Chronicles of Narnia Reading Order?

Question

I just bought the book, and after reading some reviews I noticed the reading order of the book is disputed. Some say you should read it in the order of publication, and others say you should read it in the chronological order. For those who have read it, which order to you think is best? You can see the orders here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

Answer 1

I would personally say read them in chronological order, starting with The Magician's Nephew as that gives you all the backstory on how Narnia came about etc.



You can read them in publication order and just think of The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy as prequels to previous books.



Really it depends on whether reading some of the books as "flashbacks" as it were, would confuse you or not, or if you'd prefer to read them in timeline order.

Answer 2

I recommend chronological order, because publication is a bit confusing when you hear few names being brought up in the book that has a later timeline. However, C.S Lewis made sure that even reading by the publication date, it would not be confusing at all, just think of it as the prequel to the book that you're reading before. It's not like Lewis made "Prince Caspian" before "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", because you have to know what's going on in the latter before the four kids meet "Prince Caspian".



For example "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", you don't have to know who Professor Digby is to understand the story. Just read it and then see later who he really is in "Magician's Nephew".

Answer 3

I think the published way is the best, even though it kind of skips through ervything its keeps it interesting.