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An Oxford student of C.S. Lewis's said he found his new tutor interesting, and was told by J.R.R. Tolkien, 'Interesting? Yes, he's certainly that. You'll never get to the bottom of him.' You can learn a great deal about people by their friends and nowhere is this more true than in the case of C.S. Lewis, the remarkable academic, author, populariser of faith - and creator of Narnia. He lost his mother early in life, and became estranged from his father, much to his regret. Throughout his life, key relationships mattered deeply to him, from his early days in the north of Ireland and his schooldays in England, as still a teenager in the trenches of World War One, and then later in Oxford. The friendships he cultivated throughout his life proved to be vital, influencing his thoughts, his beliefs and his writings. What did Arthur Greeves, a life-long friend from his adolescence, bring to him? How did J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other members of the now famous Inklings, shape him? Why, in his early twenties, did he move in with a single mother twice his age, Janie Moore, and live with her for so many years until her death? And why did he choose to marry so late? What of the relationship with his alcoholic and gifted brother, who eventually joined his unusual household? In this sparkling new biography, which draws on material not previously published, Colin Duriez brings C.S. Lewis and his friendships to life.

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Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	02 mai 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780745957258
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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C.S. Lewis
It may seem difficult to imagine that we could have a new take on C.S. Lewis s life when so much has been written - but this book is just that, thoroughly researched, wide-ranging, sympathetic, telling Lewis s story through the development of his greatest friendships, and so allowing us to see him not as a solitary genius but as someone whose brilliance was always being honed and clarified in conversation and letter-writing and plain human affection. This is a fine contribution to our understanding of a great man and a great disciple.
- Rowan Williams , Cambridge
For many readers, C.S. Lewis books are like old friends - by turn wise, comforting, amusing, thought-provoking, and occasionally annoying. This is not surprising, because Lewis knew how to make and keep friends. This is a book about a man steeped in friendships: academic, literary, spiritual, and emotional. Colin Duriez s engaging and perceptive biography introduces us to C.S. Lewis s many friends - from childhood companions to the late-won love of his life - and in meeting them, we have a uniquely intimate encounter with the man himself.
- Brian Sibley , author of Shadowlands
In memory of David Porter 1945-2005
C. S. Lewis
A biography of friendship
COLIN DURIEZ
Text copyright 2013 Colin Duriez
This edition copyright 2013 Lion Hudson
The right of Colin Duriez to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Lion Books
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/lion
ISBN 978 0 7459 5587 2
e-ISBN 978 0 7459 5725 8
First edition 2013
Picture Acknowledgments
p. i (top and bottom); p. iii (centre and bottom); p. v (centre left); p. viii (top right): Used by permission of The Marion E. Wade Centre, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
p. ii (top left, top right, and bottom): Northern Ireland Tourist Board 2010
p. vi: AmandaLewis/iStockphoto.com
All other images: Colin Duriez
Text Acknowledgments
Every effort has been made to trace the original copyright holders where required. In some cases this has proved impossible. We shall be happy to correct any such omissions in future editions.
pp. 15, 17, 27, 30, 38, 39, 150, 151, 191: Extracts from The Diaries of Warren Lewis copyright The Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton Illinois.
pp. 16, 31, 42, 48, 77, 91, 95-96, 108, 115, 120, 121, 125, 135-36, 177: Extracts from Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1955; pp. 22-23: Extract from Boxen by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1985; p. 29: Extract from The Magician s Nephew by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1955; p. 68: Extract from Dymer by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1926; pp. 160-61: Extracts from The Allegory of Love by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1936; pp. 165-66: Extract from That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1945; p. 167: Extract from The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1943, 1946, 1978. Reprinted by permission of The C. S. Lewis Company.
pp. 42, 90, 92-93: Extracts from Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis edited by G. B. Tennyson copyright Owen Barfield, 2006. Originally published by The Barfield Press; pp. 88, 217: Extracts from Light on C. S. Lewis edited by Jocelyn Gibb, 1965. Originally published by Geoffrey Bles. Reprinted by permission of Owen Barfield.
pp. 43, 69, 116, 125, 134, 145, 162, 181, 212, 222: Extracts from C. S. Lewis: A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper copyright Green and Hooper, 1988. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
pp. 43, 77, 80: Extracts from C. S. Lewis: A Biography by A. N. Wilson copyright A. N. Wilson, 2005. Reprinted by permission of Aitken Alexander.
pp. 92, 185: Extracts from C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences edited by James T. Como copyright James T. Como, 1980. Originally published by Simon and Schuster, reprinted by permission of James T. Como.
p. 156: Extract from Against the Stream: C. S. Lewis and the Literary Scene by Harry Blamires in Journal of the Irish Christian Study Centre copyright Harry Blamires, 1983. Reprinted by permission of Harry Blamires.
pp. 161-62: Extract from The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams copyright Charles Williams, 1931; p. 176: Extract from The House by the Stable by Charles Williams copyright Charles Williams. Reprinted by permission of David Higham.
p. 167: Extract from Voyages to the Moon by Marjorie Hope Nicolson copyright Marjorie Hope Nicolson, 1948. Sourced from Simon and Schuster.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover Image: Time & Life Pictures/ Getty Images
Contents

PREFACE

1. A NORTHERN IRISH CHILDHOOD

2. SCHOOLDAYS AND ARTHUR GREEVES: WATFORD, BELFAST, AND MALVERN

3. THE GREAT KNOCK : BOOKHAM, SURREY

4. OXFORD AND FRANCE: THIS IS WHAT WAR IS LIKE

5. STUDENT DAYS: OXFORD, AND MRS JANIE MOORE

6. THE ASPIRING POET AND SCHOLAR IN HARD TIMES: THE INSPIRATION OF OWEN BARFIELD

7. THE YOUNG DON: MEETING J.R.R. TOLKIEN

8. THE MOST RELUCTANT CONVERT

9. THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS

10. STORYTELLING AND REFLECTIONS: THROUGH THE CHANGING THIRTIES WITH TOLKIEN

11. THE WARTIME YEARS AND AFTER: ENTER CHARLES WILLIAMS

12. A NEW ERA AND A CHANGE OF STRATEGY: THE NARNIA FACTOR

13. THE SURPRISING AMERICAN: MRS JOY DAVIDMAN GRESHAM

14. LEAVING THE SHADOWLANDS

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY

NOTES

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHIC INSERT
Preface

An Oxford student of C.S. Lewis s told J.R.R. Tolkien that he found his new tutor interesting. Tolkien responded: Interesting? Yes, he s certainly that. You ll never get to the bottom of him.
There is a proverb in a number of languages that goes like this: Tell me who your friends are, and I ll tell you who you are. You can learn a great deal about people by their friends - the company they keep - and nowhere is this more true than in the case of C.S. Lewis, the remarkable academic, author, popularizer of faith, and creator of Narnia.
Throughout Lewis s life, key relationships mattered deeply to him, from his early days in the north of Ireland and his schooldays in England, as a teenager in the trenches of the First World War, and then later in Oxford. The friendships he cultivated throughout his life proved to be vital, influencing his thoughts, his beliefs, and his writings.
My biography of Lewis focuses on some of his most important friendships, including members of the literary group associated with him, the Inklings. Along with the places and events of his life, as well as his writings, these friendships help us to understand just who C.S. Lewis was. What did Arthur Greeves, for instance, a lifelong friend from his adolescence, bring to him? How did J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other members of the now famous Inklings, shape him? Why, in his early twenties, did he share a home with a single mother twice his age, Janie Moore, looking after her for so many years until her death? And why did he choose to marry so late? What of the relationship with his alcoholic and gifted brother, who joined his unusual household?
C.S. Lewis was, in many ways, a remarkable enigma, as Tolkien intimated to the student. He guarded his inner life, yet attracted his readers by his friendly, warm, and open tone. Even in his erudite scholarship, the reader feels they are being treated as an equal with whom Lewis s insights into ancient poets and writers are being shared. Lewis appears to assume you are a fellow learner, but wears his knowledge lightly. He does not intimidate, but draws you in. As the narrator of the Narnian stories, his voice is simply like that of a kindly uncle.
An atheist for much of his formative early life, Lewis became one of the most well known of modern popularizers of the Christian faith. Yet the scope of his varied books is not limited by age, creed, or nationality. He wrote books for children as well as for students and scholars, and successfully explored new genres such as science fiction and fantasy for adults. He breathed new life into the traditional world of theological writing, with his best-selling The Screwtape Letters, which put him on the cover of Time magazine after the Second World War, signalling an extraordinary impact upon America that has lasted to this day. Works of his literary scholarship are still in print half a century after his death, and he is a household name in the British Isles, mainly through his The Chronicles of Narnia.
My book is not aimed at the scholar, but the general reader who may have read a Narnia book or two, or perhaps The Screwtape Letters . Some readers may have dipped into his popular theology, such as Mere Christianity , or the record of his bereavement in losing his wife, A Grief Observed . Others may have seen the film Shadowlands , or an adaptation of a Narnia story.
Though my book aims first of all to tell the story of Lewis s life, and the part played in it by his friends, it draws upon the latest scholarship (suitably digested) and unpublished material housed at The Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Illinois, USA, and at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
The Marion E. Wade Center in particular holds extensive writings by Warren Hamilton Lewis (known as Warnie), bequeathed by him to its archives, and oral history interviews from those who knew Lewis and have since died. The centre shares copies of W.H. Lewis s manuscripts with the Bodleian. Scholars and others knowledgeable of C.S. Lewis to whom I m indebted are too numerous to mentio