Staceyshoe Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I've heard different opinions. What are your thoughts on the order of the Narnia series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I prefer to read the series in the order it was written, just because it's the way I read it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 It begins with the Magician's Nephew because that is chronologically the first story: the creation of Narnia. I believe he did not write them in this order , though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 mn takes place earlier chronologically, but i think it is more interesting coming later in the series. i voted lww first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 It begins with the Magician's Nephew because that is chronologically the first story: the creation of Narnia.I believe he did not write them in this order , though. :iagree: We read Magician's Nephew and are now reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Reading tMN first gives you a lot of background on the White Witch and Narnia which help you understand tLtW&tW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: It would have ruined some of the magic for us had we known all the answers up front. But life is kind of like that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lostinabook Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: One must discover Narnia with Lucy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 My DD1 is reading through these right now- and started with the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsrae Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Even Disney started with the wardrobe :) I think the re-packaging is just a marketing ploy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuovonne Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) :iagree::iagree::iagree: I totally agree with your stand and your phrasing. After LWW, you can read the books in any order you please. But, please read LWW first. The initial magic of Narnia is the wonder of a different world, not how that world came into being. Go ahead and re-read LWW after you read MN so that you nod knowingly when you reach the lamppost. But if you read MN first, you loose the enchantment of encountering the oddity of a lamppost in such a marvelous place to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) . :iagree: I can't say it any better than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: We're reading them right now and read LWW first. I let ds6 pick where we headed next and he chose TMN since he really wanted to hear how Narnia came about. He loved making all of the connections between the two books. Now we're onto THB. I didn't really care much about the order after LWW but it was the best to start with. There's so much charm in that book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. What she said. :iagree: Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree:Isn't starting with Magician's Nephew a recent trend in the past 15-20 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 It's like asking which Star Wars movie you'd watch first! The original, of course!! LOL Definitely start with the Wardrobe. THAT is the beginning. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I like to read them by publication date. I researched this a few years ago. Our preferred order is as follows: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Horse and His Boy The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle I read this somewhere a while back: “If you're a new reader of The Chronicles of Narnia, many Narnian experts recommend the traditional order — by publication date. Here are three reasons for reading the books in this order: * The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the book that sets the tone and focus for the entire Narnian series. Because Lewis wrote this book first, it's the most natural introduction to Aslan and the world of Narnia. * Prince Caspian is a more natural follow-up to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe than The Horse and His Boy because it picks up again with the four Pevensie children in England just a year after you leave them at the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. * The Magician's Nephew, which deals with the origins of Narnia, is far more exciting and interesting when read as a flashback story following The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. By the time you get to The Magician's Nephew, you deeply care about the background information of Narnia and how it came to be. Perhaps the most revealing argument for approaching the books in the traditional order is that the makers of the upcoming Narnia film series chose The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when deciding which book to transfer to the screen first”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabelneri Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I looked around online when choosing an order a couple years ago, and I found this memorable and compelling: From http://hope.edu/academic/english/schakel/narniaorder.html Several artistic effects in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are undercut when one of the other books is read before it. The careful use of details to enable readers to share Lucy's initial experience in Narnia and the equally careful buildup before Aslan's name is mentioned work best and have their fullest impact if this book is one's introduction to Narnia. The first reference to Aslan is by Mr. Beaver, when he meets the children in the woods: "They say Aslan is on the move--perhaps has already landed." The passage, significantly, assumes that readers have not already read other books about Narnia: "And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different" (ch. 7). Of course no other books had been written--or even planned, apparently--when these words were penned. But the fact that other books came later, filling in previous events, does not alter the artistry of the first book. The introduction to the lion is not at all the same, artistically or emotionally, in The Magician's Nephew: it assumes, on the contrary, that readers do have prior knowledge of him. When the voice first begins to sing in chapter 8, Lewis emphasizes the beauty, not the mysteriousness, of it. And when the sun rises and the singer becomes visible, the story says simply, "It was a Lion. Huge, shaggy, and bright it stood facing the risen sun" (ch. 8). There is no buildup like "Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion" and no introduction to him as "the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea" as there is in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (ch. 8). There are no characters in The Magician's Nephew who could have such knowledge of him (Lewis never does bother to identify him until the animals, as soon as they are given the gift of speech, say his name somehow they just know it, without being told). Readers who have already read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe enjoy the pleasure of understanding something the characters in the story do not know. Artistically and emotionally, then, The Magician's Nephew fits in better as a flashback, filling in the background of places and people already known, than as a first book introducing those places and people. There is more in the article that is also interesting, but this is what moved me. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: First read LWW, then go through them in either written or chronological order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow! I was expecting more people to go suggest chronological order. We will be entering Narnia with the LWW! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Agreeing with what others have said, and adding that Lewis is often quoted (for instance, on the back covers of the "reordered" Narnia series) as support for putting TMN first. But Lewis was only explaining that TMN comes first chronologically; he wasn't actually saying that TMN ought to be read first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEGway Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Another vote for LWW first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. Yep, :iagree:with this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Definitely, 100%, LWW comes first. The experience of that book is so magical. I remember my excitement being at Disney World when they were preparing to make LWW...and I got to stand next to the Lamp Post with "snow" falling around me and take a picture...it was like being a kid again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 This is a FAQ amongst my literary students. There are different approaches to the order of reading the series. 1. The Order of Publication 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 2. The Chronological Order The Magician's Nephew The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Horse and His Boyt Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Last Battle 3. The Best Reading Order, the Order by Essential Completion by Lewis Himself The Storyteller The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Pivotal Story The Horse and His Boy The Moral Educator The Silver Chair The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle 4. The Order by Final Completion by Lewis Himself, the Completional Order The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe spring 1949 Prince Caspian fall 1949 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader winter 1950 The Horse and His Boy spring 1950 The Silver Chair spring 1951 The Last Battle spring 1953 The Magician's Nephew winter 1954 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aly9712 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 We didn't read them in order and wish we had (in order of the actual story). At times my daughter gets confused because things she would have known (if we had read in order) would make better sense. For instance, we're reading The Silver Chair and it talks about splendor of Cair Paravel but in an earlier book, Cair Paravel was in ruins. Takes some explaining from me, but thinking it would have been easier had I known there was a chronological reading order for the series when we started. Good Luck whatever you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Narnia is much more magical if one reads the books in the order they were written--with LWW *first*. It actually infuriates me that these publishing companies label MN as #1. It is beyond wrong. They are denying the current generation of children the magic of Narnia by doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 It makes a huge difference! To read TMN first is to fail to have a proper intro to Narnia, the Pevensies and most of all, Aslan! Anyone with a shred of literary sense can see that! Douglas Gresham, who allowed the renumbering, has repeatedly proved that he doesn't really understand the heart of the material. (He signed off on all the ridiculous additions and plot/character changes they did in the movie versions.) I have been told that Harper Collins (in the UK only - you can order from the Oxford University bookstore) is republishing a replica/commemorative edition which looks just like the original 1950's editions, in the original and proper order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Definitely LWW first! I really think something is lost if you're already familiar with Narnia when you read LWW. It's better (IMO) to see it from the Pevensies' perspective, where they're gradually learning about Narnia. I didn't see TMN as the first in the series; I see LWW as the first, and TMN as a prequel, intended to be read after you read at least LWW. (We see it the same as watching, say, Star Wars: A New Hope before The Phantom Menace -- you're not supposed to know the things that are obvious in TPM and the second and third episodes before you see the three original films.) Also, if I remember correctly, there's something in LWW about none of the children knowing who Aslan was, anymore than the reader did -- which wouldn't be true if you'd read TMN. I really think some of Aslan's magic and majesty comes from the fact that you don't know who or what he is when they talk about him in LWW, until you actually meet him. You would not expect a lion. We read Narnia in this order: -LWW -Prince Caspian -Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Horse and His Boy (DD pointed out that to be truly accurate, we should have stopped LLW before the last few pages and read THaHB, but I hadn't read them myself before that and didn't realize it took place during LWW. But we read it after the other three that had the Pevensies in them, and also reading it then didn't interrupt the flow of the continuing Pevensie story from the first three.) -The Magician's Nephew (Again, we chose not to interrupt the Pevensies' story, plus I wanted to read the final two books one right after the other, as one continual story.) -The Silver Chair -The Last Battle (with tears over the last few pages!) Edited January 28, 2011 by happypamama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakereese Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I looked around online when choosing an order a couple years ago, and I found this memorable and compelling:There is more in the article that is also interesting, but this is what moved me. :001_smile: :iagree: I agree with that article, and so many of the comments above. Definitely LWW first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFourSons Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The biggest thing for me, is that if you have read LWW first, you will immediately recognize Aslan when he comes on the scene in TMN, even though the characters in the book do not know anything about him. The way they feel towards him and obey him will also make much more sense if the reader is already aware of who Aslan is. If this book were meant to be read first, Lewis would spend more time letting the reader get to know Aslan, but as the reader should have already read LWW (it was written first, after all) Lewis doesn't need to introduce Aslan in that way, and so he doesn't. The reader should already be well acquainted with Aslan by the time they read TMN. When Aslan comes on the scence in TMN, it is a very powerful and exciting moment, and it would not be as powerful if you didn't already fully understand who Aslan is, which gives you more insight into what he does. Being able to recognize him instantly makes it so much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuovonne Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 It looks like reading LWW first the favorite in the poll. The comments also favor LWW. However, there are also several votes for TMN, but proportionatly not many comments. Why are people voting for TMN, but not explaining why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Why are people voting for TMN, but not explaining why? probably because they think it is obvious that their reasoning is order of narrative, not order of writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieH Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 mn takes place earlier chronologically, but i think it is more interesting coming later in the series. i voted lww first. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I can't believe there's as many people who voted for Magician's Nephew first as they did. That's just wrong... in my humble opinion, of course. ;) It's like Star Wars. Both The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and A New Hope are clearly the opening volumes of their respective stories. They're clearly introductory. Why wouldn't you start with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 We read the Magician's Nephew first. The reason why is that... it was listed as the first book. :tongue_smilie: And yes, I know that it wasn't written first but where else would I have fit it in? I hadn't read the entire series as a child and wasn't all that committed to doing it a certain way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 We just started with the Magician's Nephew. My kids really got into it. Of course, they have seen the LWW & Prince Caspian already so maybe that helps. I like knowing how Narnia started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I can't believe there's as many people who voted for Magician's Nephew first as they did. That's just wrong... in my humble opinion, of course. ;) It's like Star Wars. Both The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and A New Hope are clearly the opening volumes of their respective stories. They're clearly introductory. Why wouldn't you start with that? I start with A New Hope for purely nostalgic reasons. :) Besides, introducing someone to Star Wars by way of Jar Jar Binks is just wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in STL Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: I once read a study guide that suggested reading the books in the order they were written because they increasingly revealed the secrets of Narnia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 One should always enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. That's my stand and I'm not budging from it. ;) It's so much fun to read Magician's Nephew later and think, "OH! So THAT'S why the lamp post is there!" So many moments like that. Reading TMN first is like opening Christmas presents early. :iagree: WSS...and if you ever have a chance to visit THE wardrobe housed in the Wade Center at Wheaton College (outside Chicago), do it. It will break your heart. I will never forget reaching to the back and knocking on the wood...just to be sure...but I'm still not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschooltoone Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I had my son read the Magician's Nephew first because I like things in chronological order. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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