The Chronicles of Narnia
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Why Does Everyone Always Forget About "The Magicians Nephew"!!!!!!
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Sophie
(last edited Oct 26, 2013 07:44AM)
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Oct 25, 2013 08:22AM
Ok so we all know that TCON has 7 books. Just because The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was the first movie everyone always forgets about The Magicians Nephew which really annoys me as its so important to the series. For crying out loud its the one where Narnia Is CREATED!!!!!!!. Even one time on MASTERMIND in the General Knowledge round the question " What is the first book in the Narnia Series Called" came up. The contestant said The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and GOT IT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!. Anyone else annoyed by this?/
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Yes. I don't know why everyone forgets it.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first book in the series. The Magician's Nephew is a prequel which was written either 5th or 6th. Also, The Chronicles of Narnia has 7 books, not 6.
C.C. wrote: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first book in the series. The Magician's Nephew is a prequel which was written either 5th or 6th. Also, The Chronicles of Narnia has 7 books, not 6."Sorry I meant to say 7
You're right, it is the book that all the others depend on. If it weren't for the magic tree at the end which was cut down and the wood used for the wardrobe, there wouldn't be a series. TLTWTW, however, was written first. It is actually, my favorite of all 7.
I guess everyone forgets about it because they made the Lion, the with, and the wardrobe into a movie first. I heard that they're planning on making a movie for the magicians nephew. It would have been better if they did that though because then we could have known about their uncle, was he? and how he went into narnia and helped out there. But I guess the movie is still good, I really like it, but the books are better.
When I first read the series, back in the 1980's, The Magician's Nephew was not the first book, it was the fifth or sixth. I'm so glad it wasn't because I don't think I would have read the series if it were first. It was my least favorite of all of them.
Yeah, I really feel like some foundation is important before you read Magician's Nephew. It's one of those stories that presupposes a love for the world of Narnia. The first time I read through the series, I read it later in the line up which was good because it allowed me to be excited about what was happening. If I had read it earlier in the chronology, I would have probably passed by much of it without understanding why it mattered. Now when I read back through the series I read it first. It's one of the most magical and fun books in the series for me now.
The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, is in fact the first book of the series, when you go by writing order. C.S. Lewis never intended it to be read first. However, I read them in the order with it as the first installment, actually my mother read it to me in that order a long time ago. It's a wonderful story that gives you the history of Narnia and how it came to be. Definitely a must read for any fan of the series.
This is personally one of my favorites aside from Narnia and The Horse and His Boy :)
The magician's nephew was the book i read first and it was my favorite. i loved that the rings transported you and still remember the pond even though i haven't read it in 30 years.
Heavens! I loved The Magicians Nephew and it took me years to read it. Actually I now read it first with my students before moving on to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe…It makes everything so much clearer and it makes me love Aslan so much more...
Yes! I mean, I know it was written after the rest of the series, but it is placed first. Also, they missed it when making the movies. It still annoys me when people forget it though.
I LOVED the Magicians Nephew. I sincerely don't understand why it isn't more popular! I love how the White queen is introduced from the beginning and how the animals talk, which explains so much better why Lucy is confused later. Without that book there is no wardrobe... sigh... LOVE this book!
No one is forgetting it. People say The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is first because it is first. The Magician's Nephew is the sixth book in the series. Sure it describes events that take place before The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, but the book contains numerous references to the other Narnia books that wouldn't make sense unless you've read those first (which makes sense, considering that this was one of the last Narnia books that Lewis wrote). Just because some stupid publishers decided to reorder the series doesn't mean they're correct :/ Reading The Magician's Nephew first removes a lot of fun & surprise from reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Sophie wrote: "Ok so we all know that TCON has 7 books. Just because The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was the first movie everyone always forgets about The Magicians Nephew which really annoys me as its so im..."I know right! It gets on my nerves.And it beats me why noyone thinks it's a good book.
i love all seven books the same and the thing that gets on my nerves is that the narnia movie makers stopped right before the Magician's nephew! I hope i will live to see all seven books made into a good movie some day though.
Actually, I heard somewhere that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was published before The Magicians Nephew. But, I could be wrong.
Not really. LWatW was published first. It WAS the first Narnia book. Nephew, in fact, was the second-to-last book in the series. It was a prequel. Now, I read it in Chronological order, but still...
Holly wrote: "No one is forgetting it. People say The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is first because it is first. The Magician's Nephew is the sixth book in the series. Sure it describes events that take pla..."Could not have said it better.
The confusion began when a boy wrote Lewis a letter asking why the books were not in chronological order. At the time, the books were sold as a set in publication order (not the way they sell them now). Lewis's reply was that they could be read in chronological order if someone wanted to and that it may well be more correct. The result is that now they are packaged and sold that way.
As Holly says, the truth is, you can't really read them in chronological order for a couple of reasons. As she says, the book assumes a working knowledge of Narnia and the reader misses things they otherwise would not by reading The Magician's Nephew first.
That does not lessen the impact of The Magician's Nephew. It is a wonderful book. No one is forgetting it. It's quite integral to the story.
Chris wrote: "Not really. LWatW was published first. It WAS the first Narnia book. Nephew, in fact, was the second-to-last book in the series. It was a prequel. Now, I read it in Chronological order, but still..."Yay, I was right! :D
Monique wrote: "Holly wrote: "No one is forgetting it. People say The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is first because it is first. The Magician's Nephew is the sixth book in the series. Sure it describes events..."Indeed you were, m'lady!
it's because of the order they were written inthis is the original order
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle
The creation scenes in The Magician's Nephew still gives me chills...
The Magician's Nephew has always been one of my favorite books in the series because of the part music plays as Aslan sings Narnia into existence.I believe that music, in he broad sense, is a fundamental part of the warp and weft of the universe.
Oh, the Magician's Nephew!! ...the tingling fascination of magic rings... the chilling desolation of Charn... the golden mystery of the Wood between the Worlds... the horror of the witch... the glorious ecstasy of Narnia's creation... the ineffable, beautiful majesty of Aslan and His song!
How do you forget all that? You shouldn't.
Not to mention Strawberry and "the first joke", the Tree of Youth and the guinea-pig...
I don't think everyone forgets the Magician's Nephew more like cherishes it if they've read it and love the Narnia series.I think that show Mastermind was probably referring to the publication order and not chronological order and if so, that answer is right.
I couldn't have said it better myself, Becky!
Everyone who said LWaW is first is correct. Lewis wanted them to be published and read in the order they were written, which is not chronological order. The story makes more sense the way he has them written, despite them not having been written chronologically. You're supposed to read everything up to TMN, which is almost last in the series, and then realize who the Professor is and why the wardrobe is even magic at all. I'd seen the animated film over and over before I read the books, and after reading TMN, realized I had never even wondered what this magic wardrobe was doing in this house before.
The Magicians Nephew is my favourite book in the series.
I don't know why people read it in the order that they were published. I have the boxset edition from 1990 that is in order of: 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
In this order it makes more sense to me rather than the original published order that Jeolle (messgae 24) above has posted.
The Magician's Nephew has always been my favorite Narnia book. It's been seared into my imagination permanently....The mysterious dark queen on her throne in an ancient ruined world, the pools between the worlds, the very creation of Narnia -- wow, it still gives me goosebumps! :-)
I am always torn between The Magician's Nephew and Voyage of the Dawn Treader as my favorite book of the series. I love the mysteries of the sea revealed in Dawn Treader, but The Magician's Nephew has so much wonder and humor in it. Who can forgot how Aslan sang Narnia into existence? Or the awe inspired by saying just one wrong word that brings destruction on an entire civilization as evidenced in the ruin of Charn? The belly laughs that erupt with the chase of Uncle Andrew by a herd of animals and his mistaken assumption that they are going to eat him, their attempts to "plant" him in their mistaken assumption that he is some kind of tree, and their dubbing him with the name Brandy because he kept saying that word until they thought he was trying to introduce himself with that name. And the chuckles inspired by Uncle Andrew's admiration of a woman whom he never stood a chance with and how he forgot his fear of her the minute she was actually out of sight, and sighed "She was a bit of a spirited gel, but she was a dem fine woman, sir, yes, a dem fine woman."
My mother read to me from our box set from the late 70s that had The Magician's Nephew 1st in the series. 35-ish years later, I'm reading them to my 5.5 year old son in the same order, and just finished the Magician's Nephew last week. :)
And I laughed out loud as some parts, but got chills reading others, especially how everything neatly feeds into the next book, his original starting point. My son was very excited to recognize the wardrobe, the Professor's house, and the lamppost going in this order... though I'm sure he would have been excited about the "oh, that's how that came to be" angle if you read it in publication order. I generally prefer chronological (within the book timeline) myself, as a general rule.
Just because C.S. Lewis wrote them out of order doesn't mean you should read them in the order he published. It's cool to have the choice.
Jamie wrote: "My mother read to me from our box set from the late 70s that had The Magician's Nephew 1st in the series. 35-ish years later, I'm reading them to my 5.5 year old son in the same order, and just f..."
Interesting that your box set from the 70s started with The Magician's Nephew and my box set from the 70s started with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
It is, of course, cool to have the choice. Reading them in the two different orders provides two dramatically different experiences. Reading in publication order allows for a great deal of dramatic irony as you realize what is coming and who these people are. With chronological order, you miss that but already know the backstory.
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