The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe question

The order they were published in, the order he wrote them in, is the only way to read the books. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was written as an introduction to Narnia; The Magician's Nephew presupposes that the reader has been immersed in the world for several books already.

I don't know what publisher first thought of putting them in chronological order, but it was a pretty stupid idea.

In my humble opinion.

I read the series in the order in which it was published. I loved being introduced to Narnia along with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I loved not knowing anything more than they did. The wonder and magic of their discovery was preserved by my ignorance. I suppose the order that works for any given reader is a matter of taste. Someone who prefers to really understand thoroughly FIRST, before immersing himself or herself, would like chronological order best. I love being a traveler, both in real life and in my fiction reading, going to new places, meeting new people, experiencing new customs, and not knowing anything initially, enjoying the unfolding. So starting with LWW was key to my deepest enjoyment of Narnia.

I would suggest reading them as they were released, with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe first. It's how the author wanted them read.

Who do you trust more? The author or the publisher?

that depends on how your mind works, for me chronological order makes more sense.

I have read them through both ways, and enjoyed the published order better than the chronological order.

i read them in order then read them randomly

Jorge wrote: "So I've read The Magician's Nephew and am now getting ready to ready tLtWatW in a while, but I've been wondering as I've never read this series before...should I continue reading it in chronologica..."

I read it as it was published. It's the way the author wrote it, so it's the way it should be read :) Plus, if i remember well (it's been 7yrs since i last read it.lol) if you don't read it in the "correct" order, you'll miss things that are explained in other "Chapters"... ^^ so my advice is: keep reading :D It's Magical! :)

(Sorry for the possible mistakes i'm french)

I havn't read too many comments, but published order is best. First of all, the Magician's Nephew assumes knowledge of at least the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Also, the true magic of watching Naria come to life is far more compelling if you already love this place (which I think the writing of MN assumes you do). Lucy loves Aslan in a way that none of the other characters can match (although each does have a special relationship with him) and it is through her eyes and feelings that our relationship to this magical place grows. She may not be my favorite character, but her perspective is an important factor when looking at the series as a whole. I remember reading that originally CS Lewis had only planned 3 books in the series - LW&W, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, all 3 I believe should be read first.

I think that so long as you read The Last Battle last then it doesn't matter overly much where you read The Magicians Nephew. You do need to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe prior to Prince Caspian, and once you have read those two to then read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and then The Silver Chair.

When I first read them I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe first, then Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Horse and his Boy, The Magicians Nephew, The Silver Chair and then The Last Battle. However when I reread them I read them in the chronological order.

I reread it every few years and I have read it both ways. But I think reading in published order works best.

C.S.Lewis never had an actual order
But he does have a preferable order

I read them in chrono order and I liked it just fine :D I say, read them in whichever order seems best for you, you'll love them both ways :P

Considering that the publication order WAS the chronological order for many years, I go with the way that I first read them: the order in which they were published. Not only is this the way that Lewis wanted them to be read, it is important to experience the wonder of learning about Narnia through Lucy's eyes. Also, reading them in the publisher's new chronological order contains spoilers, that are much better enjoyed discovering them they way Lewis had intended.

/agree :) In the order written.
#1 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Magician's Nephew is not as good and makes less sense if you have not read some of the others. It is a prequel - meaning although it takes place earlier it is meant to be read after.

I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. I then went back and read book one and have been going in chronological order now. I'm on book 5 now and I find that each story is complete within itself so the order doesn't really matter, but you pick up a little extra if you read them in chron order. Enjoy!

I have read this series at least 10 times, at least, it is absolutely fantastic. I think to get the whole psychological brunt of the story you should read them in chronological order. AND THEN go back and read them in published order. Reading them in chronological order gives it more of the air of a story and then reading them the way lewis published it lets you go back and think about what he was truly talking about.

Some readers that I know have read the series more than once. The first time reading the series, they read them in the order they were published in. Then on the second reading they read them in the story's chronological order.

I read these in published order, but I think you've done right by starting with The Magician's Nephew (which is also one of the best in the series). I'd go with chronological were I starting now.

I say, first time, read it in the original order, then the next time you go to read it, you can mix it up and read it in order of the creation to conclusion.

It's funny that I kind of read them in the order they were written. I started with the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe because the movie was in the theaters and I wanted to read the book before I got to see the movie . . . and then I read most of them and kept The Magician's Nephew and The Horse's Boy as some of the last reads, followed by Prince Caspian, Voyage, Silver Chair. Strangely I have yet to this day read The Last Battle. I will in time though.

I'd say that you are doing good what you are doing now but I guess you could have read The Lion book first. I don't know. . . it is cool to read The Magician's Nephew first but I think you might not get the significance of Jadis the Witch until The Lion the witch and the wardrobe. I feel like that story is probably the best built on its own (and it is hard to determine, in my opinion, if the rest of the books stand on their own as much as TLTWATW does).

Could you just read them in the order intended by the author? Does the question really have a point?

I prefer the order by HarperCollins (2005) which cites Lewis' preference (though this is debatable) because TMN is a prequel to the series, although TH&HB doesn't fit too well no matter where it ends up:

The Magician's 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

I think there are valid points to both sides of this debate. I have read multiple times that C.S. Lewis wrote the prequel, The Magician's Nephew with the intention of it being read first. It does make sense to read the prequel first because it introduces you to Narnia and Aslan. So it can't hurt. However, I think a lot of readers, such as myself, were introduced to the Chronicles of Narnia with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I don't feel that the stories suffered at all from reading them in the published order.

I did choose to read them in chronological order to my son. I thought this would help him grasp the significance of Aslan and follow the story better. So far, it seems to have helped.

I have enjoyed the set, having read them both ways. I think you will find the end result satisfactory regardless. Since you have already began reading the titles in chronological order, maybe it just makes sense to finish them in the same fashion. It is ultimately a matter of your own preference.

Whatever you chose, I hope you able to fully enjoy the magic that is Narnia, as I have over so many years!

C.S. wrote them in a certain order, but after they were all finished, he reordered them. In the huge collection it says this at the front. This is how I read them and will read them to my children. Magician's Nephew first.

Publication order all the way! I read these several times as a kid and Magician's Nephew was my least favorite. I'm not sure I would've kept reading if I'd read it first.

It's probably best if you go in chronological order as you can see them growing up, rather than chopping and changing. Some of the characters you meet along the way make more sense as to how they fit in the story if you read them in order as well.

I read Lion Witch & Wardrobe first, then back to Magician's nephew and then followed the chronological order the rest of the way through.

I would either do what I did (there is something nice about learning how Magician's Nephew connects with Lion Witch & Wardrobe already knowing the latter) or go for it all chronologically.

I am trying to avoid spoilers so will just say Magician’s Nephew is a bit different to the others in terms of characters. But the other books will make the most sense if you can follow the timeline.

Enjoy :)

I actually read the Magician's Nephew last, so it read as a kind of Prequel, with lots of nice little insights into how certain things came to be. Its one of, if not my favourite of the series.

I agree. Definitely read in order. If sure you'll love it.

I've only read the Lion the witch and the wardrobe but I don't know I'd probably read them in order.

In my case, I read first The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, because the movie was coming to theaters. After reading the book, I decided to continue reading the other ones: The Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and the Silver Chair. After them, I read the Horse and his Boy and the Magician's Nephew. Finally, the Last Battle.

The Horse and his Boy and the Magician's Nephew can be out of the chronological order. The other 4 books need to follow a chronological order. The Last Battle is the book you have to read in the end.

I think any order you read it will leave you loving the series. As long as you finish it! :)

I have to go publication order with this one.

Another vote for publication order. I think that Lion, Witch and Wardrobe should be read first. The way the book is structured it really is the best way to introduce the reader to the world of Narnia.

Chronological order was the way I read the series. I know it is not how it was published but it made the reading more easy because it followed in order and was not all over the place. Starting with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is not enough. The magician's nephew gives insight into Narnia and builds up towards the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In my opinion, I would choose chronological order!!

The most obvious order to read them in is publishing. However, I started chronologically and I'm pretty happy with how that turned out.
I don't think it matters that much - if Narnia is your sort of thing you'll enjoy them anyway.

Whichever way you read them is fine. Personally, I would suggest reading them from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and saving the Magician's Nephew to just before you read the Last Battle. That will give you the context and the symmetry of the chronology when you read the final book.

The author was actually on record recommending the books be read in chronological order. Personally, I read them in the original publishing order. I think it just makes the most sense to read Lion, Witch and Wardrobe first. Here is a great read about the controversy. http://www.narniaweb.com/resources-li...

I like reading them in chronological order NOW, but I think if you are starting out, it is best to read them publishing order. The reason for this is that the Magician's Nephew does not introduce some things but believes you have read LWW before. I will go forwards and suggest something that is extremely hard for me (I'm OCD when it comes to reading books in chronological order). I found the Horse and His Boy impossible to get through when I was young. So I made a choice to skip it and read on and NEVER regretted that decision. It is a great book and I have since come to love it, but is probably the hardest one for a child or even a young adult to connect to. It is completely different from the rest of the series and that can be jarring. Come back to it later if you find it giving you trouble.

Jorge wrote: "So I've read The Magician's Nephew and am now getting ready to ready tLtWatW in a while, but I've been wondering as I've never read this series before...should I continue reading it in chronologica..."

I prefer to read it in chronological order, especially when reading it to children. Makes it easier for them to understand and follow.

I think both methods have their merit. I originally read them in chronological order but I do agree that The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe gives the best introduction to Narnia as a concept. It also the one that most engaged me as a child. I think it depends on your age almost. I would recommend a younger reader start with LLW but an older reader begin with The Magician's Nephew.

I agree with Caitlin. the Magician's Nephew should be read first as it explains how the whole Narnia story begins. I also think its the best of the whole series - still consider it one of my 10 fave books of all time

The Horse and His Boy was the first book I read--indeed the first book I remember reading completely on my own--and it started me in my love of reading. I would recommend reading them in publication order, as I did after The Horse and His Boy. I still remember how much I enjoyed the whole series and figuring out the chronological order in my own young mind.

Well, the way that Lewis intended them to be read (At least this is what I have always been told) is:
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. The Horse and His Boy
3. Prince Caspian
4. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
5. The Silver Chair
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle

I read them in the publication order. For me, it's more magical that way because when you are near the end you are still discovering a lot of things. Apart that when you've finished you can connect absolutely everything. Also, you feel like you are more inside of that world because you know a lot of it, yet you know almost nothing of it.
Also, many people say that the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the best book to introduce the series, and I believe it's true. For me it was because you know nothing about the world, and you are discovering everything at the same pace the characters are.

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