Which Narnia novel did C.S. Lewis publish first?

C.S. Lewis first published The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950.

The novel introduces the Pevensie children, who enter Narnia through a wardrobe and find a land trapped in winter by the White Witch. The story also introduces Aslan, the great lion who serves as Narnia’s central heroic figure.

Although The Magician’s Nephew is set earlier in Narnia’s fictional chronology, it was published as the sixth book in the original sequence, in 1955. This difference between story chronology and publication order explains why readers sometimes give The Magician’s Nephew as the first book.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe became the gateway to a seven-book series published between 1950 and 1956. Its blend of portal fantasy, talking animals, sacrifice, and restoration helped make Lewis one of the defining children’s authors of the twentieth century.