Chronological Vs. Publication Order: What C. S. Lewis Actually Said About How to Read Narnia

If you are tracking Chronological Vs. Publication Order: What C. S. Lewis Actually Said About How to Read Narnia, this article provides essential context you shouldn't miss.

The modern numbering system traces back to an exchange of letters between C.S. Lewis and an American boy named Laurence Krieg. In the spring of 1957, Krieg wrote to Lewis explaining an ongoing argument with his mother. Laurence believed the books should be read according to the internal timeline of Narnian history. His mother maintained that publication order was the proper path.

Lewis wrote back on April 23, 1957, offering an answer that publishers would later treat as an absolute authorial decree. Lewis wrote:

"I think I agree with your order for reading the books more than with your mother’s. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I