The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. LewisThe White Witch, Aslan, fauns and talking beasts, centaurs and epic battles between good and evil -- all these have become a part of our collective imagination through the classic volumes of The Chronicles of Narnia. Over the past half century, children everywhere have escaped into this world and delighted in its wonders and enchantments. Yet what we do know of the man who created Narnia? This biography sheds new light on the making of the original Narnian, C. S. Lewis himself. Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential religious writer of his day. An Oxford don and scholar of medieval literature, he loved to debate philosophy at his local pub, and his wartime broadcasts on the basics of Christian belief made him a celebrity in his native Britain. Yet one of the most intriguing aspects of Clive Staples Lewis remains a mystery. How did this middle-aged Irish bachelor turn to the writing of stories for children -- stories that would become among the most popular and beloved ever written? Alan Jacobs masterfully tells the story of the original Narnian. From Lewis's childhood days in Ireland playing with his brother, Warnie, to his horrific experiences in the trenches during World War I, to his friendship with J. R. R. Tolkien (and other members of the "Inklings"), and his remarkable late-life marriage to Joy Davidman, Jacobs traces the events and people that shaped Lewis's philosophy, theology, and fiction. The result is much more than a conventional biography of Lewis: Jacobs tells the story of a profound and extraordinary imagination. For those who grew up with Narnia, or for those just discovering it, The Narnian tells a remarkable tale of a man who knew great loss and great delight, but who knew above all that the world holds far more richness and meaning than the average eye can see. |
From inside the book
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... began experiencing frequent and increasingly severe abdominal pain ; in February 1908 , she underwent an exploratory operation . As was common in that time , it was conducted in her home . The doctors dis- covered abdominal cancer , and ...
... began to discover new worlds within what they called the Little End Room . In 1905 , shortly after the family had moved to Little Lea , Warnie started school at the Wynyard School in Hertfordshire , England . ( Albert Lewis had devoted ...
... began to assume the character that Warnie and Jack experienced only after 1828 , when Thomas Arnold became headmaster at Rugby . Arnold stressed the importance of educating not just English gentlemen but Christian gentlemen , and ...
... began attending Malvern College in the Malvern Hills of Worcester- shire . Jack had to struggle on in Belsen until the summer of 1910 , when the school collapsed because Capron could no longer attract enough students ( though he told ...
... began school at Cherbourg in January 1911 ; he had recently turned twelve years old . He would leave Cherbourg in the summer of 1913 , writing a valedictory poem ( " Alas ! What happy days were those " ) , but in most respects the place ...
Contents
1 | |
19 | |
THREE Red beef and strong beer | 44 |
FOUR I never sank so low as to pray | 65 |
SEVEN Definitely believing in Christ | 136 |
EIGHT Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? | 163 |
NINE What I owe to them all is incalculable | 194 |
ELEVEN We soon learn to love what | 248 |
TWELVE Joy is the serious business of heaven | 280 |
AFTERWORD The Future of Narnia | 305 |