About the Books

Narnia is a fictional land created by C.S. Lewis in his seven-book series, The Chronicles of Narnia (CON) The first book to be written was The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW), which Lewis began in 1939. Known for his works of Christian apologetics and adult fiction, Lewis was making his first foray into writing literature for children. The initial attempt was not finished, and Lewis set it aside until the late 1940s, at which point he brought the manuscript back out, rewrote it extensively, and published it in 1950. Lewis dedicated the book to his goddaughter, Lucy Barfield.

Lewis has often said that when he began The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW), he had no intention of starting a series. By the time of the first book's publication, however, Lewis had become inspired to revisit Narnia a second and third time. He wrote Prince Caspian (PC), published in late 1951, and then The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT), published in 1952. The end of VDT made the series a very admirable trilogy, and Lewis initially intended to leave Narnia at that point.

However, Narnia was not finished with Lewis. Even before the The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT) achieved publication, Lewis had begun and finished two more books -- The Silver Chair and A Horse and His Boy. He had also started working on a prequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) entitled The Magician's Nephew, which was published in 1955. Finally, Lewis wrote the swansong of the Chronicles: The Last Battle, published in 1956, which brought the Chronicles of Narnia to a brilliant and memorable close.

The series was seized upon by children all over the world, and its popularity has endured for more than half a century among children and adults alike. Lewis' lighthearted, unpretentious writing style makes the series a fast read and brings unlikely characters to life. The adventurous plot-lines and inspiring messages of love, forgiveness, courage and faith continue to strike chords in thousands of new Narnia readers each year.