Which C.S. Lewis book begins The Chronicles of Narnia?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe begins C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia in publication order.

Macmillan published the novel in 1950, introducing readers to the fictional land of Narnia through the wardrobe discovered by the Pevensie children. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy enter a world under the rule of the White Witch, where winter has lasted for years. The story also introduces Aslan, the central heroic figure of the series.

The book is the first published Narnia novel, but reading-order discussions can create confusion. The Magician’s Nephew, published later in 1955, is a prequel in the series’ internal chronology and is often placed first in chronological reading orders.

The title is sometimes shortened informally to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the definite articles and comma are part of the standard English title. The work remains Lewis’s best-known children’s novel.