What order should I read the Chronicles of Narnia in?

[Eliot]

Hi, I just wanted to ask some of the people who've already read the Chronicles of Narnia what order I should read it in.

Chronological, or publishing order? :confused: :confused:

I'm planning on reading it in the future, sometime. :rolleyes:

[Celebthôl]

Id say the right order :D

The Magicians 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

That is the correct order :)

[Eliot]

OK, thanks very much. :)

[Celebthôl]

Its quite alright :)

[Talierin]

Yeah, read it in chronological order... publishing order is all mixed up, heheh

I will warn you though, The Magician's Nephew is prolly my least favorite out of the whole series, so if you don't like it, just skip ahead to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe... you won't miss much

[Celebthôl]

Hey, you will, you miss about how Narnia was created, where the witch and the lamp came from, loads of stuff...and who the professor is ;)
You really should read it :) :p

[Talierin]

He can always go back and read it!:p

[Celebthôl]

yeah, but it makes more sence to read it first...:p

[Talierin]

Not really... I read LWW before MN... *shrugs*

[Celebthôl]

Did you understand the end where the Prof hinted about more than just the 4 children going?

[Talierin]

yes... it's not that hard to figure it out

[YayGollum]

Poor Smeagol. He obtained a boxed set for some birthday of his, but the bookses were numbered in the order they were written. We read them the wrong way the first time. oh well. I always read them the right way now. Anyways, Argh! The Magician's Nephew is a lot more fun than The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe boringness! I like the magician. And that dude and his flying horse.

[Celebthôl]

Digory (sp) and...ahhh, i forrget the horses name...

[Eliot]

I think the horses name is Bree. Though, "Bree" is short for the long name of the horse.

[Celebthôl]

Bree is the horse in "The Horse and His Boy"

[FoolOfATook]

I thought Bree was the name of the horse in The Horse and His Boy, not the one in The Magician's Nephew....

[Eliot]

Fine, whatever. I haven't even read the books. :rolleyes: :)

[YayGollum]

just defending one of the better bookses. The magician is a weaselly type. Very cool. The dude and the horse I was talking about aren't Digory and Bree. The dude is a cab driver and the horse got turned into a pegasus. I have ideas of their names, but won't say them because I'll feel stupid if I get them wrong. But then, Puddleglum was the coolest character of all time. Either him or Reepicheep. Or those owl dudes. Or Eustace when he was annoying. Or Trumpkin.

[Celebthôl]

Wow you like a lot :)
My favourite i guess would be Peter in Prince Caspian, or Edmond in the same book :), though Cor in The Horse and His Boy was pretty cool.

[Talierin]

Aslan, Puddleglum, Reepicheep, and Eustace are my favorites

[YayGollum]

Oh, Ick! Peter and Edmund and Aslan? Achingly boring! All the types that you see in way too many stories! The Edmund guy wasn't that bad in the beginning, though. oh well. Those giants in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian weren't too bad, either.

[Celebthôl]

Well Aslan was pretty good as a character...though i dont understand what he was going on about in Prince Caspian at the end, where he was running around and i think he was releasing everyone or somthing...i never got it :confused:

[syongstar]

I liked Voyage of the dawn treader ,Prince Capcium and The Magicians Nephew the best.
A boy and his horse is good,too.
The great battle was to violent for me and the canabalism in the silver chair freaked me out.
I was'nt to wild about the lion the witch and the wardrobe but it does introduce you to the charaters and explain the Dr.Who Tardus of a closet.

[Boromir]

I'm reading The Magicians Nephew right now, so far I like it. Digory just put the ring on and went to Narnia, (At least I think it's Narnia.)

[HLGStrider]

Probably not Narnia. You'll know it when you get there.

I read it in Publishing order and liked it that way. A lot of newer box sets will give them to you in the chronological however.

My favorite was the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I like Lucy.

[Rhiannon]

As mentioned elsewhere, I'm violently opposed to the Chronicles being packaged or read in anything other than publishing order...it's wrong, it's all wrong....*sits in corner muttering to self*

[Flame of Udûn]

In one of his letters Jack himself said that the books should be read in chronological order. (C. S. Lewis' Letters to Children)
And, by the way, the flying horse was Fledge, previously known as Strawberry.

[Celebthôl]

Originally posted by Boromir
I'm reading The Magicians Nephew right now, so far I like it. Digory just put the ring on and went to Narnia, (At least I think it's Narnia.)

I believe it would be either, The Wood Between Worlds, or Charn ;)

[HLGStrider]

It sounds like the Wood to me.

Which was a very cool place we never see again. . .

[Celebthôl]

Yes we do silly, :D When they go their one theit way back from Charn, on their way to Narnia and on their way home ;)

[HLGStrider]

I should've been more technical. . .I meant that it wasn't in any other book.

However, when I was little that place sort of unnerved me because you could wander around in it forever and ever and ever. . .

[Celebthôl]

And fall asleep for ever and ever and ever....*sigh* wish i had a pair of those rings :( :cool:

[jlday]

read it in chronological order.
It makes more sense that way:cool:

[Wonko The Sane]

I read them in this order:

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Magician's Nephew

The Horse and his Boy

The Last Battle


Because that's the order the boxed set I had put them in. :)

[Flame of Udûn]

The Magician's Nephew should be first, not fifth, and The Horse and His Boy third, not sixth. I don't know what type of boxed set you got.

[Celebthôl]

Originally posted by Flame of Udûn
The Magician's Nephew should be first, not fifth, and The Horse and His Boy third, not sixth. I don't know what type of boxed set you got.

Probibly in the publishing order....

[Rhiannon]

I think the publishing order is the only proper order to read anything in, because that's the order in which the author concieved them. </opinionated>

[YayGollum]

Yes, that makes sense, too. Like reading The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, then The Silmarillion. Even though The Sil. should come first. oh well. But then, these books aren't especially hard to understand like The Sil. could be if you read it first.

[Rhiannon]

Yes, but the point is still that you start with one idea (going in to a wardrobe and finding a country), and then go back to find out the why (the wardrobe was made out of an particular tree)- by switching them you change the starting point, and it alters things completely.

[Wonko The Sane]

I agree with Rhia.
I read them in publishing order.
And I found it to be VERY helpful.
Since "Lion..." was conceived first it's the most logical starting place, and if you being with "...Nephew" well...the entire tone is changed.
My brother read them in chronological order, while I read them in publishing order, and we both ended up with very different concepts of the series.
And I think I ended up with a better appreciation for the series because I was able to see the author's scope in a more cohesive way.

I did go back and read them in chronological order, but I only found that a good way to go AFTER reading them in publishing order.

[Flame of Udûn]

Originally posted by Rhiannon
I think the publishing order is the only proper order to read anything in, because that's the order in which the author concieved them. </opinionated> They are not the order in which he conceived them, only in which he wrote them. As I mentioned previously, Lewis wanted and intended them to be read in chronological order.

[Wonko The Sane]

To each his own.

You can't force people to do something against what they want to do...so let's just say that some people think it's best to read them one way, others another way, and let Eliot pick which methoid is best for him based on what we've already said.


Scene.

[Rhiannon]

Why write them out of order if he already knew how everything was going to happen?

[Wonko The Sane]

That's a good question...but maybe he felt the idea that was most developed was the one in "Lion..." and wanted to write it down first...

But either way, I think publishing order is important...It helps show the author's development of the story, because even if he DID have the vision all together before he started, things inevitably change in tone, style, and sophistication as one continues on.

[jallan]

Some people very much like to read books in the order they are supposed to have happened in regardless of the order in which the author envisioned them.

They may be interested in seeing the author’s complete vision as finally achieved. They may be more interested in the connected stories for their own sake than in how the author himself or herself developped and changed

Others like to see the author’s vision develop as it did for the author.

Neither way is wrong.

Some ways do seem wrong to me. I recall a friend who decided he was going to read all the Greek tragedies. In those pre-computer days he wrote down the names and authors on index cards, one card for each work in the supposed order of composition.

But he somehow got the cards in reversed order and started reading from Eurpides' last tragedies backward towards Aeschylus' first known tragedy.

He realised soon what had happened but decided to continue that way.

I think I agree with C.S. Lewis that reading them in their chronological order as they are supposed to have happened is better in this case but I also agree with C.S. Lewis that for these books it doesn’t matter very much.

But then I’m the kind of person who very much likes to read things in order according to the chronology of a series unless there is some particular reason why I shouldn’t for that partcular series.

Others differ.

[Samwise_hero]

I would think that they would be read in chronological order so as not to get all confused....... that's the way that i read them anyways......

[Rhiannon]

There is a very, very good answer to this whole long debated question here: What Order Should I Read Chronicles of Narnia in (and Does it Matter)? (http://www.aslan.demon.co.uk/narnia.htm)

[Aragorn21]

I read the CON, and i LOVED them. I read the through in order, but it would be possible and would still make sense if you read the Magician's Nephew first then read them in order. 'Sup to you what order you read them in, as long as you read them. :rolleyes:

[Legolam]

I never knew what the published order was, so I always assumed that I'd read them (a long long time ago) in chronological order. Now that someone's enlightened me, I realise that i unintentionally did read them in the order that they were published.

However, that's only because I found books 1, 3 and 7 pretty freaky and of a completely different tone to the other 4 and, as a kid, preferred the ones that were written first. So I just skipped the "boring" ones. Now, at the age of 20, I much prefer to read them in the chronological order because I like to see Narnia evolve.

The first and last books still freak me out though ...

[Celebthôl]

Originally posted by Legolam
The first and last books still freak me out though ...

Why is that?

[Legolam]

I don't like the "between worlds" thing that goes on in both of them. As a kid it messed with my head to think that there were ways of jumping in and out of worlds through a "no-mans land". And then the end of the last book PROPERLY messed with my head!

[Nimawae's hope]

I love the between the worlds thing. Though I can understand why a little kid would get thoroughly freaked out at them. Of course, I've always been the sort to prefer worlds that don't really exist. I live in my own little world. What was it about the no man's land that freaked you out? Fear of someone getting lost in there?

I actually prefer the published order for those who read the books through the first time. I know people who have read it both ways and think the published order is better because to some extent the books' content gets progressively harder and more complex. The first published books are simpler in their approach. However, at this point I think I would read them in whatever order struck my fancy. I just think first time readers are better off reading the books in the published order.

[Firawyn]

Finally! A Narnia chat! I love Narnia.
I read then in Chronicalogical order as well. The..um...first time...*grin* I think that my favorite way to read them is like this:

MN, LWW, PC, VDT, HB, SC, LB. (Don't mind the abriviations)

That's just me.

My fav is probobly PC and then HB. But I love them all! :D

[King Aragorn]

I'd begin with the Magician's Nephew, then go from there. Also, has anyone seen the movies of the Chronicles of Narnia?

[Firawyn]

Which ones? If you're talking about the new ones, no.

If you're talking about the animated LWW that "Feature Family Films" did years back, yes.

And if you're talking about the ones where Lucy looks like a chipmunk, yeah....I have them all.

Out of those, I think SC was the best. They way they did Puddleglum was almost exsactly like I pictured it. :D

[33Peregrin]

I have The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Silver Chair movies. I'm guessing they are the ones you say Lucy looks like a chipmunk. I have to say I always liked Lucy in those movies, even though she's nowhere near how I would imagine her from the books.

When I was a lot younger, I read The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, because I had the movie and loved it. I loved it so much... I would go into any closet or anything, hoping it would take me to Narnia. I sometimes even wonder if that has anything to do with me loving LOTR so much.

But anyways... I never really got a chance to read all of the Narnia books, and then I finally made up my mind that I had to. So this year, I convinced my dad to order the books. I read them all in the order they were in my boxed set. It went well for me, reading them in that order. I did though read LWW long before any of them. The only thing I wish is that I could have read them when I was younger.

[King Aragorn]

I'm talking about the movies that the BBC put out. Currently watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and then I'll watch The Silver Chair. I don't own The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe though. :(

[33Peregrin]

Wow... I have Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, and the Silver Chair, but NOT The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. If I want to watch that one, I have to get it from the Library.

[King Aragorn]

the BBC version is actually "Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Prince Caspian on tape 1, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader on tape 2. :)

[33Peregrin]

Oh OK. It's OK that I didn't know that though since it's the one I don't have, right? :p But anyways, I had to get it from the Library and it wasn't on a tape, it was on a DVD.

[King Aragorn]

Hmmm. Maybe I should check out The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the library.

[Elbereth]

I'm finally reading The Chronicles of Narnia books. I'm following the order that is on the back of one of the books I took out of the library. I really don't know if it is the correct order or not...but I'm going with it regardless.

The order is as follows:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- I finished in 3 days (but probably could've finished it sooner though if I didn't put it down so many times)

Prince Caspian
-finished in one day.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- I started this one today - and am about halfway through

The book then suggest the following order

The Silver Chair

The Horse and His Boy

The Magician's Nephew

The Last Battle

Now I wanted to simply read the books in it's consolidated 1 book form "The Chronicles of Narnia", which I figure would be in the correct order...but my local library didn't carry it. I priced out the book at Barnes and Noble and Borders and a few other book stores such as Penn Books and some other local bookstores...but I couldn't find it for anything less than $21. Much more than what I wanted to spend on a single book at this time. So I am trying to be content in reading the chronicles in the order that this publisher suggests. Hopefully it doesn't ruin my experience. Oh well...:rolleyes:

[e.Blackstar]

I love the Chronicles of Narnia! I read them in the publishing order, then went back and read them in the 'right' order. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader used to be my favorite, but as I got older, I liked The Last Battle more. LL&W will, of course, always be a classic, but I'm going with TLB as my favorite. Though...:o...The Silver Chair was cool one they got past the boring first half.

[Firawyn]

he, now I read them in Chroncalogical order first time thought, then in publishing order, and I've read them so many times since then I can't remember.

Rule #1: TMN is pretty much the only one your can read without confusing yourself about order.

Rule #2: Make sure you read LWW befor eyou read HHB, becuase otherwise you will go nuts with confusion.

Rule #3: It really is a good idea to read PC, then VDT, then SC.

Rule #4: LB goes last, as said in the title. Read all the others before LB, please....


lol. All of this is obviously just my opinion, but I've been called a walking Narnia dictionary, so who would pay me any heed? :p ;) :D

[Hammersmith]

I read them in a decidedly random order, but I have no idea what that order was. Just remember: The Horse And His Boy and The Magician's Nephew are the best two. I'll also second Firawyn's plea to save The Last Battle until...er...last.

[Firawyn]

;) Thanks Hammersmith...my hero!:D

[Majimaune]

well i read them in order of number and that makes the most sense to me

Majimaune Leganimdok

ps whos going to see the movie lion witchg and the wordrobe?
hope its good
pps it comes out on boxing day for me wich means i have to wait till then which sux

[Firawyn]

he,he...I've seen it TWICE already!!

[Majimaune]

damn you firawyn having seen it twice already

[Firawyn]

*frown* That's not a very nice thing to say...;)


Okay, I'll make it worse anyway. Every Christmas, my boss give each employee a give pack for the local theater that include food and drink cupond and free admision to like six movies...and can you guess what movie I'll be seeing first thing??? :D :p

[Majimaune]

well i have a very strong suspision but no

Majimaune Leganimdok

ps my suspision is L.W.W.