Which C.S. Lewis book begins the science-fiction trilogy with Dr. Elwin Ransom?

Out of the Silent Planet begins C.S. Lewis’s science-fiction trilogy featuring Dr. Elwin Ransom.

Published in 1938, Out of the Silent Planet introduces Elwin Ransom, a Cambridge philologist who is abducted and taken to Malacandra, the planet commonly identified with Mars. The story combines space travel with theology, language, moral philosophy, and Lewis’s concern about uncontrolled human exploitation.

The later books are Perelandra, published in 1943, and That Hideous Strength, published in 1945. Together they are often called the Space Trilogy or the Ransom Trilogy. Although the books share characters and themes, each has a different setting and emphasis.

A common mix-up is to identify Perelandra as the first volume because it is the best-known title in some discussions of the trilogy. The publication order, however, clearly starts with Out of the Silent Planet.