![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Have I really been wrong all these years?
May. 21st, 2006 12:32 pmI'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!
"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!
