Which C.S. Lewis novel opens the Chronicles of Narnia in its original publication order?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens the Chronicles of Narnia in original publication order.

Lewis’s novel was published in 1950 and introduces the Pevensie children, who enter Narnia through a wardrobe. They encounter the White Witch, the faun Mr. Tumnus, and Aslan during a conflict over Narnia’s rule. The book established the setting, themes, and characters that readers would meet across the series.

The Magician’s Nephew was published later, in 1955, although it tells an earlier story about Narnia’s creation. This difference produced two common reading sequences: publication order and the internal chronological order sometimes printed in later editions.

In original publication order, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is first, followed by Prince Caspian. The answer concerns publication order, not the chronological order of events inside Lewis’s fictional universe.