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

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe begins C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series. The novel introduces the Pevensie children and their first journey into the magical land of Narnia.

Published in 1950, the book follows Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy after they are sent away from London during the Second World War. Lucy discovers Narnia through a wardrobe, and the siblings become involved in a conflict between Aslan and the White Witch.

The novel was the first Narnia book published, although some modern editions arrange the series by Narnian chronology and place The Magician’s Nephew first. That difference between publication order and internal chronology is a common source of confusion.

The story became one of Lewis’s best-known works. Its title characters include Aslan, the White Witch, and Mr. Tumnus, while the wardrobe serves as the doorway connecting the children’s world with Narnia.