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Literary Works: Non-Fiction

"The Abolition of Man"  London: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1943; rpt.
New York:

Macmillan Paperbacks Editions, 1965. Not explicitly Christian. Three lectures
defending
the concept of Natural Law (a moral standard known in principle to all human societies).

  "The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition" Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1936; rpt. New York: Oxford Paperback, 1958.
This work first made Lewis's reputation in his profession as a literature professor. It deals
with the development of allegorical love poetry in Western Europe from Ovid to Spenser.
Parts of it are of interest only to the specialist, but I do not think this is true of the book as
a whole. Reading it significantly changed my views on the workings of the subconscious.

"All My Road Before Me: the Diary of C. S. Lewis, 1922-1927" San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. Walter Hooper, ed.

"Beyond Personality: the Christian Idea of God" London: Geoffrey Bless, 1944.

"Boxen: The Imaginary World of C. S. Lewis" San Diego: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1985. Contains some of Lewis' earliest works.

"Christian Reflections" William B. Eerdmans, 1967
A collection of papers

"The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature"
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964.
This work is an account of the view of the cosmos that was standard in medieval times,
with a discussion of its effect on literature and on the imagination.

"English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Excluding Drama)"
Oxford:Clarendon Press, 1954.
A standard reference work. Much of the material is of interest chiefly to the specialist,
but someone already familiar with the doctrines on which Christians are in general agreed
and wanting to understand the differences that gave rise to the Protestant Reformation
will find much helpful material.

 "An Experiment in Criticism" Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961.
Deals with Art, particularly literature. Many critics have distinguished good books from
bad books, and then defined Bad Taste as a taste for Bad Books. Lewis asks what will
happen if we reverse the process by distinguishing two kinds of pleasures to be gotten
from books (or music, or painting) and then distinguishing books on the basis of the kind of
pleasure that they offer, or the way in which they invite the reader to approach them.

"Fern Seed and Elephants" Collins (Fount), 1975
A collection of papers.

 "The Four Loves" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1958.
An analysis of different kinds of love, and different uses of the word "love," taking as its
starting point four Greek words for kinds of love.  

"A Grief Observed" [originally under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk] 1961
An account of the suffering caused by the death of his wife, Joy, in 1960.

 "George MacDonald: An Anthology" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1946.

"God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics" Ed. Walter Hooper.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970.
A collection published after Lewis's death of various essays, brief memos, letters to the
editor, etc. that he had written. "Letters" Servant Books. Ann Arbor, Michigan,
1988 Latin letters (with English translations) exchanged between Lewis and two Italian
priests in Verona, Italy between 1947 and 1961.

"Letters of C. S. Lewis" Ed. W. H. Lewis. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1994
(second edition).

"The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (1914-1963)" Ed. Walter Hooper.
Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1979 Originally published as
"They Stand Together" Delightful and instructive correspondance between Lewis and
one of his closest friends.

  "Letters to an American Lady" William B Eerdmans, 1967.

"Letters to Children" Collier Books, MacMillian, 1988.

"Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1964.

"Mere Christianity" New York: MacMillian, 1943.
This originated as a series of fifteen-minute radio talks addressed to a very general audience,
undertaking to give a general account of Christian belief. It begins with a discussion of some
reasons for believing that God exists, and why it matters that He does, and then continues
with an account of the redeeming work of God in Christ. It includes a discussion of Christian moral standards, and Trinitarian theology. Throughout, the author undertakes to confine himself to the common Christian core of belief, and to steer clear of disagreements between denominations -- hence the word MERE in the title.

"Miracles: A Preliminary Study" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1947.
The author defines a miracle as "an interference with Nature by a supernatural power," and proceeds to examine the question of whether we have grounds for believing that there exists something that can properly be called supernatural (this involves definitions of Nature other than just "everything that exists"), whether there are grounds for supposing that that something could not or would not interfere with the workings of Nature, and what sort of view of reality is involved in the Christian assertion of the Miracle of the Incarnation (God took human nature upon Himself in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth). A cogent discussion and analysis of fundamental questions.  

 "Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories" Ed. Walter Hooper. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1966.
Includes "It All Began As A Picture" (1960), "On Criticism," "On Science Fiction" (1955), "On Stories" (1947), "On Three Ways of Writing for Children" (1952), "A Reply to Professor Haldane," "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said" (1956), and "Unreal Estates" (1964).

 "On Stories: and Other Essays on Literature" Ed. Walter Hooper. London, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1966.
Twenty Lewis pieces about the excellence of Story. Includes: "On Stories," "The Novels of Charles Williams," "A Tribute to E.R. Eddison," "On Three Ways of Writing for Children," "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said," "On Juvenile Tastes," "The Hobbit," and "A Panegyric for Dorothy L. Sayers," among others.

"The Personal Heresy: A Controversy" (co-authored by E.M.W. Tillyard) London: Oxford University Press, 1939.
Six essays (three by each author) debating whether poetry is, or should be, the expression of the poet's personality.

"A Preface to 'Paradise Lost'" London: Oxford University Press, 1960.
A series of lectures on epic poetry and in particular on Milton's Paradise Lost. Lewis delivered these in his professional capacity as a specialist in Mediaeval and Renaissance English Literature, but they will be of interest to Christians as well as to English students, for Lewis maintains that one cannot understand or appreciate the poem without understanding (not necessarily accepting) the beliefs that the poem presupposes.

 "Present Concerns" Ed. Walter Hooper. London, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986.
Nineteen short, lively, Lewis essays about a variety of things. Sample titles:
"On Living in an Atomic Age," "Is History Bunk?," "Sex in Literature,"
 "The Necessity of Chivalry," "Blimpophobia," and "Prudery and Philology."

"The Problem of Pain" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1940.
Undertakes to answer the question, "If God is good and God is omnipotent, then why is
there pain and evil in the world?" or, as otherwise put, "If God loves me, why can't
I get my locker open?"

"Reflections on the Psalms" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1958.
Problems or questions that occurred to Lewis while praying or studying the Psalms, and
his thoughts thereon.

"Rehabilitations and Other Essays" London: Oxford University Press, 1939.
Includes "Christianity and Literature," High and Low Brows, and "William Morris."

"Selected Literary Essays" Ed. Walter Hooper. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1969.

 "Studies in Medieval & Renaissance Literature" Ed. Walter Hooper.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966. Fourteen essays about a variety of
subjects in this field of literary study, including Dante, Tasso, Spenser, and Milton.

"Studies in Words" Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960.
Takes several English words (and often their counterparts in Latin or Greek) and discusses
changes in their meaning from century to century, and the patterns of human
thought underlying the changes.

"Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life" London: Geoffrey Bles,
1955; New York: Harcourt Brace, 1955.

 "They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses" London: Geoffrey Bless, 1962.
Includes "De Descriptione Temporum" (1954) and "Psycho-analysis and Literary
Criticism" (1941), among others.

"Transpositions and Other Addresses" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1949.
Includes "The Inner Ring" (1944), "Learning in War-Time" (1939), and
"The Weight of Glory" (1941).

 "The Weight of Glory" MacMillian, 1980
Includes:
THE WEIGHT OF GLORY - On the promises concerning Heaven.
TRANSPOSITION - (The title essay of the earlier editions.) On the in dwelling of
the higher in the lower.
THE INNER RING - On the urge to "belong" as a temptation.
AND OTHER ADDRESSES

"The World's Last Night" San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973
Includes:
THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER - Does it make sense to believe that prayer can change
things?
ON OBSTINACY IN BELIEF - Does it ever make sense to believe something
"in the teeth of the evidence"?
THE WORLD'S LAST NIGHT - How ought the doctrine of Christ's Second Coming to
affect our lives and thoughts?
AND OTHER ESSAYS - Many collections of Lewis's essays have appeared since his
eath, and there is an annoying lack of uniformity, so that the same essay may appear in
two different books, or in one but not another collection with the same title.

 

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Literary Works: Fiction and Poetry

Warning: some of the summaries listed below contain spoilers.


"The Dark Tower and Other Stories"

Ed. Walter Hooper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977.
Contains four stories - "The Man Born Blind," "The Shoddy Lands," "Ministering Angels," "Forms of Things Unknown," - and two fragments of unfinished novels.

"Dymer" [originally under the pseudonym of Clive Hamilton] London: Dent, 1926.
A Narrative poem, republished in 1950 under Lewis' name with a new Preface in which he summarized the subject of the poem as "the story of a man who, on some mysterious bride begets a monster: which monster, as soon as it has killed its father, becomes a god."
Included in "Narrative Poems," Ed. Walter Hooper (see below).

"The Great Divorce" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1946; rpt. New York: Macmillan, 1977.
A dream (owing some ideas to Dante) in which the author visits Heaven and Hell. The question is not what they are like physically, but rather what it means to be in Hell or in Heaven.

"The Horse and His Boy" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1954; rpt. New York:
Collier Books, 1970. Shasta, aided by the Tarkheena Aravis and two Talking Horses (Hwin and Bree), helps save Archenland from invasion.

"The Last Battle" London: The Bodley Head, 1956; rpt. New York: Collier Books,
970
The final story: in the last days, a clever ape has constructed a false Aslan. Even after Jill
Pole and Eustace Scrubb help Tirian to expose the deception, confusion reigns.
The children die in a railway accident in England at the same time that Narnia ends.
The children go on to find a new Narnia where "the inside is larger than the outside."

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950; rpt.
New York: Collier Books, 1970.
Four English children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) accidently discover a magic land
 that lies beyond and through an ordinary wardrobe. In this land, called Narnia, one of
them, Edmund, betrays his siblings to the wicked White Witch, who has been holding all
Narnia in thrall to winter. Only when the lion Aslan agrees to die at the witch's hand
can the betrayal be forgiven and Spring come to Narnia.

 "The Magician's Nephew" London: The Bodley Head, 1955; rpt. New York:
Collier Books, 1970.
Beginning in Victorian London, two children named Polly and Digory - whose Uncle
Andrew is a magician - meet a Queen during their travels who wants magic for power.
They are present at the creation of Narnia, when Aslan gives the gift of speech to the
animals.

"Narrative Poems" Ed. Walter Hooper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972.
Contains four poems: "Dymer" (with Lewis' 1950 Preface), "Launcelot,"
"The Nameless Isle," and "The Queen of Drum.

" "Out of the Silent Planet" London: John Lane, 1938; rpt. New York:
Macmillan Paperbacks Editions, 1965
First novel of the Space Trilogy. The main character, Ransom, is kidnapped and
taken to Malacandra (Mars) as a kind of human sacrifice. Ransom escapes his captors
and discovers the inhabitants are friendly. This voyage of philosophical adventure
culminates in a trial scene between Ransom and his former captors.

 "Perelandra" London: John Lane, 1943; rpt. New York: Macmillian Paperbacks
 Edition, 1965.
Second novel of the Space Trilogy. Ransom travels to Perelandra (Venus) where he must
fight with the Devil (who has taken possession of Weston, the scientist from the first novel)
or the soul of the Green Woman (the Eve of Venus). Ransom succeeds and thus prevents
a repetition on Venus of the Earth's fate - the fall and loss of Eden.

"The Pilgrim's Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason and
Romanticism"
London: Dent, 1933; rpt. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1958
An allegorical account of a search for Joy and Truth; the main character, John, finds these
where he least expected them - in a leap of (religious) faith. "Poems" Ed. Walter Hooper.
London: Geoffrey Cles, 1964; rpt. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977.
A selection of the poems Lewis wrote during his life. Does not include poems from the
first volume, "Spirits in Bondage" (see below).

 "Prince Caspian" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1951; rpt. New York: Collier Books, 1970.
The four children return to a Narnia much later in time than their last visit. They meet
the mouse Reepicheep and all assist Prince Caspian in defeating the Telmarines and
bringing back the Old Things.

  "The Screwtape Letters" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1942; rpt., with "Screwtape
Proposes a Toast" and a new Preface. New York: Macmillan, 1962.
A moral fable about temptation, faith and Christianity, cast in the form of letters from the
demon Screwtape to a lesser devil. Black is white, good is evil, and Hell is a bureaucracy.
The related "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" is a satire on the American and British
educational system, originally written for the Saturday Evening Post.

 "The Silver Chair" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1953; rpt. New York: Collier Books, 1970.
Eustace Scrubb, with a friend named Jill Pole, is sent by Aslan to find the imprisoned
Rilian - the true heir to the Narnian throne. Guided by Puddleglum, the children help
Rilian to escape from Underland.

 "Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics" [originally under the pseudonym of
Clive Hamilton]
London: William Heinemann, 1919.
Lewis' first book publication..

"That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups" London: John Lane,
 1945; rpt. New York: Macmillan Paperbacks Edition, 1965.
The third novel of the Space Trilogy. Back on Earth, Ransom heads a loosely formed
society, Logres, which opposes NICE, Lewis' satiric portrait of a modern power-mad
bureaucracy. The NICE hopes to recall Merlin and use him in their plot to recondition
society but succeeds only in constructing a modern Tower of Babel.

"Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1956; rpt.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1966.
The story of Cupid and Psyche (how Psyche, a beautiful mortal princess, is loved by
Cupid [Eros], the god of love himself and then loses him through a lack of trust) told in the
first-person by Orual, one of Psyche's two sisters. Orual learns that we cannot look the gods in the face until we have acquired faces - selves or souls. "The

Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader'" London: Geoffrey Bles, 1952; rpt. New York: Collier Books, 1970.
Edmund and Lucy join their cousin Eustace Clarence Scrubb ("he almost deserved it"), who becomes an unwilling voyager on a ship with King Caspian. Caspian (and Reepicheep) propose to sail to the World's End. They do. Aslan tells Edmund and Lucy that they are now too old for Narnia and must learn to see him - Aslan - in their own world.

 

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Secondary Works: Books on Lewis

and/or His Writings


Adey, Lionel

"C. S. Lewis's 'Great War' with Owen Barfield"
Univ. of Victoria, B.C.: ELS Monographs, 1978.
An assessment of a dispute about the imaginative faculty - whether it can bring new knowledge (Barfield's position) or not.

Baynes, Pauline and Riordan, James "A Book of Narnians - The Lion, the Witch and the Others"
1994
An illustrated book showing many characters of Narnia from all seven books. Each character has a beautifully illustrated colour drawing (by Pauline Baynes, original illustrator of "The Chronicles...") and snippets of text from the novels (compiled by James Riordan) about the characters. Includes a map of Narnia and surrounding lands and Lewis' outline of Narnian history in both Narnian and English years.

Beversluis, John "C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion"
1985
A critique of his religious thoughts and arguments.

Bramlette, Perry "C. S. Lewis: Life at the Center"
1996, Peake Road. Macon GA.
This small book(87pp) is about his prayer life, his friends, etc. It is not a literary criticism type volume.

Carpenter, Humphrey "The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends"
London: Allen & Unwin, 1978.
Although centered on Lewis, this "collective biography" is a study of all the men in that famous literary circle. Shows the Inklings against the backdrop of the literary culture of the 1920's and 1930's.

Christopher, Joe R., and Joan K. Ostling "C. S. Lewis: An Annotated Checklist of Writings about Him and His Works"
Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1973.

Como, James T. "C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences"
New York: Macmillan, 1979.
24 essays of memoir, anecdote, assessment, and analysis, with an Introduction.

Derrick, Christopher, et. al. "G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis: The Riddle of Joy"
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1989.

Downing, David "Planets in Peril : A Critical Study of C. S. Lewis' Ransom Trilogy"
Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1992.

Duriez, Colin "The C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia : A Complete Guide to His Life, Thought, and Writings"
Crossway Books, 2000  

Edwards, Bruce L. "Taste of the Pineapple: Essays on C. S. Lewis as Reader, Critic, and Imaginative Writer"
Bowling Green, OH:Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988. "A Rhetoric of Reading: C. S. Lewis's Defense of Western Literacy" BYU, 1987

Ford, Paul F. "A Companion to Narnia"
San Francisco, CA:HarperCollins Publishing Company, 1994.
An encylopedia listing of characters, themes, and biblical allusions in "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Gibb, Jocelyn, ed. "Light on C. S. Lewis"
London: Geoffrey Bles, 1965.
Nine writers reminisce about Lewis and study him as writer, teacher, scholar, and Christian apologist.

Gibson, Evan K. C. S. "Lewis, Spinner of Tales: A Guide to His Fiction"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980.
A guide for the "ordinary reader" to the ethical and theological implications of Lewis' fiction.

Gilbert, Douglas, and Clyde S. Kilby "C. S. Lewis: Images of His World"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1973.
Photographs of Lewis' "world" - Oxford and Cambridge, his home, the English countryside, the sea, and Ireland. With a concise biography and study of his relgious development.

Goffar, Janine "C. S. Lewis Index: A Comprehensive Guide to Lewis's Writings and Ideas"
Crossway Books, 1995.

Gormley, Beatrice "C. S. Lewis: Christian and Storyteller"
Wm B Eerdmans Pub Co, Grand Rapids, MI, 1998
Meet the creator of the Chronicles of Narnia, the man who made this fantasy series a favorite for generations. Readers of all ages will enjoy stories of Lewis's boyhood in Ireland and the imaginary world he and his brother created. They will also gain an understanding of Lewis's quest for joy, his personal struggles, and the ways his stories reflect his deep and powerful experience of God.

Green, Roger Lancelyn "Into Other Worlds: Space-Flight in Fiction, from Lucian to Lewis"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1973.
Beautiful photographs of Lewis' "world" - Oxford and Cambridge, his home, the English countryside, the sea, Ireland. With a concise biography and study of his religious development.

Gresham, Douglas "Lenten Lands"
Harper San Francisco, 1994

Griffin, William "Clive Staples Lewis: A Dramatic Life"
Harper and Row, 1986
An imaginative biography that seeks to recreate the events of Lewis's life, retelling them in short units of stories.

Hannay, Margaret Patterson "C. S. Lewis"
New York: Ungar, 1981.
Contains a brief biography followed by summaries of Lewis' novels and critical analyses with a study of Lewis' literary criticism, Christian apologetics, and final works.

Holmer, Paul L. "C. S. Lewis: The Shape of His Faith and Thought"
New York: Harper, 1976.
A brief study of Lewis' theology, impact, and critics. Emphasizes the quality of ordinary human knowledge, or "common" knowledge, which informs Lewis' work.

Hooper, Walter and Green, Roger "C. S. Lewis: A Biography"
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.
The "authorized" biography by two of his friends. Based on a thorough knowledge of Lewis' work and his friends as well as personal, even intimate, friendships. "C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide"
Harper San Francisco, 1996 "Past Watchful Dragons: The Narnian Chronicles of C. S. Lewis"
New York: Collier Books, 1979.
A study of the development of the creation of Narnia from the life, thought, and temperment of Lewis, written by his biographer (and literary editor).

Howard, Thomas "The Achievement of C. S. Lewis: A Reading of His Fiction"
Wheaton, Illinois: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1980.
A personal and well-received "reading" of the Space Trilogy, "Till We Have Faces," and the Narnia Chronicles. "C. S. Lewis: Man of Letters: A Reading of His Fiction"
Ignatius Pr, 1990

Keefe, Carolyn, ed. "C. S. Lewis: Speaker and Teacher"
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1971.
Reminiscences by seven people who discuss Lewis the lecturer. Anecdotes and analyses.

Kilby, Clyde S. "The Christian World of C. S. Lewis"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964.
A pioneering study of Lewis' Christian thought. Emphasis on the fiction and religious writings. Contains a summary of the Chronicles of Narnia.

Kreeft, Peter "C. S. Lewis: A Critical Essay"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1969.
A pamphlet which emphasizes Lewis' attack on modernism. "C. S. Lewis for the Third Millenium: Six Essays on the Abolition of Man."
San Fransisco, CA: Ignatius, 1994 "The Shadow-Lands of C. S. Lewis: The Man Behind the Movie"
Ignatius Pr, 1994

Lindskoog, Kathryn Ann "C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian"
Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1973.
A detailed summary of Lewis' Christian teachings. Contains many cross references to the novels and Narnia Chronicles, as well as to his works of apologetics. "Finding the Landlord: A Guidebook to C. S. Lewis's Pilgrim's Regress"
Cornerstone Pr Chicago, 1995   

Lindvall, Terry "Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis"
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996.
One of the few books on C. S. Lewis devoted entirely to an examination of this great author, teacher and Christian apologist's life and works in light of his humor. According to Dr. Lindvall, "One bright and compelling feature we can see, sparkling in his [Lewis'] sunlight and sparkling in his moonlight, is laughter. Yet it is too large to see at once because it inhabited all Lewis was and did."

Martindale, Wayne and Root, Jerry, editors "The Quotable Lewis"
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 1989.

Meilaender, Gilbert "The Social and Ethical Thought of C. S. Lewis"
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978.
Incorporates all of Lewis' writings into a sustained argument about Lewis' vision of life.

Menuge, Angus, editor "C. S. Lewis: Lightbearer in the Shadowlands"
Crossway, 1997.
Consists of 16 scholarly yet highly accessible essays which explore various aspects of C. S. Lewis's contributions to evangelism.

Myers, Doris T. "C. S. Lewis in Context"
Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1994.
Criticism and interpretation.

Payne, Leanne "Real Presence - The Christian Worldview of C. S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality"
Crossway Books, 1988
(originally published in 1979 as "Real Presence: the Holy Spirit in the Works of C. S. Lewis")

Reilly, R. J. "Romantic Religion: A Study of Barfield, Lewis, Williams, and Tolkien."
Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1971
Thesis is that Lewis (and the others) defended romanticism by showing it to be religious, and defended religion by "traditionally romantic means." Separate chapters on each writer. The chapter on Lewis emphasizes the fiction, especially "Till We Have Faces."

Sammons, Martha C. "A Guide Through Narnia"
Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1979.
Biographical sketch, plot outlines of the Chronicles, a study of the geography and history of Narnia, an analysis of the Christian implications, with a glossary.

Sayer, George "Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis"
Crossway Books, 1994

Schakel, Peter J., ed. "The Longing for a Form: Essays on the Fiction of C. S. Lewis"
Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1977.
Three general essays on Lewis' fiction, followed by several essays on the Space Trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, and "Till We Have Faces."   

Schofield, Stephen "In Search of C. S. Lewis"
Bridge Publishing, Inc. 1983
A collection of memoirs and interviews by about two dozen people who knew C. S. Lewis.

Sibley, Brian "The Land of Narnia: Brian Sibley Explores the World of C. S. Lewis"
Harpercollins Juvenile Books, 1990 "C. S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands"
Fleming H Revell Co, 1994 "Shadowlands: the Story of C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman"
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985.

Smith, Robert Houston "Patches of Godlight: The Patterns of Thought of C. S. Lewis"
Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1981.
A study of the underpinnings of Lewis' thought, "his underlying philosophy of religion, as it may be distinguished from his traditional Christian orientation on the one hand and his literary affinities on the other."

Walsh, Chad "C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics"
New York: Macmillan, 1949.
A Pioneering study of Lewis' importance, his biography, and his work. Surveys the fiction, apologetics, and scholarly work. "The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis"
New York: Harcourt, 1979.
With reservations about Lewis' apologetics, the author offers an enthusiastic but balanced evaluation of Lewis' fiction. "The Visionary Christian"
Touchstone Books, 1996

White, William Luther "The Image of Man in C. S. Lewis"
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1969.
Originally a seminary doctoral dissertation, this emphasizes Lewis' importance in twentieth-century Christian culture. Summarizes Lewis' theology; analyzes and refutes Lewis' critics.

Wilson, A. N. "C. S. Lewis: A Biography"
1991

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Annotated Chronological Listing

of C S. Lewis's Books

 

"What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects--with their Christianity latent."

"Christian Apologetics" in God in the Dock


1. Spirits in Bondage (London: Heinemann, 1919; San Diego: Harcourt,1984). A collection of early poems published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.

2. Dymer (London: Dent, 1926; New York: Dutton, New York: Macmillan).One long narrative poem published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton. It is out of print as a single volume, but was included in the 1969 collection Narrative Poems.

3. The Pilgrim's Regress (London: Dent, 1933; London: Sheed and Ward; London: Bles; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans). Semi-autobiographical fantasy tracing Lewis's return to Christianity. It is his book in prose, first foray into Christian apologetics and the seedbed of most of his later writing.

4. The Allegory of Love (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1936; London: Oxford University Press). Outstanding study of medieval literature and the tradition of courtly love.

5. Out of the Silent Planet (Oxford: John Lane, 1938; New York: Macmillan; London: Pan Books). First volume of Lewis's

[Numbers 6-13 are omitted in original newsletter]

14. The Abolition of Man (London: Oxford University Press, 1943; London: Bles, Macmillan, New York). An attack on false world views and affirmation of true values.

15. Beyond Personality (London: Bles, 1944; New York: Macmillan). The third part of Lewis's wartime radio series.

16. That Hideous Strength (London: John Lane, 1945; New York: Macmillan).Third of Lewis's science-fiction trilogy. Published in an abridged version as The Tortured Planet, by Avon Books in 1946.

17. The Great Divorce (London: Bles, 1945; New York: Macmillan). A fantasy visit to hell and heaven. This was one of Lewis's favorites of his own books.

18. Miracles: A Preliminary Study (London: Bles, 1947; New York: Macmillan; London: Fontana). An explanation and defense of miracles. The Fontana edition includes Lewis's expansion of chapter 3.

19. Transposition and Other Addresses (London: Bles, 1949; New York:Macmillan; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans). Published in the U.S. as The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. Originally three sermons and two Christian addresses. Contents: "Transposition," "The Weight of Glory," "Membership," "Learning in War Time," "The Inner Ring." The 1980 edition adds four more essays ("Why I Am Not a Pacifist," "Is Theology Poetry," "On Forgiveness," and "A Slip of the Tongue") and a partially misleading introduction by Walter Hooper.

20. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (London: Bles, 1950; London: Penguin; New York: Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). The first of the seven-volume Narnian series for children.

21. Prince Caspian (London: Bles, 1951; London: Penguin; New York: Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). Second of the seven-volume Narnianseries for children.

22. Mere Christianity (London: Bles, 1952; London: Fontana; New York: Macmillan). A volume combining The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior and Beyond Personality with a new introduction.

23. The Voyage of "The Dawn Treader" (London: Bles, 1952; London:Penguin; New York: Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins).Third of the seven-volume Narnian series for children.

24. The Silver Chair (London: Bles, 1953; London: Penguin; New York:Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). Fourth of the seven-volume Narnian series for children.

25. The Horse and His Boy (London: Bles, 1954; London: Penguin; New York:Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). Fifth of the seven-volumeNarnian series for children.

26. English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1954). Volume 3 of The Oxford History of English Literature series.

27. The Magician's Nephew (London: The Bodley Head, 1954; London: Penguin; New York: Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). Sixth of the seven-volume Narnian eries for children.

 

28. Surprised by Joy (London: Bles, 1955; London: Fontana; New York:Harcourt). Lewis's spiritual autobiography takes the reader to the point of his conversion.

29. The Last Battle (London: The Bodley Head, 1954; London: Penguin; New York: Macmillan; London: Collins; New York: HarperCollins). Seventh of the seven-volume Narnian series for children.

30. Till We Have Faces (London: Bles, 1956; New York: Harcourt). A difficult but rewarding novel; according to Owen Barfield, Lewis considered it his best work in the sphere of imaginative literature. The Time Reading Plan edition (1966) included a perceptive introduction by T. S. Matthews.

31. Reflections on the Psalms (London: Bles, 1958; London: Fontana; New York; Harcourt). Comments on the book of Psalms.

32. The Four Loves (London: Bles, 1960; London: Fontana; New York: Harcourt). Analysis of the four human loves and divine Love.

33. Studies in Words (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960). A scholarly study of seven words: nature, sad, wit, free, sense, simple, and conscience.

34. The World's Last Night and Other Essays (New York: Harcourt, 1960).A collection of seven essays about Christianity and values. Contents: "The Efficacy of Prayer," "On Obstinacy in Belief," "Lilies That Fester," "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," "Good Work and Good Works," "Religion and Rocketry," "The World's Last Night."

35. A Grief Observed (London: Faber and Faber, 1961; Greenwich, Connecticut: Seabury; New York: Bantam; New York: Harper & Row). An account of Lewis's bereavement originally published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk. The Bantam edition includes an informative afterword by Chad Walsh, and the Harper& Row gift edition includes a warm foreword by Madeleine L'Engle.

36. An Experiment in Criticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1961). An exploration into the subject of literary criticism and good reading.

 37. They Asked for a Paper (London: Bles, 1962). A dozen literary and Christian addresses that Lewis gave over a twenty-year period. Contents: "De Descriptione Temporum," "The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version," "Hamlet: The Prince or the Poem?" "Kipling'sWorld," "Sir Walter Scott," "Lilies That Fester,""Psycho Analysis and Literary Criticism," "The Inner Ring," "Is Theology Poetry?" "Transposition," "On Obstinacy in Belief," "The Weight of Glory."

38. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (London: Bles, 1964; London:Fontana; New York: Harcourt). Letters about prayer and the Christian life written to a fictitious friend. The first of Lewis's books to be published after his death.

39. The Discarded Image (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964).An introduction to medieval and renaissance literature.

40. Poems (London: Bles, 1964; New York: Harcourt). Over a hundred poems written throughout Lewis's life, edited by Walter Hooper. Many of those that Lewis published during his lifetime were inexplicably altered (for the worse) for this posthumous collection.

41. Screwtape Proposes A Toast and Other Pieces (London: Fontana, 1965).Eight sermons and lectures, all on religious themes. Contents: "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," "The Inner Ring," "Is Theology Poetry?""On Obstinacy in Belief," "Transposition," "TheWeight of Glory," "Good Work and Good Works," "A Slip of the Tongue."

42. Of Other Worlds (London: Bles, 1966; New York: Harcourt). Stories and essays about Story--fiction and fantasy--edited by Walter Hooper. Essays: "On Stories," "On Three Ways of Writing for Children," "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said," "On Juvenile Tastes," "It All Began With a Picture...," "On Criticism," "On Science Fiction," "A Reply to Professor Haldane," "Unreal Estates"; Stories: "The Shoddy Lands," "Ministering Angels," "Forms of Things Unknown," "After Ten Years." (Evidence has surfaced that "Forms of Things Unknown" is not by Lewis after all.)

43. Letters of C. S. Lewis (London: Bles, 1966; New York: Harcourt; London: Fount Paperbacks). Private letters from 1915 to 1963, collected and edited by W. H. Lewis. A memoir and pictures included. Knowledgable readers discount the attack upon Warren Lewis in Walter Hooper's introduction to the 1988 Fount edition.

44. Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966). Seven previously unpublished studies and seven more that were hard to obtain, edited by Walter Hooper. Contents: "DeAudiend is Poetis," "The Genesis of a Medieval Book," "Imagination and Thought in the Middle Ages," "Dante's Similes," "Imagery in the Last Eleven Cantos of Dante's Comedy," "Dante's Statius," "The Morte D' Arthur," "Tasso," "Edmund Spenser,1552-99," "On Reading The Faine Queene," "Neoplatonismin the Poetry of Spenser, " "Spenser's Cruel Cupid," "Genius and Genius, " "A Note on Comus."

45. Christian Reflections (London: Bles, 1967; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).A collection of fourteen papers about or relating to Christianity from the last twenty years of Lewis's life, edited by Walter Hooper. Contents: "Christianity and Culture," "Christianity and Literature," "Religion: Reality or Substitute?" "On Ethics," "De Futilitate,""The Poison of Subjectivism," "The Funeral of a Great Myth," "On Church Music," "Historicism," "The Psalms,""The Language of Religion," "Petitionary Prayer: A ProblemWithout an Answer," "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism," "The Seeing Eye."

46. Spenser's Images of Life (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,1969). Lewis meant to turn his notes from a course he taught on Spenser into a book, but he died before he had the chance. Dr. Alastair Fowler constructed this book from the notes.

47. Letters to an American Lady (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967; New York: Pyramid; London: Hodder and Stoughton). A collection of personal letters Lewis wrote to a troubled widow in the southern United States, edited by Clyde Kilby.

48. A Mind Awake (London: Bles, 1968; New York: Harcourt). Clyde Kilby's anthology of brief quotations from the whole spectrum of Lewis's writing.

49. Selected Literary Essays (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1969). A collection of twenty-two literary essays, edited and with an introduction by Walter Hooper. Contents: "De Descriptione Temporum," "The Alliterative Metre," "What Chaucer Really Did to Il Filostrato,""The Fifteenth-Century Heroic Line," "Hero and Leander," "Variation in Shakespeare and Others," "Hamlet: The Prince or the Poem?" "Donne and Love Poetry in the Seventeenth Century," "The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version," "The Vision of John Bunyan," "Addison," "Four-Letter Words," "A Note on Jane Austen," "Shelley, Dryden, and Mr. Eliot," "Sir Walter Scott," "William Morris," "Kipling'sWorld," "Bluspels and Flalanspheres: A Semantic Nightmare," "High and Low Brows," "Metre," "Psycho-Analysis and Literary Criticism," "The Anthropological Approach."

50. Narrative Poems (London: Bles, 1969; New York: Harcourt). Four long story poems edited by Walter Hooper. Contents: "Dymer," "Launcelot,""The Nameless Isle," "The Queen of Drum."

51. God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970; London: Bles). Published in England as Undeceptions. Forty-eight essays and a dozen published letters on theology and ethics not before available to most readers, collected and edited, with an introduction, by Walter Hooper. Contents: "Evil and God," "Miracles," "Dogma and the Universe," "Answers to Questions on Christianity," "Myth Became Fact," "Horrid Red Things," "Religion and Science," "The Laws of Nature," "The Grand Miracle," "Christian Apologetics," "Work and Prayer," "Man or Rabbit?" "On the Transmission of Christianity," "Miserable Offenders," "The Founding of the Oxford Socratic Club," "Religion Without Dogma?" "Some Thoughts," "The Trouble with 'X'..., " "What Are We To Make of Jesus Christ?" "The Pains of Animals," "Is Theism Important?" "Rejoinder to Dr. Pittenger," "Must Our Image of God Go?" "Dangers of National Repentance," "Two Ways with the Self," "Meditation on the Third Commandment," "On the Reading of Old Books," "Two Lectures," "Meditation in a Toolshed," "Scraps," "The Decline of Religion," "Vivisection," "Modern Translations of the Bible," "Priestesses in the Church?" "God in the Dock," "Behind the Scenes," "Revival or Decay?" "Before We Can Communicate," "Cross-Examination," "Bulverism," "First and Second Things," "The Sermon and the Lunch," "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," "Xmas and Christmas," "What Christmas Means to Me," "Delinquents in the Snow," "Is Progress Possible?" "We Have No 'Right to Happiness.'"

52. Fern-Seed and Elephants (Glasgow: Fontana/Collins, 1975). Eight essays on Christianity edited by Walter Hooper, including one never published before about forgiveness. Contents: "Membership," "Learning in War-Time,""On Forgiveness," "Historicism," "The World's Last Night," "Religion and Rocketry," 'The Efficacy of Prayer,""Fern-seed and Elephants."

53. The Dark Tower (London: Collins, 1977; New York: Harcourt). Four stories and two fragments of novels, edited by Walter Hooper. One of the stories and the title fragment were not previously available. Contents: "The Dark Tower," "The Man Born Blind," "The Shoddy Lands," "Ministering Angels," "Forms of Things Unknown," "After Ten Years." Three of these six items have turned out not to be by Lewis after all: "The Dark Tower," "The Man Born Blind," and "Forms of Things Unknown."

54. The Joyful Christian (New York: Macmillan, 1977). Readings from the work of C. S. Lewis selected and produced by Macmillan editor Henry William Griffin.

55. They Stand Together (London: Collins, 1979; New York: Macmillan).Over three hundred letters, mostly from C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves, edited by Walter Hooper. The letters span Lewis's life from 1914 to 1963. Knowledgeable readers dismiss the attack upon Warren Lewis's character that comprises most of the ten-page preface.

56. The Visionary Christian (New York: Macmillan, 1981). Readings from the works of C. S. Lewis edited by Chad Walsh.

 

57. On Stories, and Other Essays on Literature (New York: Harcourt, 1982). Twenty essays, not all available before. "On Stories," "The Novels of Charles Williams," "A Tribute to E. R. Eddison," "On Three Ways of Writing for Children," "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said," "On Juvenile Tastes," "It All Began with a Picture," "On Science Fiction," "A Reply to Professor Haldane," "The Hobbit," "Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings ," "A Panegyric for Dorothy L. Sayers," "The Mythopoeic Gift of Rider Haggard," "George Orwell," "The Death of Words," "The Parthenon and the Optative," "Period Criticism," "Different Tastes in Literature," "On Criticism," "Unreal Estates.

58. The Grand Miracle, and Other Selected Essays on Theology and Ethics (New York: Ballantine, 1982). Twenty-six items from God in the Dock . "Miracles," "Dogma and the Universe," "Answers to Questions on Christianity," "Myth Became Fact," "Horrid Red Things," "Religion and Science," "The Laws of Nature," "The Grand Miracle,""Christian Apologetics," "Work and Prayer," "Manor Rabbit?" "Religion without Dogma," "Some Thoughts," " The Trouble with X," "What Are We To Make of Jesus Christ?" "The Dangers of National Repentance," "Two Ways with the Self," On the Reading of Old Books," "Scraps," "The Decline of Religion," "Vivesection," "Modern Translations of the Bible," "God in the Dock," "Cross Examination," "The Sermon and the Lunch," "What Christmas Means to Me."

59. The Business of Heaven (London: Collins, 1984; San Diego: Harcourt). Daily readings edited by Walter Hooper.

60. Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C. S. Lewis (London: Collins,1985; San Diego: Harcourt). Bona fide Lewis juvenilia, burdened by questionable additions. (Illustrations for "The King's Ring" were by an adult, not by five-year-old Lewis, whose one authentic illustration for the play was omitted. "History of Animal Land" has faulty provenance, and the adult essay "Encyclopedia Boxoniana" is evidently not by Lewis.)

61. Letters to Children (New York: Macmillan, 1985; London: Collins). All of C. S. Lewis's available surviving letters to children, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead.

62. Present Concerns (London: Collins Fount,1986; San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). Nineteen essays, one never before published, edited by Walter Hooper. "The Necessity of Chivalry," "Equality," "Three Kinds of Men," "My First School," "Is English Doomed?" "Democratic Education," "A Dream," "Blimpophobia," "Private Bates," "Hedonics," "After Priggery--What?" "Modern Man and His Categories of Thought," "Talking about Bicycles," "On Living in the Atomic Age," "The Empty Universe," "Prudery and Philology," "Interim Report," "Is History Bunk?" "Sex in Literature." (Parts of "Modern Man and His Categories of Thought" have been questioned.)

63. First and Second Things: Essays on Theology and Ethics (London: Collins Fount, 1985). Seventeen previously published essays on a variety of topics, edited by Walter Hooper. Bulverism," "First and Second Things," "On the Reading of Old Books," "Horrid Red Things,""Work and Prayer," "Two Lectures," "Meditation in a Toolshed," "The Sermon and the Lunch," "On the Transmission of Christianity," "The Decline of Religion," "Vivisection," "Modern Translations of the Bible," "Some Thoughts," "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," "Xmas and Christmas," "Revival or Decay?" "Before We Can Communicate."

64. Timeless at Heart: Essays on Theology (London: Collins Fount, 1987).Ten previously published selections, edited by Walter Hooper. "Christian Apologetics," "Answers to Questions on Christianity," "Why I Am Not a Pacifist," "The Pains of Animals," "The Founding of the Oxford Socratic Club," "Religion Without Dogma?" "Is Theism Important?" "Rejoinder to Dr. Pittenger," "Willing Slaves of the Welfare State," "Letters."

 65. Letters, C. S. Lewis, Don Giovanni Calabria: A Study in Friendship (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Books, 1988). A brief correspondence in Latin between Don Calabria and C. S. Lewis (1947-54), and subsequent Lewis letters to Don Luigi Pedrollo (1954-61), translated into English and edited by Martin Moynihan. This is Lewis's ongoing response to a form letter from a Roman Catholic priest in Italy who had read Screwtape in Italian. It is not in Lewis's usual style because of constraints of language and culture. The letters appeared later as Una Gioia Insolita Lettere tra un prete cattolicoe un laico anglicano [A Rare Joy: Letters between a Catholic priest and an Anglican layman] by G. Calabria and C. S. Lewis (Milan: Editoriale Jaca,1995). Introduction and notes by Luciano Squizzato; translation from Latininto Italian by Patrizia Morelli; preface by Walter Hooper.

66. The Essential C. S. Lewis (New York: Macmillan, 1988). This 536-page collection of Lewis's previously published writing, edited by Lyle Dorsett, includes three complete books and a comprehensive sampling of briefer items.

67. The Quotable Lewis, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House, 1989). An encyclopedic selection of brief quotations from the published works of C.S. Lewis, chosen by editors Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root .

68. Christian Reunion and Other Essays (London: Collins Fount, 1990).A new essay followed by eleven previously published essays, edited by Walter Hooper. "Christian Reunion," "Lilies that Fester," "Evil and Good," "Dangers of National Repentance," "Two Ways with the Self," "Meditation on the Third Commandment," "Scraps,""Miserable Offenders," "Cross-Examination," "Behind the Scenes," "What Christmas Means to Me," "Delinquents in the Snow." Unfortunately, the title essay has faulty provenance and the central forty percent has been judged an editorial interpolation.

69. All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C.S. Lewis 1922-1927 (London:Collins, 1991; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). Lewis's off-and-on pre-Christian diary jottings, with a foreword by Owen Barfield; edited by Walter Hooper.

70. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection (London: Collins Fount,1992; Harper San Francisco). First published in England as Daily Readings with C. S. Lewis . Eighty-two brief previously-published passages, edited by Walter Hooper.

71. The Collected Poems of C.S. Lewis (London: Collins Fount, 1994). A compilation of Spirits in Bondage and Poems , with seventeen additional poems, edited by Walter Hooper. Although the introduction states that this single volume includes all Lewis's short poems, a few have been left out. The faulty revisions that first appeared in Poems (1964) are not corrected. Most of the penultimate poem, which is one of the longest, is not by Lewis.The belligerant new "Introductory Letter of 1963 by C.S. Lewis" lacks provenance.

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