The Chronicles of Narnia Reading Order (Before Greta Gerwig's Film)

Greta Gerwig is adapting Narnia for Netflix, with the first film set for early 2027 — so the decades-old reading-order question is back. Do you start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or The Magician’s Nephew? C. S. Lewis himself weighed in, and the answer is not as simple as the box sets suggest.

The two orders

Publication 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 opens with The Magician’s Nephew (Narnia’s creation) and slots The Horse and His Boy during the Pevensies’ reign.

Which is better?

Most lifelong fans recommend publication order — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the perfect entry point, and reading The Magician’s Nephew first spoils a magical reveal. Lewis once said order did not matter much, but the experience is richer when you discover Narnia the way the world first did.

Before the film

Gerwig is reportedly starting with The Magician’s Nephew, which makes reading it a smart move before 2027. For more big adaptations on the way, see our roundup of the biggest book-to-screen adaptations of 2026.