|
non fiction works
The Abolition of Man (1943)
The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition (1936)
Beyond Personality (1944)
Christian Reflections (1967)
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964)
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama (1954)
An Experiment in Criticism (1961)
The Four Loves (1960)
God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (1970)
A Grief Observed (1961)
Mere Christianity (1952)
Miracles: A Preliminary Study (1947, revised 1960)
Of Other Worlds (1982)
A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942)
Present Concerns (1986)
The Problem of Pain (1940)
Reflections on the Psalms(1958)
Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1966)
Studies in Words (1960)
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (1955)
They Asked For A Paper (1962)
fiction works
Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C. S. Lewis (1985)
The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956)
The Great Divorce (1945)
The Pilgrim's Regress (1933)
The Screwtape Letters (1942)
Screwtape Proposes a Toast (1961)
Space Trilogy (1938-1946)
Till We Have Faces (1956)
poetry
Spirits in Bondage (1919)
Dymer (1926)
Narrative Poems (1969)
The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis (1994)
gallery
|
basic biography
First of all, Clive Staples Lewis prefered the name 'Jack' which he announced to his family completely out of the blue and has been called ever since. He was born in Belfast, Ireland November 29, 1898. Yes 1898. His earliest childhood was one of bliss, then it all changed when his mother fell ill and died.
The family moved, Lewis' father grew completely withdrawn, and Lewis rejected God. He had a close relationship with his brother as a result, and one or two especially important friends. He was packed off to school at an early age, and he despised every minute of it. As prep for college (that's high school to you Americans), he was tutored by the 'Great Knock' who instilled a love of debate and logic.
In 1917, Lewis entered the army during WWI and had a horrible time which he basically suppressed the rest of his life. Many of his friends were killed, and keeping a promise to one of them he looked after his widow until she died.
He then went to Oxford where he successfully managed to be come a lecturer at Magdalen College in Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature. He was an extremely difficult teacher to have, and expected perfection.
It was through his aquaintance at Oxford that he eventually returned to an idea that God was real. Tolkien, and others had continually brought it up and soon Lewis had to acknowledge the facts. From there he realized that 'God' happened to be the one of the Bible he had rejected those years before.
From there he began writing and speaking on Christianity, best known for his WWII radio broadcasts.
In his 60s, Lewis began a correspondance with Joy, an American woman. This was not out of the ordinary for he received hundreds of letters a day which he answered. The writing turned into friendship which turned into a great admiration. Not love. Respect. Joy moved to England with her two sons, and soon she was to be turned out because of work permit issues. In order to help her, Lewis legally married Joy. It was not until later that they actually grew to love each other but by that time Joy was struck gravely ill with cancer. On her death bed they were married, and miraculously through prayer she recovered for a few years. Then she relapsed and died. Lewis went downhill from there, but some of his later works have been considered his finest. He died in 1963, almost unnoticed in the uproar of the period. That, I think, is how he would have liked it.
|
