Petition to Harper Collins to Restore Original Order of Narnia Series

We, the undersigned, request that Harper Collins, who holds sole rights to publication of the seven-book Chronicles of Narnia, should offer the series numbered in order of publicaion date instead of, or in addition to, its current order of internal chronology. This will allow future generations of children to experience The Chronicles of Narnia in the same way children did when the series was first written. In addition are these points to consider:

1) Multiple references do not make sense when read according to internal chronology. This is the case, for instance, with the reference to Narnia on the first page of the first book (in the current ordering sequence), The Magician's Nephew.

2) The joy of discovery is lost. Later books in the series like The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy are enjoyable in large part because they fill our knowledge gap about how Narnia came to be (Magician's Nephew) or relate events that took place during the childrens' reign in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, years about which we had previously known nothing.

3) Most importantly, just as the wardrobe is the children's entrance to Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with its enchanting snowscape and magical creatures, is the perfect gateway into the Narnia series for the reader.

We recognize that Mr. Lewis himself commended the internal chronology ordering. It is not clear, however, that he advocated renumbering the series and publishing them according to internal chronology. With all this in mind, here is the proposed ordering, based on date of publication:

1) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

2) Prince Caspian

3) Voyage of the Dawn Treader

4) The Silver Chair

5) The Horse and His Boy

6) The Magician's Nephew

7) The Last Battle

Josh Wilson    Contact the author of the petition