Which C.S. Lewis novel introduced readers to Narnia in its original 1950 publication?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe introduced readers to Narnia in 1950.

Published by Geoffrey Bles on 16 October 1950, the novel follows Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie after Lucy discovers a passage through a wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There they encounter the White Witch, the faun Mr. Tumnus, and the lion Aslan.

The book was the first Narnia novel published, even though The Magician’s Nephew is set earlier in the fictional chronology. That difference explains why some modern lists place The Magician’s Nephew first. Lewis himself wrote the books over several years rather than publishing them in the order of Narnian history.

The novel quickly became one of Lewis’s most famous works and remains the best-known entry point to the series. Its title is sometimes shortened informally to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the full title includes all three nouns.