephew then the others chronologically, otherwise read them in strict chronology.
If “strict” chronology were to be followed, you would need to read “The Horse and His Boy” simultaneous with “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Not quite what you thought, eh?
I read them in the 70’s (still have those books) so read them in publication order. I still read them in that order when I do reread them. I loved the look back of the Magician’s Nephew as a “so that’s how it happened” experience.
When I first read the Chronicles (early ’70s), the only available edition was in the order in which they were written (your first listed option). I still prefer this order after countless re-readings over the years. I think that is because of the initial surprises that are reserved until you reach The Magician’s Nephew (such as, “where did this lamppost come from”). Even with subsequent readings, there is still what he called “surprisingness.” Based on Lewis’s frequent remarks about his stories growing out of “pictures in his head” rather than meticulous pre-planning, I would love to know when the lamppost first occurred to him, and what he thought of it then.
Reading book 6 (Magician’s Nephew) absolutely *ruins* the wonder one experiences when reading book 1 (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) for the first time. It also renders some lines in book 1 rather odd. “The children had no idea who ‘Aslan was, any more than you or I do.”
It all came about due to a single letter someone unearthed in which Lewis told a child that his mother was right. The child had written to say that he disagreed with his mother, and Lewis was not exactly keen on children, let alone those he saw as dishonoring their parents.
I got to Voyage in written order then switched over to chronological after that. For most of the books I don’t think it really matters if you’re in chronological order or written order, except for Magicians Nephew. MN has references to later books, it makes sense without understanding them, you can look at the references as foreshadowing, but I think it makes MN more fun as a book if you know the later books and can treat the references like Easter eggs.
I read the series to my sons a generation ago and they were in publication order. It seems imperative to start with Lion, Witch, Wardrobe since everything turns on the golden age of the four Kings and Queens of Narnia (Pevensie children). I loved beginning a new book in the series and not knowing immediately whether it happened before or after the Pevensie kids. I couldn’t imagine it any other way–the zigzag through time makes the narrative so much more nuanced.
Read them chronologicaly….makes perfect sense
Do NOT read The Magician’s Nephew first! It is a SPOILER for The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. 😅
I read them in publication order. I’m thinking of reading again, first time since the 60’s, this time in chronological order. Might be the best way to go. I get sick of reading or watching something out of order and trying to remember the relevance. Especially as I get older.
Hi all,
I just became a huge Narnia fan after watching the three movies. But i am so curious after more! And the books is the only way forward. But i am in doubt. Can i just start of with the fourth book when i have seen the first three movies or do i need to start from the very beginning with the books? Or can i do both or does it really matter what i do?
I am now in my 60s.. as a school-boy, I had to read The Lion, The Witch and The Ward-robe.. I was in Grade 5, at primary school in Norwood, Sth. Austalia.. St. Ignatius College, a Jesuit Catholic school..!it was part of our English curriculum.. it sent me – a young boy of 9 – into a magical world.. it so enchanted me, I was determined to read the series..I was always told that the beginning of the story was The Horse and His Boy.. the next book was the one I had just read.. then came The Voyage of The aDawn Treader..it all made sense to me.. it is magic..
When I read these books they were boxed in publication order. I think that the Lion the Wietch and the Wardrobe should be read first and the Last Battle last. I think it makes sense for the reader to be in the same state of ignorance (innocence?) as the children in the book. There is some fascination with some of the uncle’s statements that give clues to his experience and are best confirmed later.
when I was a child and had the box set The Magician’s Nephew was the first book this would have been in the early 80s
I saw one of the movies in 2006. Then long gap and am now interested to read the whole series with my 9 year old son. I just want to say thank you for putting this out here. We are going to start with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
P.s. we have just finished two books by Tonke Dragt, Letter for the King and Secrets of the Wild Wood, which we both very much enjoyed. I think Narnia will not disappoint us!
I would recommendthe Magician’s nephew as the first book because it tells you how Narnia began, then the Lion the Witch and Wardrobe, then Prince Caspian. Definitely The Last Battle at the end. The Horse and his Boy and the Silver Chair are stand-alone books which could be read in any order.