Which C.S. Lewis novel begins with the discovery of a wardrobe leading to another world?

The C.S. Lewis novel that begins with a wardrobe leading to another world is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Published in 1950, it follows the four Pevensie children—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—after they are sent away from wartime London.

Lucy discovers that the back of an old wardrobe opens into Narnia, where the White Witch has imposed a long winter. Her siblings eventually follow her, and the children become involved in the struggle between the witch and Aslan. Edmund’s betrayal and later repentance form one of the book’s central storylines.

The wardrobe is a portal, not simply a piece of furniture with a hidden room behind it. Lewis later explained Narnia’s origins through The Magician’s Nephew, which was published later but is set earlier in the fictional chronology.

The novel was the first Narnia book published and remains the most widely known entry. Its title names the three major elements of the conflict: Aslan, the White Witch, and the land of Narnia.