Greta Gerwig’s Barbie hasn’t even come out yet, but it’s already on its way to being a box office success. It’s no surprise, then, that Gerwig has already been offered another beloved property: The Chronicles of Narnia, the beloved series of children’s fantasy novels by C.S. Lewis. Gerwig has reportedly signed on to direct two Narnia movies for Netflix.
This isn’t the first time the Narnia books have been adapted to the screen. Since their original publication in the 1950s, The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted into multiple television series, radio series, and stage productions. In 2005, Disney released film adaptations of the first two books in the series, but then abandoned the project.
Now, Narnia fans itching to see a film adaptation are getting another chance. If you’re a newcomer to Narnia, you might feel called to read the books before the new films come out—and you might be surprised to learn that the task is more complicated than you think.
How many Narnia books are there? What order should you read them in? Read on to learn the truth.
How many Chronicles of Narnia books are there?
C.S. Lewis didn’t originally realize that his story of a magical land on the other side of a wardrobe would grow into a series. Rather, he started with the first novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and just kept going as ideas came to him.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of four siblings, Peter, Susie, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who discover that an old wardrobe is actually a portal to the land of Narnia, which is under the control of the authoritarian White Witch. Together, the siblings help save the godlike lion Aslan, who then restores Narnia to its former glory.
Lewis finished writing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1949, and it was published in 1950. After the novel’s success, Lewis wrote six more installments in the tale of Narnia and its many inhabitants:
- Prince Caspian (1951), in which Lucy and her siblings return to Narnia;
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), in which Edmund and Lucy accompany Caspian on a perilous sea voyage;
- The Silver Chair (1953), in which the Pevensie siblings’ cousin Eustace must find Caspian’s son Rilian;
- The Horse and His Boy (1954); in which a boy named Shasta and his horse Bree try to escape a life of servitude and find freedom in Narnia;
- The Magician’s Nephew (1955), which tells the story of how Narnia came to be; and
- The Last Battle (1956), which chronicles Narnia’s apocalyptic final days.
If you’re a purist, that makes for seven books total in The Chronicles of Narnia. However, as so often happens, other authors were inspired by Lewis’s work—and one more obscure Narnia book came into being. That book is The Stone Table by acclaimed British author Francis Spufford. However, only 75 copies of the book exist, and it’s never been officially published, so tracking down a copy might be even harder than dethroning an evil witch.
If you’re setting out to read the seven books in the original Narnia series, you might think there’s a clear reading order—and here’s where things get tricky. The books have actually been published in different orders, depending on the whims of publishers. Don’t worry, though. I’m here to tell you the true and correct order of The Chronicles of Narnia.
How to read The Chronicles of Narnia in order
Once again, here’s the publication order of the seven original Narnia books:
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
- Prince Caspian (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)
Although this was the order that the books were originally read as they were released, Lewis didn’t stick to chronological order in his storytelling. Like many stories, the Narnia books jump around in time. The Magician’s Nephew leaps way back to Narnia’s creation, and The Horse and His Boy takes place during the Pevensie children’s reign as kings and queens in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Complicating matters is that Lewis originally didn’t number the books in the series. After all, he didn’t originally expect it to become a series in the first place. In a letter to a fan, Lewis once said that the reading order didn’t matter, so some publishers numbered the books according to the internal chronology of the series:
- The Magician’s Nephew (1955)
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
- The Horse and His Boy (1954)
- Prince Caspian (1951)
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
- The Silver Chair (1953)
- The Last Battle (1956)
But here’s why, if you want the best possible Narnia experience, you need to read the books in their original publication order, not in chronological order.
Which Chronicles of Narnia book should you read first?
Why read the Narnia books in their original publication order?
I’ll admit that, if you have no appreciation for literature at all, you can probably get away with reading The Horse and His Boy before Prince Caspian. However, Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as an introduction to the land of Narnia. When you start with Lion, you get to see Narnia unfold through the eyes of Lucy and her siblings. Their realization that they’ve left their own reality behind is one of the most memorable moments in all of fantasy literature, and it’s made all the better when you’re experiencing Narnia for the first time right alongside them.
We don’t yet know which two Narnia movies Gerwig is directing, or what order the new film series will be in. But if you want the best possible Narnia experience? Do yourself a favor, start at the beginning, and follow the wondrous path of C.S. Lewis’s imagination.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
