The One Time You Can Ignore C.S. Lewis

No matter what he says on this subject, Lewis is wrong.

For more on this interesting pose, read my article on the time C.S. Lewis appeared in Vogue. Yes, that Vogue.

C.S. Lewis communicated so much wisdom in his relatively short life, but there is one instance when you can disregard what he said completely. And the reason we can ignore Lewis’ words in this instance has to do with his deep humility.

That’s not to say Lewis is perfect in other respects. In a previous incarnation of The Wardrobe Door, I asked dozens of C.S. Lewis scholars and readers several questions about him, including an area they disagreed with him. But there is one Lewis request that almost all of them would reject completely—his alleged suggested reading order of The Chronicles of Narnia.¹

The two competing orders are organized by publication and chronology.

Publication order

This is how the books were originally published.

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (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

This is how the books are ordered by internal Narnian chronology.

1. The Magician’s Nephew

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

3. The Horse and His Boy

4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia

5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

6. The Silver Chair

7. The Last Battle

Most ardent Narnia fans agree the first read-through of the series should start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But invariably someone will counter that C.S. Lewis himself said to start with The Magician’s Nephew. In a way, that’s true, but it’s much more complicated than that.

What order did C.S. Lewis recommend?

While British editions of the books began being reordered sometime after Lewis’ death. American versions stayed with the publication order for almost 40 years, until HarperCollins secured the American publishing rights in 1994.

Initially, they added this note: “The HarperCollins editions of The Chronicles of Narnia have been re-numbered in compliance with the original wishes of the author, C.S. Lewis.” Later, that was changed to, “Although The Magician’s Nephew was written several years after C.S. Lewis first began The Chronicles of Narnia, he wanted it to be read as the first book in the series. HarperCollins is happy to present these books in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred.”

So how and when did Lewis state his preference for the chronological order? He actually told some of those closest to him and put it in writing.

Both Walter Hooper, Lewis’ friend and secretary later in life, and Douglas Gresham, Lewis’ stepson, say Lewis told them he preferred reading the books chronologically. A footnote in The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Vol. 3 says he had Hooper write down the order in which he wanted the stories to be read, which was by internal chronology. Additionally, Gresham says HarperCollins asked him about the ordering. He said, “I actually asked Jack himself what order he preferred and thought they should be read in. And he said he thought they should be read in the order of Narnian chronology.”

Additionally, we have a 1957 letter from Lewis to a young reader, Laurence Krieg, who had asked about the reading order. Laurence said he preferred chronology, while his mom said publication. Lewis wrote, “I think I agree with your order for reading the books more than with your mother’s.”

With all that evidence, why does anyone go against C.S. Lewis’ wishes?

Why we should ignore his recommendation

I don’t doubt both Hooper and Gresham’s recollection of Lewis’ stated preference. I believe he told them he thought the chronological order was the best, but I believe, and this is one time I feel absolutely comfortable saying so, Lewis was wrong.

I’ve previously argued my stance that one should begin their exploration of Narnia with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book published. The stories are composed as if that book is the first time the reader has ever heard of Narnia or Aslan, whereas The Magician Nephew, the first book chronologically, works best as a prequel to explain more backstory. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mr. Beaver mentions Aslan and Lewis has an aside to the reader, “None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do … .” Of course, if you’ve read The Magician’s Nephew, you know exactly who Aslan is because you’ve read about him creating all of Narnia.

Additionally, the letter that asserts chronological order is a fairly tepid endorsement. Yes, Lewis does affirm 11-year-old Laurence’s reading plan, but Lewis often encouraged young readers as much as he could. And he developed a special relationship with the Krieg family. Philinda Krieg first wrote Lewis in 1955 that her son Laurence was worried he loved Aslan more than Jesus. Lewis responded with a gracious letter encouraging both Philinda and Laurence.

In his later letter about the Narnian ordering, Lewis responds to a dispute between mother and son over what order to reread the series. What Lewis directly disputes is Philinda’s assumption he had planned out all the books from beginning to end. After describing how he wrote the first three books without any knowledge of the next one, Lewis writes, “So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone reads them. I’m not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published. I never keep notes of that sort of thing and never remember dates.” Even in his supposed declaration of his preference, Lewis said he doesn’t think it matters much and he can’t keep the order straight in his mind anyway.²

In another letter to Laurence in 1955, Lewis describes his feelings about panthers but misremembers which Narnia book has panthers fighting against Rabadash. Lewis initially wrote The Silver Chair. An hour after sending the letter, however, he realized it was The Horse and His Boy. He wrote a letter to Philinda to correct his mistake. Yet, even in that letter, he mistakenly referenced something he said as being from Problem of Pain when it was actually in Mere Christianity.

While Lewis famously had an excellent memory of the books he had read³, he struggled to keep his own works straight in his mind. On recommending the publication order on the official C.S. Lewis website, scholar Charlie Starr writes of Lewis, “He was truly selfless not only in his actions toward others but in his constant practice of ignoring himself in order to make God, not Lewis the center of his life.” Starr says he doesn’t think Lewis was particularly concerned about his own works when talking about the best order. “He was probably thinking about what might be easiest for children to understand.”

Lewis’ humility caused him to think he and his writings would be quickly forgotten. We can add the order of Narnia to the ways in which he was obviously wrong about his work.

Not Safe but Good

C.S. Lewis quote of the week

… in all other ages the plain man has accepted the findings of the mystics and the philosophers for his initial belief in the existence of the supernatural. Today, the ordinary man is forced to carry that burden himself.

“Bulverism,” God in the Dock

Door Jam

Interesting articles from others

Greta Gerwig Is Working on How to ‘Break the Whole Arc’ of Netflix’s ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Franchise, Says Streamer’s Film Chief Scott Stuber — Variety

Finally, the Great River is sweeping away The Bridge of Beruna to give us lots of information. Asked about Greta Gerwig adapting their Narnia project, Stuber said:

[Gerwig] grew up in a Christian background. The C.S. Lewis books are very much based in Christianity. And so we just started talking about it. And like I said earlier, we don’t have IP, so when we had the opportunity [to license] those books or the [Roald Dahl Co.] we’ve jumped at it, to have stories that people recognize and the ability to tell those stories. So it was just a great opportunity and I’m so thrilled that she’s working on it with us and I’m just thrilled to be in business with her. And she’s just an incredible talent.

Asked if she was “writing many of these adaptions” and what her commitment was the project, he replied:

Obviously, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ is kind of the preeminent one, but there’s such an interesting narrative form [to the Narnia series] if you read all of them. And so that’s what she’s working on now with [producer] Amy Pascal and Mark Gordon and they’re trying to figure out how they can break the whole arc of all of it.

Seemingly, the goal is to tell the entire Narnia narrative. We will see what that means.

The Last Days of C.S. Lewis — Trevin Wax

I love this reflection from Trevin on the end of Lewis’ life. This part was especially beautiful.

Maureen Blake, the daughter of Mrs. Moore and the sister of his friend Paddy, visited Lewis in the hospital. The two had known each other ever since she was a little girl, and she had lived at the Kilns for a time. They’d not seen each other since Maureen had become an heiress—a surprising turn of events due to her unexpected inheritance of the estate of Sir George Cospatrick Duff-Sutherland-Dunbar, Baron Dunbar of Hempriggs, in Caithness, Scotland.

Lewis hadn’t recognized any visitors on the day she visited, so she entered quietly and said, “Jack, it’s Maureen,” to which he replied, “No. It’s Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs.”

Stunned, Maureen said, “Oh Jack, how could you remember that?”

“On the contrary,” he said, grinning, “how could I forget a fairy tale?”

Lamp post

Recent articles from me

New Normal Settles for Churches Post-Pandemic — Lifeway Research

For two years now, almost every church in America has been holding in-person worship services, but not every pre-pandemic worshiper has returned.

6 Ways to Stay Connected to Churchgoers Traveling for the Holidays — Lifeway Research

Your congregation may be spread across the country or even the globe during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. So, how can you stay connected to those who live in your city but are “heading for Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie”?

Previously on The Wardrobe Door

If you’re interested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I reviewed The Marvels (forgettable but fun) and the Loki season two finale (a phenomenal cap to a tremendous season). Last week, we also talked about the curious case of C.S. Lewis’ first “wife.”

Coming soon to The Wardrobe Door

Next week, to mark the anniversary of C.S. Lewis’ passing on November 22, 1963, I’ll be writing about the significance of the Shakespeare quote on his grave.

Paid subscribers will be part of our Doctor Who rewatch ending with Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor right before the new specials begin on November 25. The next paid subscriber only series will be our Narnia read-along moving to Prince Caspian.

1. All Amazon links are affiliate links. Making purchases using those links helps support this site. The price does not change for you, but I receive a small percentage.

2. It should also be noted that this was a discussion among people who have already read all of the books. I’m of the opinion that you can reread the series in whatever order you’d like, but your first trip to Narnia should go through the Wardrobe.

3. One student describes Lewis asking them to choose a string of random numbers. After which, Lewis would have them retrieve the corresponding book from his library and read the specific line, he was always able to identify the book by just that one line. Frequently, he could finish the quote as well.