The Chronicles of Narnia audiobooks in order
Short books with a tangled audio catalogue: straight readings and BBC full-cast dramatisations sit side by side in the store, and they are very different experiences. Check which one you are buying.
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C.S. LewisNarrated by A different reader per book on the read editions — Michael York, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Northam, Alex Jennings, Kenneth Branagh and Patrick Stewart; BBC full-cast dramatisations are also on sale · 7 booksPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain · cropped, via Wikimedia CommonsWhich order should you listen in?
The genuine dispute. Publication order (below) opens with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is written as the introduction and does the job. Chronological order opens with The Magician's Nephew, which Lewis himself endorsed in a letter to a young reader — but it spends its first hour explaining a wardrobe you have not yet cared about. Start with the Lion.
On screen: Films and BBC TV, 1988–2010. Every series here that has been adapted for the screen →
The Chronicles of Narnia in publication order
- 1
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 2
Prince Caspian (1951)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 3
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 4
The Silver Chair (1953)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 5
The Horse and His Boy (1954)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 6
The Magician's Nephew (1955)Sold as several recordings: which to buy - 7
The Last Battle (1956)Sold as several recordings: which to buy
Which recording should you buy?
7 books in this series are sold as more than one recording. Each comparison says which to buy and why:
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader3 recordings compared
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe3 recordings compared
- Prince Caspian3 recordings compared
- The Silver Chair3 recordings compared
- The Horse and His Boy3 recordings compared
- The Last Battle3 recordings compared
- The Magician's Nephew3 recordings compared
Who reads it
- Fiona ShawThe Thursday Murder Club (books three onward), The Horse and His Boy
- Kenneth BranaghHeart of Darkness, Death on the Nile
- Derek JacobiThe Adventures of Brother Cadfael, The Ultimate Iliad & Odyssey
- Sylvester McCoyPrince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Michael YorkThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Brave New World
- Patrick StewartThe Last Battle, Making It So
- Alex JenningsThe Horse and His Boy, Nicholas Nickleby
- Jeremy NorthamThe Silver Chair, Our Man in Havana
- Lynn RedgravePrince Caspian, Inkheart
- Michael HordernThe Lord of the Rings (BBC radio, as Gandalf), The Wind in the Willows