A repackaged edition of the revered author’s set of dueling critical essays with fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard in which they debate the role of an author’s biography in the critical appraisal of literature.
C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of NarniaMere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—challenges fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard on one of the most intriguing questions involving writers and writing. Is a work of imaginative literature primarily influenced by the author or by the subject matter?
Lewis argues that the author’s own personality and biography has little to no impact on the writing, while Tillyard contends the opposite: that the author’s own imagination and story have an indelible influence on a piece of work. Clever, erudite, and enlightening, their debate may not definitively settle the issue, but it does offer invaluable insight and intellectual delight for all dedicated readers.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland, in Belfast on 29 November 1898. His mother was a devout Christian and made efforts to influence his beliefs. When she died in his early youth her influence waned and Lewis was subject to the musings and mutterings of his friends who were decidedly agnostic and atheistic. It would not be until later, in a moment of clear rationality that he first came to a belief in God and later became a Christian.
C. S. Lewis volunteered for the army in 1917 and was wounded in the trenches in World War I. After the war, he attended university at Oxford. Soon, he found himself on the faculty of Magdalen College where he taught Mediaeval and Renaissance English.
Throughout his academic career he wrote clearly on the topic of religion. His most famous works include the Screwtape Letters and the Chronicles of Narnia. The atmosphere at Oxford and Cambridge tended to skepticism. Lewis used this skepticism as a foil. He intelligently saw Christianity as a necessary fact that could be seen clearly in science.
"Surprised by Joy" is Lewis's autobiography chronicling his reluctant conversion from atheism to Christianity in 1931.
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