C.S. Lewis’s first Narnia novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950.
The book introduced readers to the land of Narnia through the Pevensie children, who enter it through a wardrobe while staying in the countryside during the Second World War. Geoffrey Bles published the novel in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1950.
Although it is the first Narnia book Lewis wrote and published, it is not the earliest event in the fictional chronology. The Magician’s Nephew, published later, is set earlier in Narnia’s history. This distinction explains why some reading lists place the books in publication order and others in chronological order.
The first edition was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, whose artwork was also used for the other original Narnia books.