Which order to read the Chronicles?
Publication order or the order of the story? The debate goes back to a letter of Lewis's from 1957, and it has continued since the publishers renumbered the series in 1994. Here are the arguments, and a piece of advice.
The reader's choice
- Lewis did not impose an order.
- For a first reading, begin with the Wardrobe.
- French editions follow chronological order.
Two possible orders
The order of publication (1950-1956): 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 chronological order, adopted by the publisher HarperCollins in 1994 and by Gallimard Jeunesse from its first complete edition, in 2001: 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.
What Lewis thought
In 1957 a young American, Laurence Krieg, wrote to Lewis: he wanted to read the books in the order of the story, while his mother thought he should follow the order of publication. Lewis replied that he was rather of the boy's opinion. He added that the series had not been planned and that the order of reading probably did not matter greatly. This letter is used as an argument by those who favour chronological order, but it remains cautious: Lewis never asked for his books to be renumbered.
The arguments
- For the order of publication: you discover Narnia as the first readers did, stepping through the wardrobe with Lucy, knowing nothing. The mystery of the lamp-post, of the Professor or of Aslan remains intact. The Magician's Nephew is written for a reader who already knows Narnia, and its revelations fall flat if you read it first.
- For chronological order: you follow a world from beginning to end, with a simple logic, especially for young readers. It is also the order of the current French editions.
- The case of The Horse and His Boy: it is a story on its own, set during the reign of the Pevensies. It can be read almost anywhere after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Our advice
For a first reading, especially aloud with children, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe remains the best way in. You can then read The Magician's Nephew as a prequel, before or after Prince Caspian. But the main thing is to read all seven, and each makes very good sense without the others.