# The Narnia Books in Order: Publication or Chronological? **Published:** October 18, 2026 **Author:** Achriom **URL:** https://www.achriom.com/blog/narnia-books-in-order > Which order to read the Chronicles of Narnia in, publication or chronological, where The Magician's Nephew fits before Greta Gerwig's film, and what to read after. **Tags:** books, guide, recommendations --- **Read *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* first.** That is the order the Narnia books were published in, and it is the order we'd give a first-time reader. The chronological order starts with *The Magician's Nephew*, which Lewis published sixth, and it makes a better opening on a reread than on a first read. The question is back because Greta Gerwig's film adapts *The Magician's Nephew* first. It opens in theaters on February 12, 2027 and reaches Netflix on April 2, 2027, after an earlier plan for a Thanksgiving 2026 release was moved ([What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflixs-narnia-the-magicians-nephew-delayed-to-2027/)). Here are both orders, the case for each, and a pick for each kind of reader. ## The two orders, side by side Publication order, with the year each book came out ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia)): 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 Magician's Nephew*** (1955) 7. ***The Last Battle*** (1956) Chronological order, by when each story happens in Narnia: 1. ***The Magician's 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*** Only two books move. *The Magician's Nephew* jumps from sixth to first, and *The Horse and His Boy* from fifth to third. The other five sit in the same relative order either way, which is why the argument is really about one book. ![The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)](/blog/assets/narnia-books-in-order/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-book.jpg) ![The Magician's Nephew (1955)](/blog/assets/narnia-books-in-order/the-magician-s-nephew-book.jpg) ## Why publication order works for a first read Lewis published the books in this order, and the early ones lean on it. *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* has its narrator say, "None of the children knew who Aslan was, any more than you do." The sentence is written for a reader who is meeting Aslan for the first time. It lands differently if you have already spent a book in the world he made. *The Magician's Nephew* also exists to answer a question. Lewis had planned a single Narnia novel, and the book came out of Roger Lancelyn Green asking how a lamp-post came to be standing in a Narnian wood ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magician%27s_Nephew)). If you read it first, that lamp-post is explained before you've met it. If you read it after *The Lion*, you've been wondering about it, and the book is the payoff. Scholars who favor publication order make the same point. Peter Schakel writes that the only reason to read *The Magician's Nephew* first is the chronological order of events, and that early events can work better as flashbacks. Paul Ford writes that most scholars disagree with the chronological numbering and find it the least faithful to Lewis's deepest intentions ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia)). ## Why chronological order has a real case too The best-known argument is that Lewis seems to have agreed with it. In a 1957 letter, he told a young American fan that he agreed more with the boy's preference for chronological order than with his mother's preference for publication order. He also wrote, "The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks," and that "perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them" ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia)). When HarperCollins won the rights in 1994, it adopted the chronological order, reportedly at the suggestion of Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham, and Scholastic changed its paperback numbering to match. So a boxed set bought since then numbers *The Magician's Nephew* as Book 1. The first American publisher, Macmillan, numbered the books in publication order, so an older copy may say the opposite, and the order you were handed as a kid may not be the one you'd pick now. Chronological order also reads as a single story, from the creation of Narnia to its end. If you don't mind knowing where the lamp-post comes from, nothing is lost. ## What to read first, by kind of reader ### If you have never read Narnia Start with *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* and go in publication order. Read *The Magician's Nephew* when you reach it as book six, or earlier: after *The Lion*, if you want to know where everything came from before going on to *Prince Caspian*. That second route is our own suggestion rather than Lewis's. It lets *The Lion* go first and puts the origin story right behind it. ### If you are rereading before the film Open with *The Magician's Nephew*, since that is the story Gerwig is adapting, with David McKenna as Digory and Beatrice Campbell as Polly, and Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan and Daniel Craig in the cast ([What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflixs-narnia-the-magicians-nephew-delayed-to-2027/)). Then go through the books in chronological order. You already know where it ends, and the first book reads as a prologue to everything after it. The film opens February 12, 2027, which leaves time for all seven. ### If you are reading it aloud to a child Either order works, and Lewis said it did not matter much. Pick the one the book in your hands is numbered in, so the cover and the order agree. ## Keep the series, and the film, on one shelf If you are going to read seven books and then watch a film, [Achriom](https://www.achriom.com) keeps both in one library. It tracks books, films, shows, albums, anime, podcasts, games and manga, with statuses (including on hold and did-not-finish), progress by page or percent, start and finish dates, and rereads. The free plan has no item limit, and your shelf is private unless you turn on a public profile. Add the seven books, mark where you are, and when the film arrives you can log it next to them. The librarian answers questions about what you actually have. Something like "I just finished The Silver Chair, what should I read next?" gets an answer from your own shelf rather than a generic list. You can ask it in the app, in ChatGPT, in Claude or in Cursor, and the free plan includes 10 librarian messages a month. You can find the books on Achriom: [The Magician's Nephew](https://www.achriom.com/book/the-magician-s-nephew-c-s-lewis), [The Voyage of the Dawn Treader](https://www.achriom.com/book/the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader), [The Silver Chair](https://www.achriom.com/book/the-silver-chair), [The Horse and His Boy](https://www.achriom.com/book/the-horse-and-his-boy) and [The Last Battle](https://www.achriom.com/book/the-last-battle). If your reading history lives in Goodreads, [how to move from Goodreads to Achriom](/blog/how-to-import-your-goodreads-library/) covers the import. To compare trackers, see [the best book tracking apps](/blog/best-book-tracking-apps/). ## What to read after the seven ### Till We Have Faces ![Till We Have Faces (1956)](/blog/assets/narnia-books-in-order/till-we-have-faces-book.jpg) Lewis's last novel, from 1956, is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth from the point of view of Psyche's sister Orual, who accuses the gods of injustice and slowly learns that her case was shaped by her own jealousy. Lewis considered it his most mature work. It shares the Narnia books' author and almost nothing else, and that is the point of reading it. ### Out of the Silent Planet The first of Lewis's science fiction trilogy, published in 1938, follows the philologist Elwin Ransom, who is kidnapped and taken to Mars. If you finished *The Last Battle* wanting Lewis in another world, this is the one. It runs *Out of the Silent Planet* (1938), *Perelandra* (1943) and *That Hideous Strength* (1945). If the film has you wondering what else began as a book, [movies you love that were secretly books first](/blog/books-that-became-movies-you-never-guessed/) is a good next stop, and [what to watch after a book you are not ready to leave](/blog/what-to-watch-after-finishing-a-great-novel/) covers the other direction. ## Questions people ask ### What order should I read the Narnia books in? If you have never read them, read them in publication order, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you are rereading, chronological order, starting with The Magician's Nephew, is a fair choice, and it is the order HarperCollins has numbered them in since 1994. ### Should I read The Magician's Nephew first? Not on a first read. It was published sixth, in 1955, and the scholar Peter Schakel writes that the only reason to read it first is chronology, and that early events can work better as flashbacks. On a reread it works well as an opening, because it explains where Narnia and its lamp-post came from. ### What is the chronological order of the Narnia books? 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, and The Last Battle. ### Which Narnia book is Greta Gerwig's film based on? The Magician's Nephew. Netflix's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew opens in theaters on February 12, 2027 and comes to Netflix on April 2, 2027. ### Which order did C. S. Lewis prefer? In a 1957 letter to a young American fan, Lewis said he agreed more with the chronological order than with the boy's mother's publication order, then added that perhaps it does not matter very much which order anyone reads them in. ### What should I read after the Narnia books? Lewis's novel Till We Have Faces if you want something older and stranger, or Out of the Silent Planet, the first book of his science fiction trilogy, if you want him on another world.