'Are you not thirsty?' said the Lion.'I'm dying of thirst,' said Jill.
'Then drink,' said the Lion.
'May I - could I - would you mind going away while I do?' said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl...
'I daren't come and drink.' said Jill.
'Then you will die of thirst.' said the Lion.
'Oh dear,' said Jill, coming another step nearer. 'I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.'
'There is no other stream.' said the Lion.
- C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair, ch. 2
I have finally seen "The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". It was as good as I expected; even better.
The first C. S. Lewis Narnia book I read was the first he wrote, and the first film installment, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
My favourite is “The Silver Chair” but they are all excellent.
I first read them not that long after they were published, and have re-read them many times since.
Published order:
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 (now sold in this fashion):
1. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
3. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
4. Prince Caspian (1951)
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
6. The Silver Chair (1953)
7. The Last Battle (1956)
Film installment plans
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)
2. Prince Caspian (2008?)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Magician's Nephew
6. The Horse and His Boy
7. The Last Battle
Here is a quote from C.S. Lewis himself regarding the position of "The Magician's Nephew", when asked if the books' internal chronological order (not the published order) is preferred:
“I think I agree with your order (i.e. chronological) for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.”
- from C. S. Lewis' Letters to Children
There is some debate around what the order should be, but I think Lion should be read (and viewed) before Magician’s Nephew.
