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Originally Posted by JSWolf

Narnia is a different story. The first book in chronological order was supposed to be the first book. But because it wasn't good enough, it was moved to another spot in the series.

From what I've read, the first book (The Magician's Nephew) chronologically was written 4 years after the second book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) (1954 vs 9150). Several of the other books in the series were published in a different order to the one in which they were written. From the notes I made the last time The Chronicles of Narnia were discussed, this is the order in which the books were written.

• The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe (written in 1949, published 1950)
  The LeFay Fragment (written in 1949 immediately after TLTWATW but not published until 1979) Several of the characters and scenes are familiar from his later books. More of an outline than a book.
  Prince Caspian (written in 1949, published 1951)
  The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (written in 1950, published 1952)
  The Horse And His Boy (written in 1950, but published as #5 in 1954)
  The Silver Chair (written in 1951, but published #4 in 1953)
  The Last Battle (written in 1953, but published last in 1956)
  The Magician’s Nephew (written in 1954, but published #6 in 1955)

I included The LeFay Fragment which was intended to be the prequel to TLTWATW but not published until found by his secretary, Walter Hooper and published in Past Watchful Dragons in 1979.