The Chronicles of Narnia Series

By: Nicole Shalit

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.”
- C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland November 29, 1898. Lewis was initially schooled by tutors before being sent to Wynyard School in 1908. September of 1913 he enrolled in Malvern College where he studied until June of the following year. As a young boy he was fascinated by anthropomorphic animals. After Lewis’ friend Paddy Moore died in 1918, he kept his promise and moved in with Paddy’s mother to take care of her until she was hospitalized in the late 1940’s. In 1949 he began writing The Chronicles of Narnia, a seven part series which would later be made into movies.

Book one of the series is called “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”, which was published in the spring of 1950. This is a story of four ordinary children (or two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve): Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who are sent to America to escape the war. While playing hide and seek, Lucy finds an old wardrobe. Thinking this is a great place to hide; she hurries in and shuts the door. She gets back as far as she can, but never hits a wall. Instead she walks out into a snowy forest. She meets a new friend and learns that there is an evil “white witch” who rules the land of Narnia and has ordered anyone who finds humans to capture them at once. Lucy tries to tell the others, but they don’t believe her until they themselves need to hid in the wardrobe, and discover the snow ground. The four of them set off to explore, only to find that a war is about to break out between the white witches army, and Aslan’s (the true king of Narnia) army. Not only are they in the middle, they are the cause. There is a prophecy which says they will over throw the white witch and restore peace to Narnia. That proves problematic when Edmund decides to go over to the white witch’s side, and divides his family. The prophecy needs the four of them. The only question is, can they get Edmund to join them in time to stop the war before it’s too late? This book was also made into a movie in 1988 and remade in 2005.

The next book “Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia” was published in 1951. The children once again find themselves in Narnia. They soon discover that and evil king has usurped the throne. Once again they set out to restore peace to Narnia, this time accompanied by rightful ruler, Prince Caspian. The second book was first made into a movie in 1989, and in now being remade. The new movie is set to be released May 16, 2008.

“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” was released in 1952. In this installment, we find Lucy and Edmund, accompanied by their cousin Eustace Scrubb, back in Narnia for anther adventure. They join Prince Caspian on a voyage to find the seven lords who were banished when Miraz took over the throne. They face many dangers as they sail toward Aslan’s country. This book is being made into a movie for the first time. It is set to be released May 1, 2009.

Book four of this series is “The Silver Chair” which was published in 1953. This is the first book without the children. Instead Aslan calls upon their cousin Eustace, who travels back to Narnia with his classmate Jill Pole. They take part in an adventure trying to find Prince Caspian’s son Prince Rilian who was captured ten years earlier. Meeting some interesting creatures along the way, they make their way across Narnia to find the Prince, but can they find him in time to save Narnia? There is no talk of a release date for the movie yet, however, as soon as the next movie comes out I am almost sure there will be one set.

Next is “The Horse and His Boy” which hit shelves in 1954. This book does not follow the others. Instead it takes place during Pevensies reign which begins and ends in the first book. It is about Bree, a talking horse, and Shasta, a young boy, who has been held captive in Calormen, a country south of Narnia. After they meet, they plan their escape. On the way to freedom in Narnia, they discover that the Calormenes are about to invade Narnia. Will peace one again be restored to Narnia? No release date for the movie is set at this time.

“The Magician’s Nephew” is a prequel with takes you back to the very beginning of Narnia where you learn how Aslan created the world and how evil entered it. Another group of humans enter Narnia from a completely different route. Many questions about Narnia are answered such as where the wardrobe came from. Again there is no movie scheduled.

The end of the world of Narnia is revealed in “the Last Battle”. Jill and Eustace return to save Narnia from Shift, an evil ape, who tricks a donkey named Puzzle into impersonating Aslan. This is the last installment of “The Chronicles of Narnia” series.

Although that is the order they were published, there is an argument of which order they are better to read in. A lot of people think they should go in the order below, as this is how they would be ordered time wise.

The Magician’s Nephew which was set in the year 1900 (or year 1 of Narnia)

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe which is set in 1940 (or year 1000 in Narnia)

The Horse and His Boy set in 1940 (or 1014 in Narnia)

Prince Caspian 1941 (or 2303 in Narnia years)

The Voyage of The Dawn Treader year 1942 (2306 in Narnia)

The Silver Chair year 1942 (Narnia year 2356)

The Last Battle in 1949 (Narnia year 2555)