The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by the English author C. S. Lewis. Typically, they present the adventures of a child or group of children who become crucial to the historical evolution of the realm of Narnia[?], where some animals talk and magic is rampant, and good is fighting evil.

The books are allegorical and contain many allusions to Christian ideas (Aslan, the lion, is the equivalent of Christ) but this has not prevented them from becoming popular favourites with both children and adults. Despite this extra load, the books are not weighty in the least, unlike Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and can be read for their adventure, colour, and fun without concern for the larger issues. Lewis himself claimed the books were not allegorical but "suppositional", more like what we would now call alternate history - if Jesus lived on a different planet how would salvation be worked out. The Chronicles of Narnia were turned into a succesful BBC television series in the early 1990s. (The series omitted the "difficult" last book, The Last Battle, thus leaving the chronicle unfinished.)

In chronological order of the history of Narnia (with some overlap), they are:

1. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
3. The Horse and his Boy[?] (1954)
4. Prince Caspian (1951)
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader[?] (1952)
6. The Silver Chair[?] (1953)
7. The Last Battle[?] (1956)

Note: Publishers have traditionally presented the books in the order in which they were published, with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. However, recent editions are numbered in accordance with the internal chronology.

In publication order, the books are:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian (1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader[?] (1952)
4. The Silver Chair[?] (1953)
5. The Horse and his Boy[?] (1954)
6. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
7. The Last Battle[?] (1956)