The Chronicals of Narnia

[Auggietina]

My dd and I just finished reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. My dd LOVED the story and is begging for more. So I was going to go out and purchase the rest of the series, but I see that there is some debate on the order that it should be read.

So... help me out... in what order should we read the books??

 

[WDWAurora]

Hmm...Never knew there was a debate. We actually just purchased the book that includes all the volumes for my cousin's step-daughter. She's 11 I think. I hope she likes them! That book is so thick. I'd recommend your local Christian bookstore for a place to purchase them, FYI. They have a great selection of Chronicles merchandise.

 

[Jsme]

My kids want to see the movie

 

[binny]

My kids want to see the movie

*I* cant wait to see the movie!


This was my favourite series growing up and even now its on the top ten. I loved all the books really but Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my favourite.



I just pray they did the books justice and didnt take too many liberties with the story.


As for the order, I have heard many things on that I like the chronolical order best personally but there is arguement for both

from

http://www.aslan.demon.co.uk/narnia.htm

The internecine strife between Lewis aficionados about the order of the Narnia books shows no signs of abating. In principle, both devout Chronologists and sincere Publicationists both allow that people should read the books in whatever order they chose. Yet both groups, in their hearts, believe that their order is best. Fisticuffs can easily develop, and the first excommunications and crusades cannot be far away. In an attempt to resolve this very serious issue, I offer my own, definitive, take on the problem.

1: Chronology vs Publication
C.S Lewis's famous series of children's stories were published between 1950 and 1956, in the following order:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian(1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
4. The Silver Chair (1953)
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
6. The Magicians Nephew(1955)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

All current editions of the books, however, number them in a slightly different order:

1. The Magicians Nephew
2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle




This order reflects the chronological sequence of events in the books themselves.

Lewis expressed a mild preference for this second, chronological order. In a letter written in 1957 to an American boy named Laurence, he wrote the following:

'I think I agree with your order {i.e. chronological} for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.

Quoted in "Letters to Children"

On this last point, scholars who have written about Narnia agree: the books were not published in the order that they were written. The writing order appears to have been

1: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2: (Abandoned version of Magicians Nephew)
3: Prince Caspian
4: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
5: Horse and His Boy
6: Silver Chair
7: Magicians Nephew
8: Last Battle

The case for reading the books in chronological order is the self-evident one: it makes more sense, particularly for children, to read a series of stories in the order in which they happened.

The case for reading the books in published order includes the following:

1: The Lion is presented very much as the first of a series. It concludes with the words 'That is the very end of the adventure of the wardrobe. But if the Professor was right, it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.' The 'second' book, Prince Caspian, is subtitled 'The Return to Narnia.'

2: The narrator of The Lion says 'None of the children knew who Aslan was, any more than you do.' But if 'you' are supposed to have read The Magician's Nephew, then you do know who Aslan was.

3: The charm of the opening of The Lion is spoiled if you already know, from Magician's Nephew, that the wardrobe is magical; that the Professor has been to Narnia, and why there is a street lamp in Narnia. Similarly, the 'shock of recognition' in Magician's Nephew is spoiled if you don't know the significance of the wardrobe.

4: Why should The Horse and His Boy, which happens during the final chapter of The Lion, be set after it? Could an equally valid case not be made for saying that it should be set after The Silver Chair where it is presented as a story-within-a-story?

Given that most people read and re-read the books many times, does this sort of nit-picking matter? Almost certainly not. However, I believe that argument is not, in fact an argument about which order to read the books in, but about which order to think of the books in. The reason that the discussion occasionally becomes heated is that the camps are not merely arguing for a particular sequence, but for a particular interpretation.

 

[almacdonald]

I am a fair way through the series. I bought the single book which contains all the stories. The stories are organized in the chronological order of Narnia, not the order they were written/published in. I would reccomend this order because there's less jumping back and forth, but hey, that's all i know!

 

[ElizK]

These books are WONDERFUL!! I read them several times as a kid, and read them all again usually once a year (I'm 37!).

The chronological order noted above makes the most sense as you read them. I actually read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first, too.

Also, wanted to tell you that Walmart carries all the books, and they're much less expensive there than anywhere else.

 

[Brier Rose]

For those of you like me who love the books, and can't wait for the movie to come out, you might like to check this out from my DD's school.....

The Narnia Academy is ROARING!!!!

We are astonished at the wonderful response to The Narnia Academy. Thank you so very much for honoring our efforts.
During just the first couple of weeks several hundred thousand visitors have browsed to the site. And by the time the Disney movie debuts next month it looks like there will be over 25,000 folks who are registered for the free "Beyond The Wardrobe" course. (Remember
this is a 20 lesson online course about
'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" the classic
tale by C.S. Lewis)


If you are one of those already discovering the wonderful world of Narnia we
want to thank you so much for being a part of this incredible
online experience. If you have not yet registered for the course just browse to
The Narnia Academy and register.

Oh, and just one favor please. If you have any friends or relatives who may be interested in learning more about Narnia would you be so kind as to forward them the original email that we sent? I've copied it below. Remember that the entire course is free and it is open to both individual students as well as groups of students such as Youth Groups, Study groups,
schools and churches.

Blessings and thanks again for this wonderful response!

Karlie Margaret Houser, Principal


*******************************************
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Introducing...'Beyond The Wardrobe'
An online 20-Lesson study of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
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**WHAT IS 'Beyond The Wardrobe'?**
This study is a new online 20-lesson study of "Narnia" entitled 'Beyond The
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for movie music and video, photos and so much more. All resources are free.

**WHY IS IT FREE?**
Beyond The Wardrobe is provided free-of-tuition and any other fees because we
want to pass on the power of imagination that inspired author C. S. Lewis, and
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course shares the same goal: to deepen the story's magic that has inspired
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*INDIVIDUALS - Everyone can register and take the study. You can do as much or as little as you wish. Visit our registration page (http://www.thenarniaacademy.org/course.htm).

*GROUPS - Church Youth Groups, Study Groups, Homeschooling Cooperatives, Private, Parochial and Christian Schools. Any organization! You can freely register your group and then enroll as many "students" as you wish under your group. The Narnia Academy will randomly select a winner from all registered groups to see the movie. The winning Group will receive free tickets to a local theater to see the movie during the last week in December. One ticket for each person in the winning group. Details here: http://www.thenarniaacademy.org/course.htm

**COURSE DESCRIPTION AND EXPERIENCE:
'Beyond The Wardrobe' is a study of the book (and movie) The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Each lesson covers one chapter in the book and
includes an overview as well as questions and comments for consideration. There
are several optional multiple-choice quizzes that are automatically scored.
Answer keys are provided to group leaders (or individual students if they are
registering without a group). Every student receives a Username and password
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You are welcome to register as a group as long as you have two or more "students". You can review a sample lesson (http://www.thenarniaacademy.org/sample_lesson.htm) and, if you are pleased, then simply continue on to add any number (unlimited) of students. Registering is extremely simple and we only ask for enough information to help us personalize your learning experience. Individuals under the age of 13 years must be registered by their parents. Groups should be registered by the main contact person for the group. In all cases the course is presented entirely cost free by our sponsor LearningByGrace.org.


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[Auggietina]

Thanks everyone!
So we read the Lion first, and now we should read The Magicians Nephew.

I'm off to go buy it today!

We can't wait for the movie!!

 

[cruisnfamily]

I've tried without success to hook both my children on these. DD read the lion, and has no desire to read any others. DS won't even give them a try. I was never a great fan of these books but I didn't dislike them either. Maybe the movie will spark some interest in trying these again.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

I don't know about the correct order, but we saw an old movie version years ago when my DD (21) was young.

I bought the entire set for DS when he was about 8 or 9 and needed encouragement with his reading. I got the set through one of those school book club orders, then entire set for a very good price. We started reading them together, and he enjoyed them.

 

[Just2554]

I just finished writing a research paper on the religious allegory in The Chronicles of Narnia, so this is a topic fresh in my mind. I used a C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia to do my work and the book did cover this topic and according to it, the books are meant to be read in chronological order and not by the way they were written. Lewis never knew he would write anything besides The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so after he completed his series, he went back and changed the order in which they were to be read so that the backstory would make sense. In fact, he was planning on going back and adding things into the story so that everything would add up, but he died before he had a chance.

Anyways, the order in which they are meant to be read is as follows:
1. The Magicians Nephew
2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

 

[pjlla]

Wow.... I have just finished reading the series for the second time in a row. It never occurred to me to read them in any order other than the way they were labeled! I would be very confused if I tried to read them any other way, I'm sure!.............P