The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters is a work of Christian fiction by C. S. Lewis first published in book form in 1942. Versions of the letters were originally published in The Guardian newspaper.

Related Topics:
Christian - Fiction - C. S. Lewis - 1942 - The Guardian - Newspaper

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As an epistolary novel, it purports to be a collection of letters from a senior devil, Screwtape (an Under Secretary in the Lowerarchy), to his nephew Wormwood, an incompetent and very junior devil. We do not see Wormwood's letters to Screwtape, but the contents can be inferred from Screwtape's replies. Screwtape gives advice to Wormwood on how to secure the damnation of a human, known only as 'the Patient', in the face of 'The Enemy' (God).

Related Topics:
Epistolary novel - Damnation - God

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While The Screwtape Letters is one of Lewis' most popular works, Lewis himself claimed that the book was both easy and distasteful to write. He vowed never to write a direct sequel for this reason, although he did write an essay in 1959 entitled Screwtape Proposes a Toast, in which Screwtape gives an after-dinner speech to the Tempters' Training College for Young Devils. It first appeared as an article in the Saturday Evening Post.

Related Topics:
1959 - Saturday Evening Post

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