THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW
C. S. Lewis

Published: 1955
Publication order: 6 of 7
Chronological order: 1 of 7

SYNOPSIS

Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer are drawn into the experiments of Digory's selfish Uncle Andrew, an amateur magician who has discovered a way of travelling between worlds.

Using magical rings, Digory and Polly reach the Wood Between the Worlds and from there enter the dying world of Charn.

Against Polly's advice, Digory awakens the terrifying Queen Jadis. Their attempt to escape eventually brings Jadis into London and then into a completely new and empty world.

There they witness Aslan sing Narnia into existence.

The adventure explains many mysteries encountered in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, including the origins of the White Witch, the lamp-post in the Narnian forest and the wardrobe through which Lucy later enters Narnia.

The young Digory himself will eventually grow up to become the Professor whose country house the Pevensie children visit during the Second World War.

ORDER NOTE

The Magician's Nephew is the first story chronologically because it describes the creation of Narnia.

However, Lewis did not publish it until 1955, making it the sixth of the seven books.

Reading it sixth preserves several mysteries established in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and allows their origins to be revealed retrospectively.