Into the Wardrobe

Something else I've though about-- does the word "chronicles" imply "chronological"? As I remember reading somewhere, Lewis got the series title Chronicles of Narnia from the suggestion of someone else, but I don't think he meant that the title should be strictly applied to the order in which people read the books. But the word "chronicles" is very close to "chronological", and it suggests a deep consideration for the Narnian history, although I think that is secondary to the development of Christian concepts of sin, redemption, and forgiveness, which are best introduced in LWW.

Larry W.

I had always thought that Chronicles meant simply 'records' but I could be wrong there :)

Mr Hooper knew Lewis for only a few weeks in the summer before he died.

Series books are not always numbered. James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales have no numbers on them and neither do the Little House books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The numbers of the Narnia books were added by the publisher and aren't part of the author's original manuscript. Probably they should be removed from the books, but I don't think that will ever happen.

By the way, who suggested the series title Chronicles of Narnia? I remember reading that someone recommended that title to Lewis, but I don't remember who it was. Was there any connection with the two books of Chronicles in the Bible?

Larry W.

I remember we had to read The Holinshed Chronicles for a Shakespeare course in college thirty years ago. I think that type of literature usually is an historic record of important events and deeds done by kings, queens, and other dignitaries. Chronicles in the Bible is similar to that. It gives some importance to the chronological order since in those books the history is emphasized. But I still think the best way to read them the first time is the publication order, which shows Lewis' exploration of Christian ideology introduced in LWW.

Larry W.