C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1950.
The novel appeared in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1950, published by Geoffrey Bles. It introduced readers to the fantasy world of Narnia through the story of four siblings who enter another world. Lewis wrote the book after imagining images including a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first Narnia book published, although later reading orders sometimes place The Magician’s Nephew first because its story occurs earlier chronologically. That distinction explains why publication order and internal chronology can produce different lists. The book’s title also leads to occasional confusion over whether it is called simply The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe; the former is the standard title in British editions.
The novel became one of the best-known works of twentieth-century children’s literature.