Classic Remarks: In What Order Should You Read the Narnia Books?

October 9, 2020

 

 

Classic Remarks is a meme hosted by Pages Unbound that poses questions each Friday about classic literature and asks participants to engage in ongoing discussions surrounding not only themes in the novels but also questions about canon formation, the “timelessness” of literature, and modes of interpretation.

If you’d like to participate, the list of prompts for 2020 can be found here. Each Friday, visit Pages Unbound and provide your link in the comments, though I want to see your posts linked below, too!


This Week’s Prompt:

Should the Narnia books be read in chronological order or publication order? 


 

The Chronicles of Narnia is a well-known and well-loved children’s book series. Written by C.S. Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, this series of books was originally published between 1950 and 1956 and has been in continuous publication since. These stories are inspired originally by a trio of schoolgirls who came to live at Lewis’s home during World War II when British children were evacuated to the English countryside. By spending time with these children Lewis learned to once again appreciate how children view the world and wanted to provide some joy into their lives. While the war was long over before the first Narnia book was published, Lewis kept the stories in his mind for years and eventually, they were all published.

The original publication order is as follows:

  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – 1950
  • Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia – 1951
  • The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 1952
  • The Silver Chair – 1953
  • The Horse and His Boy – 1954
  • The Magician’s Nephew – 1955
  • The Last Battle – 1956

When these books were published originally, the books were not numbered. So, why are we talking about what order the Narnia books should be read in?

 

The original US publication rights for the series were owned by Macmillan. When they published the books as a collected set, they numbered each book in order based on publication date:

  1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – 1950
  2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia – 1951
  3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 1952
  4. The Silver Chair – 1953
  5. The Horse and His Boy – 1954
  6. The Magician’s Nephew – 1955
  7. The Last Battle – 1956

In 1994, however, HarperCollins took over the series rights in the United States and reordered the series based on the chronological order of Narnia events. They made this decision based on the notion that C.S. Lewis had expressed that he hoped children would start the series with The Magician’s Nephew, as it is the first chronologically (though this is hotly debated by Lewis scholars):

  1. The Magician’s Nephew – 1955
  2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – 1950
  3. The Horse and His Boy – 1954
  4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia – 1951
  5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 1952
  6. The Silver Chair – 1953
  7. The Last Battle – 1956

But, it’s worth noting that there is yet even a third order people might read The Chronicles of Narnia in — the order in which Lewis wrote the books. You see, when The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was first published, Lewis had far more than just the one book written. It was decided that one book would be released each year. So, as you can see, there is a little flip-flopping between the written order and the publication order:

  1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – 1950
  2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia – 1951
  3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 1952
  4. The Horse and His Boy – 1954
  5. The Silver Chair – 1953
  6. The Magician’s Nephew – 1955

This begs to ask– in what order should someone new to the series read these books?

I would recommend the publication order.

 

Let’s start with the most critical lesson, one I’ve learned from #ReadingValdemar. When you’re reading a series of books where the books could be read in differing orders, and you read that series with any attention to detail, you will notice things. With Lackey’s writing, I can tell when books are written consecutively or if we are jumping around in publication timelines. She’s not the first author I’ve noticed these changes with. And it bothers me.

There are two reasons for this. First, I can tell when an author is writing and growing in both their writing and understanding of their characters. Jumping around in time with an author’s writing style can be jarring. I found Lackey’s early writing to be verbose with complex and diverse vocabulary. Her writing also focused more on Heralds, gifts, and the smaller notions happening in Valdemar rather. As Lackey’s writing improves, her vocabulary shrank, her writing became more succinct (though, I still find her in need of an editor…), and her focus grew to global politics around Valdemar.

The second reason is that if you read books chronologically that were not originally written in chronological order you’ll find that your experience with the characters and the world can be jarring. In the Valdemar books this was my experience with Tarma and Kethry. But I found reading Narnia in chronological order can potentially ruin some of the magic in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!

The Magician’s Nephew was the last book that Lewis wrote and yet the first one chronologically. If you read this first, you will learn much about the founding of Narnia and the great Aslan. Too much, in my mind. I think of The Magician’s Nephew as a prequel. If you read it first, you’ll learn so much that the magic, mystery, and excitement of following Lucy into the wardrobe starts to fade. It is possible to know too much. Plus, since Lewis wrote Nephew last, he didn’t have everything figured out before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Therefore you will find things that don’t quite make sense in the now “second” book of the series.

Finally, I find reading children’s books in publication order makes them more magical. In this way, you’re learning about the world with the characters (and the author!). Everything is new and exciting. After-the-fact established chronological orders will often ruin wonderful moments of delight and tension. Heck, this is why I recommend watching Star Wars in the Machete Order rather than Episodes 1-9. I want every twist and turn I can possibly get!

 

Is there truly a correct order to read these books in? No. Both Lewis scholars and fans will fight over what the “right” way to read this beloved series will be for years to come. In the end, read it in whatever order speaks most to you. There is no right answer.


What do you think?

  • In what order do you recommend reading The Chronicles of Narnia? Why?
  • Do you have an overall preference when reading mixed series like this? Chronological, publication, something different?
  • What are your favorite series that can be read in differing orders? I’d love some recommendations!
  • Are you participating in Classic Remarks? Leave your link below!

8 Comments

  • Kim @ Traveling in Books October 9, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    I’ve tried to read The Chronicles of Narnia twice, and did not enjoy it either time. Perhaps I should have read it as a child, and not as an adult…

    Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga has several suggested reading orders, but Bujold herself lists it chronologically by plot, and posts the suggested reading list (which is not publication order) in most of the Vorkosigan novels. That’s how I read it, and while I know you could read it in publication order, I’d recommend Bujold’s suggested order.

    • Briana | Pages Unbound October 11, 2020 at 8:46 pm

      I feel sacrilegious saying it sometimes…but for me this is not a series that has held up for me when I reread it as an adult. There are things I like about it, and Lewis had a lot of interesting literary and theological influences. But I can totally understand not loving it if someone first reads it as a adult instead of as a child.

    • Jackie B October 16, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child and really loved it, but I couldn’t tell you why. It honestly might be because my peers all loved it? I never read the others. As an adult I tried and couldn’t get through Prince Caspian. But I want to read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — I’ve been told it’s an exceptional children’s fantasy novel by those I trust and respect. Can I just pick it up and read it? Who knows. But I will.

      I’ve looked into reading Vorkosigan Saga before. I won’t lie, it used to intimidate me. But now that Melanie and I are conquiring Valdemar, I am less intimidated. The trick is to try and figure out which published books are omnibuses and which are not! I picked up Cordelia’s Honor only to find out that it’s books 2 and 3 chronologically! Oy. Why isn’t book 1 in there? Well, regardless, I feel more confident in tackling this larger world now.

      • Kim @ Traveling in Books October 16, 2020 at 1:33 pm

        So there are some Vorkosigan universe books that aren’t part of the family saga. Falling Free takes place a couple of hundred years before the main cycle. I don’t think you have to read it, but it explains the origins of the Quaddies. Shards of Honor is the first book in the family’s story, and Barrayar is the second of the Cordelia books. After that, you have The Warrior’s Apprentice, which is the first of the Miles books. The quality of the series varies, as Bujold has been writing this series throughout her career (I think Shards of Honor was her first book). So there are definite weak spots, but there are also stories that are some of the best American sci-fi of the past thirty years. The short story, The Mountains of Mourning, is particularly poignant.

        • Jackie B November 11, 2020 at 12:09 pm

          I wish there was a way to flag comments. I haven’t responded yet because I was trying to figure that out. Instead I just copied your comment into my 2021 reading plans. XD This will help me figure out where to start with the Vorkosigan books!

          I can relate to the quality of the writing being all over the place with a series. I am reading all the Valdemar books with Melanie, you know. 😉

  • Captain's Quarters October 10, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    I agree with Jackie on the correct Narnia order. Of course it is how I read them as a child. And I also thought the last battle was the worst of the bunch. I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up the rest. And the dawn treader is me favourite. I am so glad I didn’t miss that one. As for Vorkosigan Saga all me trusted crew says to stick with the author’s recommended reading list. Of course I still have to find a way to collect all those books before I can start reading them.
    x The Captain

    • Jackie B October 16, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      Amen to collecting all the Vorkosigan books, Captain. There are so many oddly collected books in Omnibus form (At least, from my perspective) that I barely know what to read. Do you hope to just have access to all the Vorkosigan books or own them all before starting the Saga? My library owns them all, but only one copy of most books, so I’m debating when/how to start, personally. Let me know if you want to do some buddy reading on that journey!

  • Grab the Lapels October 12, 2020 at 9:58 am

    The Anne of Green Gables novels are sold in chronological order. You buy the set of eight books and Anne just gets older and older. In that case, I think it makes sense. Montgomery was so over writing Anne, but readers demanded more and Montgomery needed the money, so she went back and filled in gaps of time in Anne’s life, such as what happened the year Gilbert was in medical school, what happened the year she took care of Marilla and taught in the local school, etc. Montgomery was such a good writer that I don’t think you notice a hiccup in the feel of the books, time-wise or continuity-wise, though I will say that the plots feel thin compared to the original novels that she actually wanted to write.

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