Reading Order of the Chronicles of Narnia
In What Order Should C. S. Lewis's Books be Read?
C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia are some of the most popular works of fantasy ever written. Children and adults have enjoyed reading about the world of Narnia for over half a century, and new readers are continually being introduced. But with any series of books, new readers inevitably ask “Where should I start?” The Chronicles of Narnia do not offer a simple answer because Lewis wrote the books “out of order,” and Narnia fans have long debated the “correct” order for reading the books in this series.
Lewis Wrote the Chronicles of Narnia “Out of Order”
Lewis wrote most of the books in order, telling a linear story about the events in Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and The Silver Chair. However, the fifth book published, The Horse and His Boy, actually takes place during The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the sixth book, The Magician’s Nephew, is a prequel. The seventh book, The Last Battle, tells about the end of Narnia and should be read last.
Should The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or The Magician’s Nephew Be Read First?
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew each give a different type of introduction to Narnia. Since LWW was the first book written, the book assumes that the reader does not know what Narnia is, and therefore gives a more mysterious introduction to this fantasy land: Lucy enters through a wardrobe into a snowy land where talking animals tell her about the mysterious Aslan. Narnia is deliberately set apart from the regular world and is as unknown to the characters and narrator as it is to the first-time reader, and together the reader and the characters gain an emotional connection to Narnia as they learn about what’s going on.
The Magician’s Nephew, however, assumes that the reader already knows about Narnia and the lion Aslan. The narrative style suggests that this story is being told to let the reader know how the story they are familiar with began, as if Lewis is saying, “You know Narnia. Now let me tell you how it all began.” For readers who already know Narnia, it’s fun to see how certain things, such as the lamppost and the White Witch, came to Narnia. But readers who read this book first will not be confused and may appreciate a more straightforward introduction to this fantasy land.
Some scholars have argued that the Chronicles of Narnia, when read in publication order, give an allegory of the Christian life or the moral development of a person. Therefore, the reader should read them in publication order in order to fully appreciate the deeper theological meaning of the stories.
When Should The Horse and His Boy Be Read?
The events in The Horse and His Boy take place during the reign of the Pevensie children, which is covered in the last chapter of LWW, so if one wants to read this book in “plot order” it should be read after LWW. The events in HHB don’t really have an effect on the overarching plot of the Chronicles, but are rather more of a legend or moral tale that could be told anytime, so even reading this book out of order wouldn’t really matter. Interestingly, one of the characters in The Silver Chair actually tells a summarized version of HHB to his companions, so if one reads the books in publication order it’s like a teaser or preview of the next book.
Does Reading Order Really Matter?
In a letter to a young fan who wanted to know in what order he should read the books, Lewis himself said that it doesn’t really matter. But he also expressed a slight preference for the story order, and that might have been what HarperCollins based its decision on when it renumbered the books in story order when it republished them in 1994. Lewis, however, never made an effort to reorder the books, so it probably didn’t really matter to him.
It’s a shame that a reader can’t read the books in both orders for the first time and decide which way is better. But maybe reading order really doesn’t matter, because any true fan of the Chronicles of Narnia will read all the books over and over again, so in the reader's mind there is no real beginning.
Sources
Kort, Wesley A. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Where to Start.” In Revisiting Narnia, edited by Shanna Caughey. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc., 2005.
Schakel, Peter J. “The ‘Correct’ Order for Reading the Chronicles of Narnia?” In Revisiting Narnia, edited by Shanna Caughey. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc., 2005.
The Lion Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia
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