This is one of the questions that we always seem to get, and while I have it listed on the books page, I think it’s prudent to write something new about it, since there are so many that are now picking up the Chronicles of Narnia books for the first time.
There are many in the current generation that are unaware that there is an order discrepancy at all, because the books were re-numbered after C.S. Lewis had died, into near-chronological order. I say near-chronological, because they can never truly be chronological, as The Horse and His Boy (HHB) takes place at some time during the final few pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW). Thus, to truly read them in chronological order, you’d need to stop reading LWW at a certain point, then read the whole of HHB before heading back into the final parts of LWW.
This brings me to my opinion, which is widely held and regarded by many as the only way to read the Chronicles of Narnia if you are venturing into them for the first time. The original order of publication.
You see, Lewis started the series with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is evidenced by not just the date of publication, but also by the language which Lewis uses as the narrator. When they are in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the first mention of Aslan occurs:
“They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.”
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different.
Did you notice something peculiar about that? If you had started with The Magician’s Nephew, then you, the reader, would know who Aslan was. The narrator would not have said “None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do.” Why would the narrator make an assumption so great if he had just told you the story of The Magician’s Nephew? Imagine if you were being told the stories by someone live on stage, would that line make much sense to include?
No, and neither would the following:
“But if the Professor was right it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.”
Note that it doesn’t say “their” adventures in Narnia, which would indicate the Pevensies. It says “the,” meaning adventures in general. It was the beginning of the adventures, indicating that there had been no previous adventures. It doesn’t mean that there couldn’t have been previous adventures in Narnia, just that we haven’t read about these adventures yet.
In The Magician’s Nephew, which is itself a prequel to the entire series, you read about the logical origins of many things that show up throughout the series in big and small ways. Sure, you might think it would be nice to know these things prior to reading about them in the rest of the series, but you’ll also miss a lot. Here’s why: you won’t care.
You won’t care about the various and random things that happen throughout the story and are seemingly thrown in for no apparent reason. You won’t care about the little details that the narrator talks about, and quite frankly, you’ll wonder why some events are even mentioned at all. Sure, it lays the groundwork and is foreshadowing the events to come, and that is what every good writer should do. The difference here is that there is so much foreshadowing that it can manage to suck all of the mystery out of certain things that happen later in the story, including Aslan, the Wardrobe and the Lamp-post.
You could make the argument that the movie is popular enough that it isn’t spoiling anything. However, for those that have not seen the movies, nor read the books, all of this is very important to take into account.
So, what is the original publication order?
It’s kind of like an American phone number: 2456317.
When Lewis started writing the books, he didn’t really have much of a plan for the complete series. In fact, if he didn’t find inspiration for four more books, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would have been the end of the series. This would have altered a lot of other book series to come later, as J.K. Rowling has stated that her primary reason for writing seven Harry Potter novels was inspired by and in honor of the seven Chronicles of Narnia. That was not a coincidence, but an intentional decision she made as a fan of Narnia. (This is also quite ironic considering the various Christian groups that condemned the Potter series, but that’s not what we’re talking about here so please refrain from comment on that topic.)
Here are the books in Publication Order:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
Prince Caspian (1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
The Silver Chair (1953)
The Horse and His Boy (1954)
The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
The Last Battle (1956)
There’s an interesting bit of trivia that comes about when you do some research into the writing of the chronicles. Lewis wrote the books in the publication order, yes, but The Magician’s Nephew was one that he had trouble with. He actually finished The Last Battle first. Moving on to the final book in the midst of writing The Magician’s Nephew afforded him a look at what would occur at the end of the series. He reportedly scrapped much of what he had originally written for The Magician’s Nephew and re-wrote much of it, finishing that book last.
When I was a kid, our school library had all of the Narnia books. I found them because I enjoyed the animated version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and was watching the BBC ones. I was very confused, however, by the numbering of the books. You see, the library had many copies of each of them, some were numbered with the original publication order, and some with the modified chronological order. This actually served to put me off of reading the books for many years. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the numbers, nor was there an explanation to be found for the different numbers on the sides of the books. Seeing both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew with the words “Book 1 in the Chronicles of Narnia” was very confusing to me.
The chronological order of the books is the following:
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
This is the order that you’ll find all of the books that are published today. The single book edition also features them in this order.
The Star Wars Argument
Now, there’s a very similar situation that has happened in the world of film. The original Star Wars trilogy features episodes 4-6: A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). The prequel trilogy, with episodes 1-3 came much later: The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).
There are some that believe that watching the movies in chronological order is the correct way to watch them the first time through. However, it definitely robs you of the experience of learning what happened to Luke Skywalker’s father for the first time. This was one of the most shocking twists in motion picture history. Watching the movies in the original production order is definitely the only way to go when you are watching them for the first time.
In much the same way, I feel that the first time through the Chronicles, dive into them in the original publication order. It’s not going to be hard to follow what is happening. You are capable of keeping track of where the book you’re reading falls on the timeline. In fact, you already have to keep that in mind when reading The Horse and His Boy.
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Another series of films is about to increase to five, but watching them in chronological order isn’t going to change a thing. The Lord of the Rings was written well after The Hobbit and the opposite is true of the movies. They filmed The Lord of the Rings over ten years ago, and are going to begin shooting The Hobbit movies in a matter of months. I am quite sure that it won’t make a difference which order you watch the films. While chronologically The Hobbit comes first, each story is very stand-alone. One story follows Bilbo and the other Frodo, but watching The Hobbit first will spoil nothing in The Lord of the Rings. In fact, it’ll bring everyone in on Gandalf’s joke about Bilbo at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring:
“If you’re referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door.”
The First Time You Read Narnia
So, the first time that you read The Chronicles of Narnia, I hope that you give the original publication order a chance. I have had too many friends tell me they tried starting with The Magician’s Nephew and giving up, finding it a very boring book. If you’d like to avoid a similar fate, then I recommend that you memorize this number: 245-6317 (in phone number format to make it easier to recall). I am sure that you’ll be glad you did.
I prefer reading the books in publication order. Now that the films are being released in publication order I think it would be a good opportunity to re-order the books back into publication order.
they should…to stop confusing people…thats a smart statement David…hope they listen 😉
I was wondering why did they publish the books in chronological order…i agree with you Paul..about the order the reason and i love how you have compared it to other famous series…didn’t know J K Rowling is a fan of the narnia books…wow..its funny coz Harry Potter is getting more money than Narnia…I wonder what she thinks…thanxs Paul 😉
I think someone had the smart idea that it made more sense being numbered chronologically.
Yo prefiero leerlos del modo cronologico, pero esto da a mucha confusio.
Por ejemplo mis padres que vieron las peliculas me preguntaron porque empezaron con: El León, La Bruja y El Ropero si en realidad en el orden cronologico de las cronicas empiezan con ”El Sobrino del Mago” y yo les tube que explicar esto que vos acabas de publicar.
Esto presta a confusion. Pero recomiendo los libros de Las Crónicas de Narnia.
I agree with you. The first time I read the books I read them in publication order. While C.S. Lewis did an excellent job explaining exactly where you were, it was easy to get confused.
When I read them now, I read chronologically. There is no reason to read them by publication date. I agree with you Matias! My vote is chronological.
I have a question for you: why do you think it is important to know exactly when something is taking place at every moment that you’re reading each book?
Because when I’m reading, say The Horse and His Boy, and the characters are journeying through the desert, I’m not thinking about when the Pevensie’s came to Narnia at all. I’m thinking about the characters in the desert. I’m always in the moment, not elsewhere. And when the Pevensie’s show up as Kings and Queens, I’m not at all confused by it. Instantly, my mind says that the book can only have taken place while they were still there, during LWW. Then I think to myself, ‘Cool, what a great surprise, we get to learn about a small piece of the Pevensie’s time as the rulers of Narnia.’ And then I move on, because in the end, it’s not that important to the journey that the characters take in the book.
In the end, I’m getting the same story, and I can figure out when things happened without constantly reminding myself.
I agree with you. I prefer chronological. 🙂
I read that they are making the movies in the published order because it works best with the growth of the actors. Think about it: the actors who play the young Pevensies would not be in the movie “The Horse And His Boy.” So, if the movies were made chronologically, those actors would be about 3 years older when they began filming “Prince Caspian” while they are only supposed to be 1 year older in the movie. This would make a big difference. Especially with Lucy and Edmund who grow so fast.
no, they are making it in chrono order because LWW is the hit book. the others were not anywhere as big sellers. also the story is the most important, being a “passion play” about the christian cruxifiction .
in published order, rather-
it’s probably for both reasons actually.
Leí en un blog sobre debates de peliculas y creo que las peliculas que se haran de Narnia son:
1-El León, La Bruja y El Ropero
2-El Príncipe Caspian
3-La Travesía del Viajero del Alba
4-La Silla de Plata
5-La Última Batalla
*Las que no figuran son ”El Sobrino del Mago y ”El Caballo y El Muchacho.
really dude, I bet no one on this website can speak Espaniel, so please don’t post anything else in Spanish!
Welcome to the World Wide Web. 🙂
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=Internal&from=&to=en&a=https://narniafans.com/archives/11260
I disagree. We should welcome our brothers and sisters regardless of their language.
but if no one can speak there language then why do they bother
Because people CAN speak their language. If you use google translator, you can quickly translate things.
Google has also released a new version of a translator program for Android that listens to you speak, then translates it to whatever language you want, and plays that translation out loud. Then, if someone speaks back in that language, the program translates to English and plays that out loud for you. In about five years, all language barriers will be gone.
I can speak spanish, and so can over 358 million people. And I find it better that someone says things in the language which they can speak the best rather than not making any sense in another one. IMHO, he made a bigger contribution to this thread than you did.
I, coincidentally, got here through a friend that speaks both spanish and english and who shared with more people that speak both languages 😉
But going to the actual topic (and sorry for that bit of a flame, Paul Martin, I tend to get a bit upset when my native language gets offended), thanks a lot to the poster for this information, it will certainly help when I finally get to reading the books.
And I find it good that the people making the movies decided to go in this order, because even though they could’ve adapted those things you mention as important when reading the books in the right order I find it important to follow a writer’s flow of ideas when producing his/her movies.
Dude, that’s why they make Google.
Ray is right on.
Hola! aún no han dicho nada sobre las posibles peliculas siguientes de Narnia. Aún debemos esperar a que den alguna noticia sobre ello. Lo que si puedes hacer es invitar a todas las personas que conoscas a que la vean y logren dar luz verde a la siguiente (yo ya llevo casi 15 referenciados 😀 aqui en Colombia).
PDTA: Escribe en inglés es más cómodo para los demás :D.
Patrick… Narnia has millions of fans around the world that speak spanish, and a lot of them are waiting good news from here. Narnia Rules!!
I did read that they might be making “The Silver Chair” next. They are not certain, though. I hope they make all of them and that they are true to the books!
Thanks Paul that was great. I read them in the publication order just because I thought it would be better. Now I’m very glad I did!
Yeah, i rpefer the publication order too 🙂
OT but… I didn’t know about the appearance of the books in another countries… https://narniafans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Narnia_books21-300×225.jpg
Personally I don’t like them… but I don’t hate them 😛 I really love the appearance of the ones that I have 🙂 : http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/9123/narniae.png
I won’t read LWW, The Prince Caspian, or SC. They are very expensive :(. At least I saw the movies, they were great xD
hey I like your picture! I play neopets too.
Haha, Jordie was a really good character, but the plot was HORRIBLE D= Anyways, that’ off-topic 😛
Really, everyone should read them in the publication order. After all, C.S. Lewis released them in that order. He first released LWW, so we need to read it first. Then he released PC, so we should read it after we read LWW, and so on…
i think it’s fine that you read them in that order but just so you know, the reason c.s. lewis wrote them in that order is because he did not intend to write 7 books. he first wrote lww thinking that would be the only one and then he wrote pc thinking that was the last one, etc.
i prefer reading them chronologically but it is a matter of opinion and reading them in the published order is fine too. 🙂
check out the library-
i read them in the order in which the were published, but i think that reading MN, LWW, HHB, PC, VDT, SC, and LB would be helpful so you know the back story first. but i think you should read them the way you feel is good for you.
Well said, Paul! I agree completely. I’m so glad we owned an old publication of the series, so that I got the original publication order. It made the experience so magical. I’ve read the books many times, in no particular order, but I think I shall soon read the whole series again: in publication order, for old times’ sake.
We are reading them to our kids in Chronological order mostly because we didn’t know there was a discrepancy at all when we bought them. We have seen the movies in order though and we are finding that reading the books this way is filling in details that the movies can’t tell/show. “To each his own” I guess.
I normally read the books in chronological order, because I prefer them that way, but I think that the next time I read them I’m going to try publication order. 🙂
i read them in publication order the first time, and i completely agree that is the best way to read them if you are new to the series. however, i have read them all 9 times now, and with the last 7 times i have read in chronological order. i think i like it that way, but only because the first time i did have that exciting moment in magicians nephew, realizing digory is the professor…and other stuff like that. so having experienced the “fun” way to read them…in publication order, i do like to read them in chronological order now. but whenever anyone reads them for the first time…definitely publication order!!!
I started reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I decided it was best to Read them in chronological order, and certainly I understand them better, to its history. I guess for someone who is just beginning it is best read in chronological order.
I have been reading the Narnia books since I was a teenager. I am 54 now, and I still read them all every year. I can’t imagine how the Magician’s Nephew could be boring to anyone, in fact they are all wonderful, no matter what order you read them in. I love the little tidbits in every book that teach Christian values in a subtle way. My favorite book is “The Horse and His Boy”, but I love them all. Sincerely, Deb Davis
I, too, am relatively new to Narnia, and read them the first time in chronological order. I loved the article because it explained why someone should read it in publication order. Think I”ll try it that way next time.
The reason people might find The Magician’s Nephew boring is because a lot of it is meaningless until you’ve read all the other books.
i wonder if someone anti-narnian pushed to have the order changed to sabotage the series. the strongest book is LWW , not MN , and i can see some people getting put off starting with the chron.order. just changing the order out of the blue because of a tiny comment lewis made isn’t a real reason if you ask me.
I prefer to read stories in chronological order, and thats how I read the Narnia books the first time. I do agree, however, that the Magician’s Nephew is slightly boring and somewhat confusing to read first, but it’s not all bad, and it doesn’t necessarily ruin the affect of the other books. Instead you get a little bit of a different experience.
As you read through the rest of the series, the mystery surrounding many of the events in the Magician’s Nephew start to become clear, like solving a puzzle, if you like that sort of thing.
That being said, I am interested in reading them in the original publication order. It has been years since I read the series, and I’m open to looking at the stories in a new way. Who knows? Maybe I’ll see them in a whole new light. =)
I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe first, but then read the whole set in chronological order – it worked well for me and it was nice getting some insight to how Narnia came to be.
I actually read ‘Dawn Treader’ first, because I won that one in a Sunday school contest.
I then read the others in published order.
I prefer it that way – I don’t think anything beats the magic of Lucy winding up in Lantern Waste.
When I read ‘Magician’ it was a big ah-ha! moment when I found out that Digory is the Professor.
The only way to read them for the first time is in their publication order. This is the way they were intended to be read. I gave the books to a friend and she picked up The Horse and His Boy after LWW and it made her stop reading. I hope that new people read them the right way – the original way – and enjoy them as much as I did and still do!
thank you for that wonderful article! Besides the movies, I never had much of a fable for Narnia, but you really understand to make appetite! If Narnia is fascinating, even more so is its incredible impact on many people’s lives.
OUR FAMILY IS FINALLY READING NARNIA! We started last month! I decided we should read them in chronological order, whereas I read them like this: 2,1,3,4,5,6,7
Having been introduced to the Narnia series in 1958, when you could only get them in libraries and couldn’t purchase them until I went to Wheaton College where I could get my own “penguin” copies from the UK, there was simply the publication order…I only read them that way because the Magician’s Nephew, one of my favorites, still provides me with many “Aha!” moments, even on my umpteenth reading of them. I’ve downloaded all 7 to my Kindle so I can have them with me…
When I was first introduced to the series (fifth grade) I tried reading in publication order and couldn’t keep the facts straight. So I read them in near-chronological order, and it made more sense to me. After a couple readings in that order, I can read them in whatever order I want, and I don’t get mixed up. Awesome books. 🙂
i agree. the published order would have confused me. but now, i can read them in whichever order because i’m so familiar with them.
I also feel the same way, 245-6317 is the pefect order. The magicians nephew is all about “learning” about what you already read.
I first read the series in chronological order, exactly the way they were anthologized in my copy.
The back story in MN was really informative in reading LWW, but it certainly isn’t necessary to understanding the series. In fact, it may take some of the magic of LWW.
Thanks for the great insight on this. Reading the books this was definitely would make HaHB easier to get through. I think, when I read the series to my kids in a couple years, I will give publication order a try.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve always felt this way about it, and try to explain it to others who ask me. You’ve given me more “ammo” 🙂
The whole “publication order vs. chronological order” has been argued for years. I read them in publication order and I have to say I still believe that is the way they should be read. Aside from the many good reasons both the article and other commenters have offered, there is another reason for reading them in publication order. Quite simply, an author, even without intending to, includes subtle assumptions to their works. There are places in “The Magician’s Nephew” where Lewis assumes the reader already knows something from reading the other books. He didn’t put them there on purpose; it happens because those things are already out there. I know authors who, when asked, insist that their books be read in publication order and for exactly that reason.
I have been quite grateful that the movies are coming out in publication order. I have been deeply disappointed that the order of the books has been changed and I know that I will search hard for a set in the publication order when I go to buy the books for my niece.
Very well thought out… You unveiled a lot of questions I had.
Although since I was a kid they were numbered in chronological order, so that was the order I read them, and for me they lost no mystery (even though Aslan is mentioned in The Magician’s Nephew.) wish you could have a fresh experience reading both ways, because either way works great I think.
I read the series in published order for the first time when I was 11 years old. I am now 47 and even after many readings, would still recommend the original order as written by CS Lewis. What wonderful, magical stories that truly bring something positive into your life…thank you CS Lewis for the gift of Narnia!!!
It really doesn’t matter either way. I read somewhere that C. S. Lewis did not intend for them to be read in the order they were published in.
He didn’t intend them to be read in ANY particular order. In fact, Lewis wrote The Horse and His Boy before The Silver Chair. But when you read the books, there are subtle hints towards other books in the series that are the best when you read them in the order of publication.
he was making a pleasant reply to someone who questioned which order, saying, MAYBE it didn’t really matter, i don’t really remember the difference. but when you read it in chron. order first, you really have a superior experience watching it unfold, instead of having the surprises ruined.
OT, but I still need to see VDT movie. It’s not here yet. It will come on Thursday 🙂
I actually didn’t read them in near chronological order OR publication order :P, and I adore these books.
I read LWW, (half of)VDT, MN, PC, (rest of) VDT, SC, LB, and then HHB :P.
I have to admit, however, I don’t reccomend that :P.
Publication order is best :P. I was SO confused reading LB!
I think you should read the books in publication order. If’s Magician’s Nephew is read for the first time first, it ruins the mystery for who Aslan is in The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe for the new reader. If somebody buys the book set in chronological order, switch them to publication order, like I did.
We have a thread about this in the forum. Come join the discussion!!!
https://narniafans.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9371
I read the Narnia books in chronological order and made perfect sense. I really enjoyed it that way. I think it is all a matter of perspective on which way to do it. For me it is hard going backwards in a story when it has been going forward for a long time.
i totally agree. two thumbs up 🙂
I prefer reading the books in chronological order, only because I enjoy reading about the events that happened in Narnia as they happened. But, I like how the movies are being released in publication order. If they continue with the movie series and it’s done right, The Magician’s Nephew at the end can really be a great opening for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
I am not one to get upset over changes from the book to the movie. I am one who enjoys seeing what changes they made to the movie for the better.
Me too 🙂
I got given the books for my birthday when I was 11 years old, it was all one volume and they were published chronologically.
However, my mum had told me that when she read them as a little girl it was in publication order and that I should read them like that.
I was very glad she did tell me this as LWW was a truly maagical first read of the series and a little of this cou b taken away by reading MN first.
I have since read them in Chronological order and still very much enjoyed them though HHB doesn’t really fit comfortably in this.
After the movie came out I reccomended to my sister to read them in publication order (which she has yet to do – she has only read LWW so far)and I would with any other first time reader of the Narnia books.
But that’s just my opinion 🙂
I prefer reading the Chronicles in publication order. Some of the books, like HHB, make references to other books that mean less if one read the books in chronological order. Good article, Paul.
I agree with you completely. I think the argument that Lewis “wanted” them to be read in chronological order b/c of how he responded to a fan’s question is jumping to an illogical conclusion. Thanks for the well-written article.
i disagree. c.s. lewis said to the boy “I think I agree with your order {i.e. chronological} for reading the books more than with your mother’s. The series was not planned beforehand 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 still didn’t think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I’m not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.” he basically says that he prefers chronological order but that it doesn’t really matter. plus, i’ve read that he was going to edit the series so that it made sense chronologically but he didn’t get around to it before he died.
that doesn’t mean he PREFERS it, it was a weak, “PERHAPS” it doesn’t matter very much. Which is wrong if you go back and see the references he make in MN about LWW.
so, you agree that it doesn’t matter very much. why are you arguing about it?
the key word is PERHAPS- which is different than it DOESN’T matter. lewis said perhaps it doesn’t matter, to a fan. Actual lewis scholars comment it DOES matter, and i agree. LWW is the main story, the followups are weaker, and there are inconsistancies in the story if you read it out of published order. since lewis had most of them written already, and held them back as they were publishing them only one a year, he knew which order he wanted to release them in, so it only makes sense to go with that order.
the inconsistencies don’t make that big of a difference and they are there because c.s. lewis didn’t know he would be writing a prequel until he did. and what do you mean he “had most of them written already”? you make it sound like he wrote them all and then published them one by one. he wrote them in almost the same order he published them. “the lion, the witch and the wardrobe” was probably already in the publication process when he wrote “prince caspian.” i’ve read that he was going to fix the inconsistencies but didn’t get around to it before he died.
I prefer the chronological order. I like how it makes sense that way. Read it through twice that way and enjoy it. Not saying the other is wrong..i just enjoy order. 🙂
i totally agree. i would have been so confused jumping around my first time reading them. [now, i could read them in a totally random order and they would still make sense because i’ve read them so many times. haha]
Cs Lewis was just being polite to a little boy when he said it really didin;t matter which order you read them in.
In actuality, you have to read the publication order for the whole series to make sense because in the later books, Lewis refers back to LWW and if you read MN first, he says, “As you know, Aslan…. ” meaning he is assuming you;ve already read the books in publication order. It was a huge mistake to publish them in chronological order, it’s like telling the punchline to the joke first. It lets the air out of the balloon. READ IN PUBLICATION ORDER, AS CS LEWIS ASSUMED YOU WOULD, according to the little asides he makes in the following books. Don’r ruin it for yourself, LWW is the strongest, most important, book in the series, it’s the “flagship book”. the others just followed because LWW was such a hit and people wanted more.
the only reason kids of today read them in the new order is because it was forced on them and theye are used to it, they’ll sadly never know how much more magical it is in the intended order. If you have a choice, read it in the order in which the surprises in the series won’t be spoiled for you ahead of time- the PUBLICATION ORDER. you can always go back and read it in chronological order once you already know what’s in store. You won’t be sorry- I promise!!
Cs Lewis was just being polite to a little boy when he said it really didin;t matter which order you read them in.
In actuality, you have to read the publication order for the whole series to make sense because in the later books, Lewis refers back to LWW and if you read MN first, he says, “As you know, Aslan…. ” meaning he is assuming you;ve already read the books in publication order. It was a huge mistake to publish them in chronological order, it’s like telling the punchline to the joke first. It lets the air out of the balloon. READ IN PUBLICATION ORDER, AS CS LEWIS ASSUMED YOU WOULD, according to the little asides he makes in the following books. Don’r ruin it for yourself, LWW is the strongest, most important, book in the series, it’s the “flagship book”. the others just followed because LWW was such a hit and people wanted more. You can’t unring a bell, once you’ve read MN first, you are in on all the punchlines. I actually think that there was a sinister reason behind reordering them, as if you read LWW FIRST- you will fall madly in love with Aslan. Read MN first , and you will like him, but the powerful impact of meeting him like the other way will be blunted.
Even the author of this article had a bad thing happen because of the reordering, it confused him and put him off the series for ten years. Here’s a riddle for you – who is the author of confusion and would rather you not fall MADLy in love with Aslan??
i disagree. c.s. lewis could easily have said to the boy that it didn’t matter and that he can read them in whatever order he wants. instead, he told the boy that he agreed that reading them in chronological order is best. this doesn’t mean that’s the “best way” to read them. [although i, too, prefer chronological order] this is only the author’s preference. the books made perfect sense to me chronologically but they can be read in whichever order the reader prefers.
Lewis also wouldn’t have dashed a child’s imagination and hopes. He was not a cruel man, and in the grand scheme of things, this is small potatoes.
how is saying that they can be read in either order dashing a child’s imagination and hopes? i don’t believe that he would have lied to a child no matter how good it would make the child feel.
I THINK HE WAS JUST BEING agreeable to a young fan. I’ll bet if he had any idea they were planning to REORDER his whole series based on one comment, and change the order for the whole world for 30 years, he would have stopped it.
I don’t think he was lying to the child at all. He didn’t ever say anything definite. His exact wording is: “I think I agree with your order for reading the books more than with your mother’s.” Either way, this letter was intended as a private letter to one person, and not as a public letter to be taken as gospel truth. I wonder how many letters we don’t know about.
Read this page and the next for another argument for the order of publication
if he didn’t think what he said he thought, it would have been a lie.
but anyway, we can argue about this until the cows come home but i doubt we’re going to change our opinions. as long as we all understand that [as c.s. lewis, himself, wrote] it doesn’t matter in which order they are read, i’m fine.
when you are famous and talking to a little kid who idolizes you, you tend to be overly gracious just to avoid bumming the kid out by personally telling them they are wrong.
telling a child the series can be read both ways is not telling a child that they are wrong.
it CAN be read both ways, especially if you are just rereading them, but the order of publication will be a superior experience because the surprises aren’t ruined.
a superior experience for some, yes. but some of us have a hard time following a story not in chronological order. and some of us don’t need suspense and surprises to keep us interested.
I think this is ridiculous, the point of the books is not what order you read them in, but what you get out of them. I have a feeling that C.S. Lewis would only be amused at the so-called ‘right’ way to read the books. Personally I dislike the whole idea of over-analyzing and intellectualizing what you think the author wanted. He’s dead and his work is superb enough to capture the hearts of millions of readers and new generations are finding the books because of the movies. I love the way that each time I read the books (in the order I choose – not the order I’ve been told is right) I always find some new idea or discovery about my Creator – and that has nothing to do with the order I read them in.
What the author wanted isn’t even known to us. We only know what we think, and I think, like many others here, that you get more out the books when you read them this way. It’s rather hard to explain to anyone who read them first chronologically, but there were some powerful emotions that ran through me the first time I read the books, which wouldn’t have happened if I read them the way they are ordered now. There is no “right” way to read the books, but there is more enjoyment when you read them in publication order for the first time.
I agree with you Paul on reading LWW first, I haven’t read the MN and always thought LWW was the 1st book in the series…I too had a hard time reading the HHB – after LWW – and wondering how the children could still be in Narnia when they had already stepped out of the wardrobe – your explanation made sense. But in regards to your list of reading the series in publication order – I have a problem – I haven’t read but saw the film of VODT – in that Aslan says – Edmund and Lucy will not be returning to Narnia – so if you read HHB later (publication order has it 2 books after VODT) – the children are in Narnia – so that messes with what Aslan has said. I think HHB would be better read after LLW – keeping in mind, as you have said – HHB happens towards the end of LWW. This is as clear as mud!
It doesn’t mess with what Aslan said. You’re just going back in time. It’s really a lot easier to understand than some of the books in the Redwall series, believe me.
I would still find it confusing if I read BBH after VODT…
Horse and His Boy is confusing no matter where you read it. After finishing LWW, going to The Horse and His Boy leaves you with characters you don’t know, and then you go back to the characters that you do know, in Prince Caspian. Either way you have to tell yourself when it takes place, so there’s no downside to reading it later.
just think of it as a side excursion, like with a video game. it’s an extra mission during the second to last chapter of LWW.
I’m sorry, but I think reading them in publication order is stupid simply because the CORRECT ORDER make more sense and doesn’t throw you off back and forth. I mean, that is my opinion but once I knew that there was a book BEFORE The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, I started reading them in the chronicolgic order all the way to the end.
Would you mind responding to some of the points Paul makes? Why would it make more sense to read MN first when LWW says “none of the children knew who Aslan was anymore than you do”?
She said it was her opinion. So leave her alone. It makes sense either way in my case. It depends on the kind of person you are. Are you one who prefers order or someone who would like to live the experience alongside the characters.
I asked a question. I would like to understand her opinion.
My question: Does the line “none of the children knew who Aslan was anymore than you do” make sense if you have already read LWW?
Correction: …if you have already read MN.
I disagree, as I like pub. order, but I’m not going to attack your opinion. Just saying, there is no “correct order” to this series. It isn’t Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. There are orders that people like to read them in, but they will never be perfectly ordered. It’s impossible, really.
thank you for saying that. i agree that there is no “correct order.” read them in whatever order you want! it’s nothing worth fighting over.
if he hadn’t decided to make follow up books, you would have read LWW first anyway. and it wouldn’t have confused you at all. people who were alive when they were first published read them in published order, and it worked out just fine.
*Applause*
Great job, Paul!
CS Lewis was alive for several years after completing the series. He had plenty of time to change the ordering if we wanted to, but he did not.
Hey, Thanks man! This is also true, he did have plenty of time to change the order of the books. He said somewhere (in all my Lewis reading over the years) that there were some things in the books that he would go back and change if he could. I don’t believe the numbering is one of those things. He, as the author, understood the progression that the story makes even while jumping around the timeline.
You know, he did go back and change some things he wanted. There were American Editions out there for quite a while, but they’re all gone now. I still have the old American versions (ordered in publication order, too, thank heaven), and there are a few small changes here and there. The biggest is the destruction of the Dark Island in VDT, there’s a whole paragraph or two changed.
yeah, they were nuts to take it upon themselves and change it, when he would have done it himself if he wanted it that way, he changed stuff he was not happy with , but did not change the order. it was a really boneheaded move.
Not only is the publication order better because it makes sense and creates a more mysterious introduction to Narnia but it’s also a good idea because LWW is clearly a simpler story (in both plot and writing style) than the other Narnia novels.
The best thing Walden has done for Narnia is making them in Lewis’ original order. I think because of that, a lot of people became aware that the current order is not Lewis’ order.
I prefer reading the books in the chronological order. It’s nice knowing how Narnia was created first. But either way, it’s still awesome 🙂
I would never read them any other way than the order in which they were published. Everything, all the little details, fall into place beautifully.
It seems to me that reading them in chronological order would spoil all of the lovely surprises. I wish that they would start printing them in the former order again! I own the 70s boxed set pictured in the article. I would love to buy newer copies that have all of the full illustrations (I’ve heard that my set has big chunks of the pictures cut out), but I hate to buy them printed with the new order.
i prefer reading them in chronological order. i also watched the star wars movies for the first time a year or two ago in chronological order. if i read/watch them any other way, i am easily confused. although, with narnia, that wouldn’t be a problem because i’ve read the series so many times.
i read lww when i was little and i enjoyed it so i have no idea why i did not continue reading them. then, i read the entire series [in chronological order] in junior high. and now i’m obsessed and i read them over and over again. 🙂
c.s. lewis did agree with a little boy that they should be read chronologically and he did plan on editing the few parts that didn’t make sense but died before he got around to it.
anyway, if you prefer to read them in published order, more power to you. but for those of us who have a hard time following that order, chronology all the way!
wow i did not mean for this comment to be so long..
A little boy wrote to Lewis and asked what order he should RE-read the books in. Lewis recommended he RE-read them in chronological order. He never said anything about a first-time reader.
“I think I agree with your order {i.e. chronological} for reading the books more than with your mother’s. The series was not planned beforehand 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 still didn’t think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I’m not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.” – c.s. lewis
the poor guy couldn’t even remember that he published them out of the order he wrote them in, he didn’t pay attention to the business end of things, after the fact. the story itself reveals that LWW goes first. reading in chrono order is like reading the last chapter of a mystery novel first. you already know “whodunnit”, and then you watch him do it if you then go read the first chapter’ I assure you the book is better if you have to figure it out yourself.
lww was written to be the only book. he didn’t know there would be more. that’s why it’s written as if it should be read first.
you’re stating opinion right and left as if it is fact. they can be read in either order. for some, it is better in chronological order; for others, it is better in the published order. and if you look at the poll towards the top of the page on the right, most of those who have voted agree with me. that doesn’t mean my way is right. it means most people [who have voted] prefer that way. it’s a preference. you can read them in whichever order you want.