C.S. Lewis
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| C.S. Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Born | 29 November, 1898 |
| Died | 22 November, 1963 |
| Education | University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Author |
| Location | England |
| Website | C.S. Lewis Foundation |
- "Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices. At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both."
- ― C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis (29 November, 1898 – 22 November, 1963), commonly referred to as C.S. Lewis, was an Irish-born English writer and scholar. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics, literary criticism, and fiction. He is best known today for his bestselling series The Chronicles of Narnia.
Lewis was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien. Both authors were leading figures in the English faculty at Oxford University and in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings, where he was a leading figure. According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptised in the Church of Ireland at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at about the age of 30, Lewis re-converted to Christianity, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England". His conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.
In the 1930s Tolkien and Lewis discussed about science fiction and decided to make an amateurish attempt simultaneously, on time-travel and space-travel. Tolkien's attempt at time-travel fiction was the unfinished The Lost Road, but Lewis's attempt at space-travel fiction evolved to his famous Space Trilogy.[1]
Throughout the writing of The Lord of the Rings Lewis kept encouraging Tolkien and supported him with positive reviews, and enthusiastic blurbs before publication. At some point Tolkien recognised that without Lewis he would have never finished the book.[2]
His brother was Inkling Warren Lewis, who after his retirement acted as C.S. Lewis's secretary.
In later years, around 1940, Tolkien and Lewis distanced from each other; Tolkien credited the influence of Charles Williams (whom Tolkien did not appreciate much[3]) on Lewis. They distanced further after his "very strange" marriage to Joy Gresham (1956[4]). Lewis remained dear to Tolkien, and Tolkien was struck by his death[5] which coincided with the murder of J.F. Kennedy. As Tolkien said "The loss reached for me its climax on Nov. 22nd, not for me the day Kennedy was murdered, but the day C.S. Lewis died".[6] Tolkien also said that while he was already feeling like an old tree losing its leaves, Lewis's death was "an axe-blow near the roots". His funeral service was attended by Tolkien himself, Christopher Tolkien, James Dundas-Grant, Robert Havard, Owen Barfield and several others.[7]
Bibliography, selected[edit | edit source]
Books[edit | edit source]
- 1933: The Pilgrim's Regress
- The Space Trilogy
- 1939: Rehabilitations and Other Essays
- 1942: The Screwtape Letters
- 1947: Essays Presented to Charles Williams (editor)
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- 1955: Surprised by Joy
- 1960: The Four Loves
- 1962: English and Medieval Studies Presented to J.R.R. Tolkien on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday
- 1966: C.S.: Letters of C.S. Lewis
- 1966: Letters to an American Lady
- 1969: Selected Literary Essays (edited by Walter Hooper)
- 1972: Of This and Other Worlds (edited by Walter Hooper)
- 2000: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1
- 2004: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2
- 2006: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3
- 2010: Language and Human Nature (edited by Steven A. Beebe in SEVEN 27)
- 2013: Image and Imagination: Essays and Reviews
Articles[edit | edit source]
- 1937 Times Literary Supplement, 2 October 1937, p. 714.
- "A World for Children" [review of The Hobbit]
- 1937: The Times (London), 8 October 1937, p. 20.
- "Professor Tolkien's 'Hobbit'" [review of The Hobbit]
- 1947: Essays Presented to Charles Williams, pp. 90-105
- "On Stories"
- 1954: Time and Tide, 14 August 1954, p. 1082.
- "The Gods Return to Earth" [review of The Fellowship of the Ring]
- 1955: Time and Tide, 22 October 1955, p. 1373.
- "The Dethronement of Power" [review of The Two Towers and The Return of the King]
External links[edit | edit source]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 24, (dated 18 February 1938)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 149, (dated 9 September 1954)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 276, (dated 12 September 1965)
- ↑ Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life and Works, p. 79
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 257, (dated 16 July 1964)
- ↑ Letter to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski (20–26 January 1964)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 251, (dated 26 November 1963)
