Have I really been wrong all these years?

[fairyrune]

I've been a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia practically since I can remember. I grew up watching the BBC version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and when I was about seven, I found my mom's copy of the series of books in our basement. I ran my little butt upstairs and dragged my mom back DOWNstairs to show her the wonderful thing I had discovered in our basement.

"Mom, I didn’t know there was a BOOK!"
"I know honey, it's mine. The other ones go with it."
"Can I READ them???"
"No. You’re too little."
I had a bad habit of leaving books behind on the playground and various other places, so that's probably why my mom refused to let me read her copies of the books. Hardcover, by the way. Dust jackets in tact.

It took a year, but in the second grade I was finally allowed to read them. That was the end of that.

Now, there are three different orders to the books.

The order in which C. S. Lewis wrote them:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1948
Prince Caspian, 1949
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1950
The Horse and His Boy, 1950
The Silver Chair, 1951
The Last Battle, 1953
The Magician's Nephew, 1954

The order in which they were published:
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

Chronological order within the story:
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
The Last Battle

There is much contention as to which order one should read the books. Many fans believe that the second list (publishing order) is the order in which Lewis intended them to be read. However, during the past few years, the books have been published in chronological order.

I have always read them according to the second list. That is also how they are arranged on my bookshelf, as well.

Since the release of the new movie, there has been a lot of buzz about the series. Recently, I purchased The Chronicles of Narnia Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia. It’s very informative.

On page thirty two, my world was shattered.

Apparently, after all of the books were published a young boy named Laurence wrote to Lewis and suggested that the books be read in chronological order. In a letter dated April 23, 1957, Lewis writes:
"Dear Laurence,
I think I agree with your order for reading the books. ...The series was not planned beforehand.... When I wrote The Lion [the Witch and the Wardrobe], I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P.[rince Caspian] as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage [of the Dawn Treader] I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found I was wrong....

yours
C. S. Lewis

Now what do I do? I've been so accustomed to reading them in published order, and seeing them lined up so nicely on my shelf. Now I find that I've been doing it wrong my entire life!

Comments

[damnitnicole]

Does it matter? If it works the way you've been doing it, I say you're all good.

I still haven't read more than The Lion, The Witch, And The Warbdrobe.

[fairyrune]

READ THEM ALL. NOW.

[damnitnicole]

They're on the list of books I mean to read. Promise.

[fairyrune]

They're really fast reads. It took me one week to read all seven books once.

[damnitnicole]

I just need to get my hands on them. Most of the way I get books is by going to used bookstores and shopping for what I'm looking for off the sale rack. Amazingly, I find a lot of what I look for this way. But not those yet.

[fairyrune]

Library?

[damnitnicole]

Around here, that means walking and hours I'm not neccesarily awake.

[fairyrune]

Ahh. True.

[fairyrune]

Also, they make you give the books back. :(

[damnitnicole]

That too. So it's waking up to walk TWICE.

[fairyrune]

Well, you could always put them in the drop bin in the middle of the night...

[damnitnicole]

I don't think Jersey City libraries are that advanced. srsly. Mike says that within the last 15 years, they still had encyclopedias that predated the end of WWII.

Last year, when we didn't have internet for a month or so, people who lived here were walking there for half hour blocks of email-chicking time,and they said that aside from the addition of computers, the place didn't seem much different from Mike's descriptions.

[fairyrune]

Damn. That's nuts!

[paleshadow.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with damnitnicole- I rather doubt Lewis' ghost is going to visit you at night and haunt you for reading his books in the wrong order. :P

That said - always read them chronologically, since my godmother gave me the set at age...eightish? Probably because I'm young enough that the only versions I encountered were published in that order.

-D.

[fairyrune]

He might come visit me. You never know...

[woodchuck665.livejournal.com]

The set I have actually has numbers on the spine. It goes with your second list. I always figured that was the "official" order or else why would they actually number them.

[fairyrune]

It's probably an older version. My set has them that way too. They've only started doing it by the chronological list in the past ten years or so.

[woodchuck665.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's the set I got when I was 8 I think. So thats as old as you ago. ;-)

[defectivesoul.livejournal.com]

read them in the reverse order of list 1, and backwards, from back cover to front. it'll be fun.

[fairyrune]

And confusing!

[spreadsothin.livejournal.com]

I got my set when in 93 and they have numbers on them in chronological order, so that's how I read them.

[spreadsothin.livejournal.com]

I should also tell you that you showed up in my revolution dream last night, bringing lindenberry tortilla chips.

[fairyrune]

Odd, since I've never heard of lindenberry tortilla chips.

[spreadsothin.livejournal.com]

I don't think they exist in nondreamland.

[fairyrune]

Hrm. Interesting. I DO enjoy chips 'n' dip...

[prisonsexaholic.livejournal.com]

i read them in chronological order, cause that's how my set came. I don't think it makes a difference. You read them however you feel you should.