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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... seem ) anything like a sense of romance . " I wonder do I love you ? " she wrote to Albert , as though considering a problem in logic . " I am not quite sure . I know that at least I am very fond of you , and that I should never think ...
... seems oddly perverse for Lewis to say that his experiment in prayer — or , if he would prefer , in practical magic- " produced no results beyond it- self . " If a child is deeply confirmed in a preexisting belief that “ things ” aren't ...
... seems to be a function of his rural Anglican upbringing rather than of any particular devotion ; only at a few ... seem to hope : that his mother is " going to die " he takes as a given . But then , after having traveled to the Wood ...
... seem never to be with them : either the chil- dren have been sent to the countryside to avoid the dangers of the London Blitz - the book takes place during the Second World War- or they are on their way to their various boarding schools ...
... seems to have continually disrupted whatever emotional equilibrium his sons - especially his younger son - man- aged to retain . ( As if the death of his wife were not enough , Albert's father had died in April , and his brother Joseph ...
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 |