C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was a Irish author and scholar, born into a Protestant family in Belfast, though mostly resident in England. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature and for his Christian apologetics and fiction, especially the children's series entitled The Chronicles of Narnia.

Career as a writer of fiction

In addition to his scholarly work, Lewis wrote a number of popular novels, including his science-fiction "Space Trilogy," his fantasy Narnia books, and various other novels, most containing allegories on Christian themes such as sin, the Fall, and redemption.

Related Topics:
Space Trilogy - Narnia

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The Pilgrim's Regress

His first novel after becoming a Christian was The Pilgrim's Regress, his take on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress which depicted his own experience with Christianity. In the novel, a young lad leaves the land of Puritania (and the odd sort of respect it holds towards its Landlord) in search of the elusive 'Island in the West', which he chases throughout lands of diverse ideals and philosophies. The allegory was meant to represent how Lewis did not discover Christianity in his childhood; that what he experienced was a mockery that he could not follow, and consequently had to discover it another way. The book was panned, at the time; most people had not had Lewis's experience and couldn't relate.

Related Topics:
John Bunyan - The Pilgrim's Progress

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The Space Trilogy

His "Space Trilogy" or "Ransom Trilogy" novels dealt with what Lewis saw as the then-current dehumanizing trends in modern science fiction. The first book was apparently written following a conversation with his friend J. R. R. Tolkien about these trends. Lewis agreed to write a "space travel" story and Tolkien a "time travel" one. Tolkien never completed his story.

Related Topics:
Space Trilogy - J. R. R. Tolkien

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In Out of the Silent Planet Lewis's character is a philologist named Ransom who is forced to travel to Mars (called by the natives Malacandra). His abductors are Devine, who only wishes to exploit Mars's natural resources; and Weston, who wishes to colonize Mars once Earth is no longer habitable, on behalf of whatever species humanity may someday become. (It is pointed out how odd it is that Weston has no regard for humans, or humanity as it currently is; but he is quite interested in whatever hypothetical future humanity may have.) In the end, the humans are thwarted by a hyper-physical intelligence called an eldil, the Oyarsa (or ruler) of Mars; who wants to know from Ransom about the "bent" eldil who was meant to be the Oyarsa of Earth. (Though never identified as such in the novel, it is clear that eldils are meant to be angels and that our ruling angel became Satan, prompting the Fall, Earth's isolation from the rest of heaven, and the "silence" of our homeworld.)

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In Perelandra (also called "Voyage to Venus") Ransom is summoned by the eldils to Venus, where he encounters an Eve-figure—and Weston, who has allowed himself to become possessed by an evil eldil so that the Eve-figure may be tempted. She successfully resists the temptation; and Ransom realizes his purpose is to remove the possessed Weston (the "un-Man") once the trial period is over. Ransom initially objects— he never expected spiritual warfare to become physical — but comes to realize that this is simply a modern worldview, and kills Weston. (In the process, his heel is injured, recalling a prophecy from the book of Genesis. It also recalls the medieval legends of the wounded Fisher-King. This association is enhanced because in the third book Ransom has adopted the name "Fisher-King" in order to "secure a legacy.") The book's ending is strikingly similar to that of G K Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill.

Related Topics:
Perelandra - Genesis - G K Chesterton - The Napoleon of Notting Hill

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In That Hideous Strength scientists in Britain take over a small college and attempt to combine science and magic. Ransom, who has become a superhuman figure because of his trips into space, helps a resurrected Merlin (the last of humanity who could "properly" combine science and magic) defeat them.

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The character of Ransom is generally agreed to be based, in part on Lewis's friend J. R. R. Tolkien. The minor character "Jules," the official Director (and figurehead) of the demonic institute in That Hideous Strength, is an obvious caricature of H. G. Wells. Many of the ideas presented in the books, particularly in That Hideous Strength are dramatizations of arguments made more formally in Lewis's The Abolition of Man.

Related Topics:
J. R. R. Tolkien - H. G. Wells - The Abolition of Man

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Other Christian fiction

The Great Divorce is a short novel about imagined conversations in the foothills of Heaven between the saved and the potentially 'damned.' The title is a reference to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Its premise is that the 'damned' apparently damn themselves by their own choice, in the sense that nothing prevents them from going to heaven and staying there if they so choose. But some find the radical changes of attitude required to remain there to be threatening or uncomfortable, and so decide to return to Hell. This work deliberately echoes two other more famous works with a similar theme: the Divine Comedy of Dante Aligheri, and John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. For example it echoes Dante in having Lewis guided in his journey by his intellectual mentor, the Scottish writer George MacDonald, just as Dante was guided in his imaginary journey by his mentor Virgil; and it echoes Bunyan in its conclusion, wherein its vision of Heaven turns out in the end to have been a common, if unusually vivid, dream.

Related Topics:
The Great Divorce - Heaven - William Blake - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell - Divine Comedy - Dante Aligheri - John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress - George MacDonald - Virgil - Dream

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Another short novel, The Screwtape Letters, comprises letters of advice from an elderly demon to his nephew. In the letters, Screwtape, the elder demon, instructs his nephew, Wormwood, on the best ways to secure the damnation of a particular human.

Related Topics:
Novel - The Screwtape Letters - Demon - Damnation

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The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children that is by far the most popular of his works. The books have Christian themes and describe the adventures of a group of children who visit a magical land called Narnia. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was the first published and the most popular book of the series, has been adapted for both stage and screen. The Chronicles of Narnia borrow from Greek and Roman mythology, and traditional English and Irish fairy tales. Lewis reportedly based his depiction of Narnia in the novels on the geography and scenery of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. Lewis cited MacDonald as an influence in writing the series. The books were published in an order different from that they take place in. In chronological order, the seven books are: The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. Many people feel that the books should be read in order of publication, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (followed by Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, Horse, Magician's Nephew and Last Battle, in that order).

Related Topics:
The Chronicles of Narnia - Fantasy - Narnia - Greek - Roman mythology - Fairy tale - Mourne Mountains - County Down - Northern Ireland - MacDonald - The Magician's Nephew - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - The Horse and His Boy - Prince Caspian - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - The Silver Chair - The Last Battle

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However, C.S. Lewis himself said the following:

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:'I think I agree with your order {i.e. chronological} for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published.

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:"Letters to Children"

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The actual order of the books by written time are as follow:

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• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• (Abandoned version of Magicians Nephew)
• Prince Caspian
• Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Horse and His Boy
• Silver Chair
• Magician's Nephew
• Last Battle

Non-Christian fiction

Lewis' last novel was Till We Have Faces. Many believe (as he did) that it is his most mature and masterful work of fiction, but it was never a popular success. It is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the unusual perspective of Psyche's sister. It is deeply concerned with religious ideas, but the setting is entirely pagan, and the connections with specific Christian beliefs are left implicit.

Related Topics:
Till We Have Faces - Cupid and Psyche

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Before Lewis's conversion to Christianity, he published two books: Spirits in Bondage, a collection of poems, and Dymer, a single narrative poem. Both were published under the pen name of Clive Hamilton.

Related Topics:
Spirits in Bondage - Dymer

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