Which C.S. Lewis novel opens with children discovering a wardrobe that leads to Narnia?

The C.S. Lewis novel that opens with children discovering a wardrobe leading to Narnia is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Published in 1950, the novel follows the four Pevensie children—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—after they are sent away from London during the Second World War. Lucy enters a wardrobe in an old country house and finds herself in a snowy wood, beginning the children’s involvement in Narnia.

The story introduces major Narnian figures including the faun Mr. Tumnus, the White Witch, and Aslan. Its plot centers on the Witch’s magical rule, Edmund’s betrayal, and the restoration of Narnia. The book was the first Narnia novel published, although Lewis later wrote a prequel about the world’s creation.

The wardrobe is not merely a doorway to another room: it functions as a portal between the human world and Narnia. The book’s title is often shortened informally to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the full title includes the definite article before “Witch.”