Chronicles of Narnia, which to read first?

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which of the Narnia books should I read first? I’ve never read these books as my school didn’t have them in the library and they were forbidden by some of my friends’ fundie parents as fantasy novels that would lead us all to the devil…I’ve heard a lot about C. S. Lewis and would love to read the Narnia series (and my RCIA coordinator has encouraged me to do so) but I’m a little unsure about where to begin…I always hear about the Lion the witch and the wardrobe, and honestly didn’t realize there were others until just a few weeks ago…

Thanks!
Jamie
 
Read the Magician’s Nephew. Then Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Then The Horse and His Boy. etc. You can find the order probly online somewhere, try lookin on amazon.
 
There are two orders in which the books can be read.

Order in which the books were written:
  1. Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.
  2. Prince Caspian
  3. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  4. The Silver Chari
  5. The Horse and his boy.
  6. The Magician’s Nephew
  7. The Last Battle.
Order in which the books chronologically take place (1 was a prequel, another randmoly took place in the middle.):
  1. The magician’s Nephew
  2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  3. The Horse and His Boy
  4. Prince Caspian
  5. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  6. The Silver Chair
  7. THe last battle
Whereas I strongly prefer the former order in which they were written, others swear by the chronological. Its up to you to take your pick.

Josh
 
I started with the** Magician’s Nephew** since it was the first book in the one volumn set I bought.

PF
 
Sets sold now days of the Chronicles of Narnia do begin with the Magician’s Nephew because it is chronologically first in the series. But, you’ll find that there are those who support both ways of reading the books for the first time.

Unfortunately, you can only read them for the first time once. I first read the Lion, the Witch and the Wordrobe because it was published first and the set I bought many years ago began with that one.

Lewis did say that they should be read chronologically, but that was after all the books had been written. However, LWW was his first inspiration in which he introduces the first group of human characters, which is why I vote for it.

But, which ever order you read them in you are in for a treat! Do read whichever one you like and then report back to us what you thought about it. We “Lewis old-timers” delight in hearing the impressions of first time readers.
 
I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first because that was how I received it. The sets now start with The Magician’s Nephew. I am now reading these to my son, so I started it the way I first read it.
 
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Della:
Lewis did say that they should be read chronologically, but that was after all the books had been written.
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Actually, in response to a letter he received from a young fan asking in which order the Chronicles should be read, Mr Lewis said:

“I think I agree with your order for reading the books [chronologically according to events] more than with your mother’s [in order of publication]. . . . [But] perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone reads them” (C. S. Lewis: Letters to Children, New York: Macmillan, 1985, p. 68).

He also wrote:

“Of a book’s meaning [or effect on the reader] . . . its author is not necessarily the best, and is never a perfect judge” (“On Criticism,” *On Stories and Other Essays on Literature, *ed. Walter Hooper, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982, p. 140).

So . . . If one prefers stories, especially ones that cover many different characters as the Narnia books do, that are in chronological order, then read them that way. But, OTOH, Lewis’ handling of Christian themes he employs might make it preferable to read the books in the order of their publication. I find his Christian themes far more powerful reading in publication order rather than chronological order. I’d stick with the publication order the first time. Then the chronological order from then on. Also, several artistic aspects & plot points will be given away if one reads The Magician’s Nephew before The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. There are many wonderful surpirses in store for the first time reader if the books are read in order of publication!

And a bit of advice, if I may. When you first read them, do just that - read them! Don’t read a study guide or anything along with the books. Look for the themes as you read & see what you get - allow Lewis’ words & images speak to you through your imagination! Then, after you’ve finished them all, go back & use books like Paul Ford’s Companion to Narnia as you re-read the Chronicles.

Happy reading!!
 
Ummm, should a 48 year old man read these books? :o

I’m a hugemongous Lewis fan but have always thought of these books as childrens books. Now, having the movie near release, i am wondering if I should read “The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe” at least.

I’ve never been much of a novel reader. In fact I have never been much of a reader at all beyond technical material and material related to my interests (salt water fishing, weight lifting). It wasn’t until about 3 years ago I began to read theological books, apologetics, saints, bible…these books I simply can’t get enough of.

I almost bought “The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe” at Barnes and Noble the other day…then I chickened out feeling a bit foolish.
 
Well, I love children’s literature myself. At some point you need to grow beyond the fear of being thought childish;)

But if you don’t like fiction generally, you may not like them. Anyway, give the Lion a try for starters.

I strongly endorse reading them by publication date (*Lion, Caspian, Dawn Treader, Chair, Horse, Nephew, Battle). *Lewis didn’t know what he was talking about on that one:p If you start with *Nephew *you’re plunged into a world that Lewis has already thought about a lot. Read *Lion *first and you can see him creating Narnia before your eyes. *Horse *and Nephew were written as prequels, going back and filling in holes or telling how it all started, and they read best that way as well.

Edwin
 
Loved the books, gave my daughter the complete Chronicles of Narnia and even found the DVD’s for them (British produced) We all loved them. Definitely read them! There is supposed to be a new film coming out of the Chronicles next year.
 
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moochie:
Also, several artistic aspects & plot points will be given away if one reads The Magician’s Nephew before The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. There are many wonderful surpirses in store for the first time reader if the books are read in order of publication!
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From firsthand experience, I second this.

I read the series back around 7th grade, and as soon as I heard the series was not in chronological order (right after reading Lion), I decided to read them chronologically anyway.

However, some plot points and characters are obviously afterthoughts. You read about them in the “first” book where they seem critically important, but then they’re somehow forgotten until the last book or two

Better to read the books in the order of Lewis’s stream of consciousness, and live with the fact that you don’t get to read the prequel until near the end.
 
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Digitonomy:
From firsthand experience, I second this.
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I third this! 😃

They are truly great books. I look forward to the movies, though I don’t think any movies can ever match the books they’re based on.
 
I urge everyone to take their kids to “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” movie the weekend it comes out: I understand that Hollywood is watching closely and depending on its popularity, as determined by first weekend sales, will make more Christian-themed movies in future.
Disney only produced this one because of the popularity of the Lord of the Ring movies. We need to show them that Christians will patronize good movies, and that LOTR wasn’t just a fluke.
 
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auroraj42:
which of the Narnia books should I read first? I’ve never read these books as my school didn’t have them in the library and they were forbidden by some of my friends’ fundie parents as fantasy novels that would lead us all to the devil…I’ve heard a lot about C. S. Lewis and would love to read the Narnia series (and my RCIA coordinator has encouraged me to do so) but I’m a little unsure about where to begin…I always hear about the Lion the witch and the wardrobe, and honestly didn’t realize there were others until just a few weeks ago…

Thanks!
Jamie
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Try this 🙂 -​

**http://cslewis.drzeus.net/faq/

What is the correct order for reading The Chronicles of Narnia? What do you recommend?**

If you must read them in any certain order, there are two logical ways of numbering the Narnia books. When the American publisher Macmillan decided to put numbers on their editions they chose to use the order in which the books were originally published, i.e.:

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 Magicians Nephew (1955)

The Last Battle (1956)

When HarperCollins took over the publication of the books in America, they decided to keep numbering the books, but on the recommendation of Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham, they adopted the order that follows Narnian Chronology, i.e:

The Magicians Nephew

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

This is also the order followed by the current British editions, published by Fontana Lions.

As for my recommendation…I always recommend that the first-time reader begin with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and then continue in the published order. Once all seven books have been read in that order, read them again (and again) however you choose.

Recommended reading: www.aslan.demon.co.uk/narnia.htm

BTW -
narniaweb.com/content.asp?id=2
**
**Is this going to be a secularized Hollywood version or will C.S. Lewis’ Christian themes stay intact?

It’s no secret that C.S. Lewis was an outspoken Christian and his faith was woven throughout everything he wrote. Narnia is no exception and much of the stories are allegorical in nature. Will Hollywood have its way and strip out Lewis’ spiritual messages? Not so, promises Douglas Gresham, co-producer and stepson of Lewis himself. A committed Christian, Gresham has vowed not to “change the words of the master.” Indeed, Walden Media itself has a track record of family-friendly films so it seems that the film will be in good hands. Many are concerned that Disney’s influence will water down the Christian themes which run through the Narnia stories, but it’s important to remember that Walden Media is ultimately in charge of the film, not Disney.
 
The sort of ‘important’ thing is that you read these in their order -

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair

The reason for this is that those stories progress from one to the other, like a series. The characters develop from one to the next, eg. some characters introducted in ‘Dawn Treader’ will be prominent in ‘Silver Chair’ (and will have changed through the 2 books).

Also, read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before reading The Horse and His Boy. But you can either read it straight after, or read some others first, it’s not really part of the series, more just an interesting tale that uses some of the ideas from the others.

The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel to the series but it was written second last. It doesn’t have to be read first, again, it’s more an interesting story, and one possible point that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe could have emerged from. But The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the real start of the series.

Read The Last Battle last. It uses ideas from all the other books.
Hmm, talking about it makes me feel like reading the series again. It’s been a long time since I’ve read them. But I’m not even sure if we still have the books at home.
 
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Mijoy2:
Ummm, should a 48 year old man read these books? :o

A 57 year old man does, more than once and with much enjoyment. 🙂

I’m a hugemongous Lewis fan but have always thought of these books as childrens books.

So they are…that doesn’t stop them from being enjoyable for adults. By the way, I recommend also the Perelandra series, if you haven’t yet read them.

Now, having the movie near release, i am wondering if I should read “The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe” at least.

I’ve never been much of a novel reader. In fact I have never been much of a reader at all beyond technical material and material related to my interests (salt water fishing, weight lifting). It wasn’t until about 3 years ago I began to read theological books, apologetics, saints, bible…these books I simply can’t get enough of.

I almost bought “The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe” at Barnes and Noble the other day…then I chickened out feeling a bit foolish.
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The man who wrote* Mere Christianity, The Four Loves*, and Miracles, is the same man who wrote the Narnia books. Even if you decide they’re not for you, why not give them to your children, or nephews and nieces?
 
Are they going to do the whole series?

Seems like Hollywood would be skittish about some later ones. I’ve always felt that the Calormen were obviously renamed muslims…
 
I am currently reading LWW along with the Forum Book Club. I chose to do it that way rather than starting with The Magician’s Nephew since it appears that is the order the movies will be done, so I’ll probably read them as the movies come out.
 
I am re-reading this series right now and here is what I have to say:
  • I am 31, and these books have more Christian impact on me than they did when I read them when I was a child. And they inflame my imagination just as much. I’m trying not to read the last book because if I do, it will be over. I don’t want to feel that same ache I felt as a child…I was sad and had a HUGE sense of loss because the story ended. No other series has had such an effect on me.
  • Someone mentioned reading the LWW first, as you get to see Narnia created before your eyes. I disagree. Since this is VERY fresh in my mind, if you want to see the beginning of Narnia, you will find it in NEPHEW. It’s Genesis and should be read first. It is the garden of Eden and the introduction of evil.
If you can, purchase the books in one volume. It is well worth it. And don’t borrow the books…PURCHASE THEM.
 
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