Chronicles of Narnia, which to read first?

[David_Zampino]

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

“The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”

No question.

 

[David_Zampino]

Oren:

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.

I strongly disagree. This is the “new trend” and one I vehemently disagree with.

Lewis struggled with the content of “The Magician’s Nephew” and deliberately postponed it’s publication for years and years until he could sort out his difficulties.

I am also DEEPLY suspicious of those modern “Lewis Scholars” who insist that they KNOW what Lewis WOULD have wanted.

There has been FAR too much fraud perpetrated in the name of Lewis. Stick with what he ACTUALLY WROTE!

 

[David_Zampino]

threej_lc:

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

Go for the order in which they were written.

 

[David_Zampino]

moochie:

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).

Any, ANY, ANY, Lewis material edited by Walter Hooper needs to be addressed VERY, VERY carefully. The man has been accused (quite creditibly) of perpetrating fraud under Lewis’ name for decades.

I would not trust Walter Hooper to inform me as to whether the grass was green and the sky was blue. I would **NOT **want to be in his shoes on Judgement Day.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

JCPhoenix:

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.

Those seven books are very rich theologically - they are amazing; no other word will do.​

(There is some very profound theology in the Silmarillion too - but this not a Tolkien thread )

My preference is for reading them in properly historical order, with “The Horse and His Boy” being read just before the account, in the last chapter of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, of the hunting of the White Stag. The historical order might not be best for a first reading by someone who is unfamiliar with the books.