C.S. Lewis was a consummate letter writer: even with arthritic pains in his hands and fingers, he never stopped writing. His brother Warnie helped him by often typing out answers to correspondents for him. However, it was Lewis himself who felt obligated to those who consulted him about his books and to provide an answer or comment.

This section includes letters by Lewis to individuals and imaginary people, as well as collections of letters written to Lewis by his many correspondents.

  1. The Screwtape letters. London: Geoffrey Bles. Illustrated, with a study guide. Prepared by Walter Hooper and Owen Barfield. Lord and King Associates, Inc. Distributed by Fleming H. Revell Company 1976. Published in 1961 as The Screwtape letters & Screwtape proposes a toast, with a new Preface by the author. Macmillan Company.

Revised edition contains the C.S.Lewis Preface of 1960, Screwtape Proposes a Toast, and the never-before-published Lewis Preface to the Toast.

Probably the best known of Lewis’s books (apart from the Narnia series), it is a series of 31 letters written and published weekly in the Guardian. The story’s principal actor is a senior devil (Screwtape) who gives instructions to a junior devil (Wormwood) on how to best tempt a particular man (and people in general). God is referred to as “The Enemy.”

The edition I have was published in 1942 and dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien. As part of his rationale for this type of genre, Lewis quotes Luther, who said: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.”

  1. Mere Christianity. NY: The Macmillan Company. See also: 1955.

Appendix A includes some of the letters that Lewis wrote in response to listeners’ questions. Lewis explains that he is not trying to convert anyone with his talks, nor is he focusing on any particular denomination and “the book, however faulty in other respects, did at least succeed in presenting an agreed, or common, or central, or ‘mere’ Christianity” (Preface, xl).

  1. A grief observed. [N. W. Clerk, pen name] London: Faber & Faber.

A very intimate account of Lewis’s journey of grief after his wife died. He comments “Where is she now? That is, in what place is she at the present time. But if H. is not a body—and the body I loved is certainly no longer she—she is no place at all” (21). “If the dead are not in time, or not in our sort of time, is there any clear difference, when we speak of them, between was and is and will be?” (22) “Unless, of course, you can literally believe all that stuff about family reunions ‘on the further shore’, pictured in entirely earthly terms. But that is all unscriptural, all out of bad hymns and lithographs. There’s not a word of it in the Bible. And it rings false. We know it couldn’t be like that. Reality never repeats” (23). “Probably half the questions we ask—half our great theological and metaphysical problems—are like that [nonsense]” (55). “There is also, whatever it means, the resurrection of the body. We cannot understand. The best is perhaps what we understand least” (59).

  1. Letters to Malcolm: chiefly on prayer. NY: Harcourt, Brace & World; 1964 by Geoffrey Bles. Fontana Books 1966; Fount Paperbacks 1977.

There are 21 letters to “Malcolm” that begin with the subject of private (not corporate) prayer. Lewis reminds us that the charge to Peter was to feed His sheep, not to experiment with rats or teach dogs new tricks (5). He suggests that prayers without words are best (11) and that the relationship between us and God should be private and intimate (13). Although he allows for the possibility of prayers for the dead he sees it as a “great danger” (15) and also that the place or position we pray in is not the issue as much as praying with discipline. Lead us not into temptation is a petition to make our paths straight and that we be spared, when possible, from crises (28). Some things we don’t pray about: “We don’t pray about eclipses” (38). “In every Church, in every institution, there is something which sooner or later works against the very purpose for which it came into existence” (43). Lewis often makes the point in his writings that “God and His acts are not in time. Intercourse between God and man occurs at particular movements for the man, but not for God” (48). He concludes that the images we have are more important and more to be trusted than theological abstractions because the latter is “itself a tissue of analogies: a continual modelling of spiritual reality in legal or chemical or mechanical terms” (52). “There is always hope if we keep an unsolved problem fairly in view; there’s none if we pretend it’s not there” (59). God listens to our prayers and takes them into account (61) even if he does not answer them like we wish. He points out that the increased number of people that we need to pray for is one of the burdens of old age! (66) “The true Christian’s nostril is to be continually attentive to the inner cesspool” (98). “Our emotional reactions to our own behaviour are of limited ethical significance” (99). See (108) for comment on purgatory. “If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be a delight. Some day, please God, it will be” (114). “I must say my prayers today whether I feel devout or not; but that is only as I must learn my grammar if I am ever to read the poets” (115). There are many rich moments in prayer to God but “It is no good angling for rich moments. God sometimes seems to speak to us most intimately when he catches us, as it were, off our guard” (116).

  1. Letters to an American lady. Edited by Clyde S. Kilby . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Preface by Kilby . “These letters accentuate rather than change the character of Lewis as it is generally known. In them are his antipathy to journalism, advertising, snobbery, psychoanalysis, to the false and the patent, to wheels and stir and ‘administration’ and the multitude of petty or insidious practices that sap personal and national freedom. And we must not fail to add his antipathy to letter-writing….Yet here we have enough letters to fill a book written to one person in a far country whom he never expected to meet in this world. Although this is one of the longest of Lewis’s correspondences, it is not the only one running to a hundred or more letters….The obvious thrust of these letters is spiritual encouragement and guidance and it is chiefly here that they have their value” (6,7).

Lewis never met the woman or expected to, but his letters run to over 100 and he could have found reasons “to justify pitching his mail into the wastepaper basket” (6). Nevertheless, Lewis regarded it important to offer some encouragement and guidance to the woman. And, fittingly, “Because both Lewis and his correspondent had in common a mélange of physical troubles, we learn more here than anywhere else of his increasingly numerous maladies that were finally to join hands in his decease” (8).

  1. They stand together: The letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (1914-63). Edited by Walter Hooper. NY: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

Contents: Introduction by Walter Hooper; Editor’s Note: Letters from C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves; Letters from W.H. Lewis to Arthur Greeves; Letter from Joy Davidman to Arthur Greeves; Letters from Arthur Greeves to C.S. Lewis. Index.

“When, as I have said, the bulk of these letters came into his hands, Warren showed not the slightest interest in reading them. Indeed, when I suggested that they would almost certainly clear up some of the ‘problems’ he saw in the Lewis-Moore friendship he made it clear that he did not wish to read the letters, much less hear them discussed. But, oddly, he had no objection whatever to my editing them for publication” (21).

  1. The collected letters of C.S. Lewis: Family letters. 1905-1931. Volume 1. Edited by Walter Hooper. HarperSanFrancisco.

“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis continues to fascinate those who have been enchanted by The Chronicles of Narnia and thrilled by his theological books….This collection, the most extensive ever published, brings together the best of these, carefully selected and arranged.” (From the back cover)

  1. The collected letters of C.S. Lewis: Books, broadcasts, and the war. 1931-1949. Volume 2. Edited by Walter Hooper. HarperSanFrancisco.

“In this, the second volume of C.S. Lewis’s letters, we witness the formation of both a world-class scholar and a world-changing popular writer. Lewis was not only a great author but also an extraordinary correspondent and in his lifetime wrote thousands of letters to family and friends. This carefully selected and arranged collection, the most extensive ever published, brings together the best of these.” (From the back cover)

  1. The collected letters of C.S. Lewis: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy. 1950-1963. Volume 3. Edited by Walter Hooper. HarperSanFrancisco.

“Arranged in chronological order, this final volume covers the years 1950—when The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published—through 1963, the year of Lewis’s untimely death.” (From the back cover)

  1. Yours, Jack. Spiritual directions from C.S. Lewis. NY: Harper Collins.

Contents: Editor’s Note. Acknowledgments. C.S. Lewis Letters: 1916; 1920-1921; 1929-1936; 1938-1963. Index. Biblical Index.

“Most of these letters are currently only available in their entirety—a collection consisting of three hefty tomes. Yours, Jack features the best inspirational readings and sage counsel culled from C.S. Lewis’s letters, offering an accessible look at this great author’s personal vision for the spiritual life. This thematic selection from his letters offers the freshest presentation of Lewis’s writing since his death in 1963. Yours, Jack will showcase Lewis’s remarkable teachings and vision for a new generation.” (From the dust jacket)

Bleakley, David. 1998. C.S. Lewis at Home in Ireland: A Centenary Biography. Bangor, Northern Ireland: Standtown Press.

On the 100th anniversary of Lewis’s death David Bleakley, who was born and lived close to the Lewis family in Strandtown, Belfast, Ireland, put together a book that shows us Lewis growing up and interacting with his community. Lewis’s Irish identity is the focus of the book, with pictures and stories of the Lewis extended family. There are letters and comments by his Oxford and Cambridge teachers and friends, by monastic acquaintances and, especially, from the voices of his hometown. Children also write about the influence the Narnian books, in particular, have had on them. There is even a letter by evangelist Billy Graham, who had met and knew Lewis personally.

Bloom, Harold, ed. 2006. C.S. Lewis. Bloom’s Modern Critical Views. NY: Infobase Publishing.

Bloom states that “C.S. Lewis was the most dogmatic and aggressive person I have ever met” (1). He met Lewis at Cambridge and classifies Lewis as “a Christian polemicist and I an eccentric Gnostic Jew, devoted to William Blake” (1). With this statement Bloom proved himself to be quite dogmatic and aggressive.

Each chapter is written by an author who is thoroughly acquainted with Lewis’s works and many provide personal insights into Lewis’s  character and values. The chapters are:

Introduction by Harold Bloom; Dreams and letters by Chad Walsh; Fallen and redeemed: Animals in the novels of C.S. Lewis by Margaret Blount; The inconsolable secret: Biography by Margaret Patterson Hannay; The power of language by Dabney Adams Hart; “Logic” and “Romance”: The divided self of C.S. Lewis by Lee D. Rossi; The ‘Narnia books by C.N. Manlove; The apologist by Joe R Christopher; The revered image: Elements of criticisms and Medievalism by David C. Downing; Masking the misogynist in Narnia and Glome by Kath Filmer; Children’s storyteller by Lionel Adey; and C.S. Lewis: Poet by Don W. King. A chronology of Lewis follows.

Christensen, Michael J. 1971. C.S. Lewis on Scripture: His thoughts on the nature of Biblical inspiration, the role of revelation and the question of inerrancy. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Appendix A. Two Letters from C.S. Lewis: The first is to Corbin Carnell, April 4, 1953, in which he comments on questions about the historicity of certain Bible stories, such as on Jonah and calling it a miracle. In the second letter (May 7, 1959) he writes to Clyde S. Kilby on the divine authority of Scripture. Lewis believes “the over-all operation of Scripture is to convey God’s Word to the reader (he also needs his inspiration) who reads it in the right spirit, I fully believe” (99).

Collins, Owen, Compiler. 2000. To quote C.S. Lewis. London: Fount. (an imprint of HarperCollinsReligious)

Contents: Introduction. A brief chronology. Quotations by subject: [109 items]. Fifty of C.S. Lewis’s one-liners. The last will of C.S. Lewis. A select bibliography of C.S. Lewis’s work. Books and letters by C.S. Lewis: a chronological list.

“This collection brings together over two hundred of quotations from more than forty of Lewis’s various books, together with extracts from some of his letters and spoken words” (xi).

“C.S. Lewis has long provided an abundant source of succinct and original quotations for speakers, teachers, and preachers. Lewis was a prolific writer and commented on many subjects of theology, literature, philosophy and the arts. In this book a wealth of short quotations has been gathered together and arranged helpfully in subject matter from A-Z, enabling the reader to find a suitable quotation for every occasion. The wisdom and wit of C.S. Lewis is accessible here as never before.” (From Amazon)

Owen Collins is the editor of several books including Speeches That Changed the World and The Oral History of Christianity.

Cording, Ruth James. 2000. C.S. Lewis: A celebration of his early life. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Chapter 5 (50-65), “Flora’s letters,” are excerpts from Lewis’s mother to his father, Albert, while she and the children were on holidays to the seaside. The letters were written between 1900 and 1907; photos are included throughout the book.

“Having worked in the collection of Lewis letters and books since 1965, I hope to help others enjoy the vast serendipity of the anthology he left for us….I want this book on my ‘coffee table’ to remind me—and to share with others, through story and pictures—things about C.S. Lewis that are too good to miss, and a few reminiscences that may not be found anywhere else” (xiii).

Ruth James Cording is a freelance writer living in Wheaton, Illinois. She is a member of The National League of American Pen Women and a graduate of Wheaton College.

Dorsett, Lyle W. and Marjorie Lamp Mead, eds. 1985. Foreword by Douglas H. Gresham. C.S. Lewis letters to children. NY: Macmillan Publishing Co.

Contents: Foreword. Introduction. 1) C.S. Lewis: His Childhood; 2) A Note to Children; 3) The Letters. Bibliography.

In this volume Lewis answers the letters of children who have contacted him with questions about the various Narnia books. The editors note that Lewis’s letters to children are “too large [to collect all of them] and the author frequently repeated himself. What we have is a representative sample” (7). Although many of the letters are to unidentified individuals, an exception is those to Sarah, his godchild. In those cases he signs the letters as “your affectionate godfather, C.S. Lewis.” He often includes little sketches as well. Another exception was “Joan,” who received 28 letters from Lewis over a period of almost 20 years. In one of the letters to Joan (63-64) Lewis gives her practical advice on writing, e.g., “Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean ‘More people died’ don’t say ‘mortality rose’” (64).

Lewis would often comment on and recommend books to his admirers and was always courteous and forthright about his feelings on his Narnia books. For example, he told “Michael” not to look forward too much to The Silver Chair or “you are sure to be disappointed” (31).

Dorsett, Lyle W., ed. 1988. The essential C.S. Lewis. NY: Collier Books. Macmillan Pub. Co. (An Anthology)

Contents: Preface; Acknowledgments; Chronology. Part I C.S. Lewis: An Introduction to His Life and Writing; Part II Autobiography: From Surprised by Joy; From The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves (Lewis and Greeves corresponded for years); Part III children’s Fiction: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (complete); Part IV Adult Fiction: Perelandra (complete); From The Screwtape Letters; Part V Nonfiction: Christian Topics: From Mere Christianity; From Undeceptions; From Christian Reflections; From The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses; From The World’s Last night and Other Essays; From Reflections on the Psalms; From Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer; Part VI Poetry: From Poems; Part VII Philosophy: The Abolition of Man (complete); Part VIII Literary History, Theory and Criticism: From They asked for a Paper; From The Allegory of Love; From English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama; From Studies in Words; From Essays Presented to Charles Williams; From An Experiment in Criticism; From Fifteen Poets; Part IX Letters: From Letters of C.S. Lewis; From C.S. Lewis Letters to Children; From Letters to an American Lady. Selected Bibliography.

Dorsett reminds us that “C.S. Lewis never expected his personal letters to be published. Nevertheless, they now comprise some of his most important contributions…. Like a kindly shepherd, yet never patronizing or condescending, he provided pastoral advice to everyone who sincerely sought his help” (521).

Lyle W. Dorsett was professor of Christian formation and ministry at Wheaton College and Graduate School. He is now the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism at Beeson Divinity School.

Edwards, Bruce L., ed. 2007. C.S. Lewis: Life, works and legacy. Volume 4: Scholar, teacher, & public intellectual. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Chapter 2, “The Letters of C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis as Correspondent” (19-47) by Michael Travers. Letters by Lewis begin as early as November 1905 and continue until a few weeks before he died in September 1963. The letters of Lewis between 1914 and 1920 are mainly to his father, but also to his life-long friend, Arthur Greeves. This period includes his time in the war, his wounds and subsequent return to Oxford. The next period is from his conversion in 1931 until the his last weeks in 1963. Edwards writes that “The striking impression  of Lewis’s mature letters is one of a humble, quiet man who loves a tranquil life, and on e who genuinely cares about the people to whom he writes” (25). Lewis’s audiences included family, friends, former students, and with people seeking advice. In addition to Greeves , his brother and father, he wrote regularly to Owen Barfield and Sister Penelope.

Edwards, Earl. 2013. C.S. Lewis: 100 amazing facts, letters and last will. [On my Kindle]

Contents: Introduction. 1) Romans 5:3-5; 2) Facts 1-10; 3) The Ass; 4) Facts 11-20; 6) De Profundis; 7) Facts 21-40); 8) Satan speaks (II); 9) Facts 41-76; 10) Alexandrines; 11) Facts 77-100; 12) Books that shaped C.L. Lewis; 13) Three letters by C.L. Lewis; 14) The last will of C.L. Lewis. [On my Kindle]

Harwood, Laurence. 2007. C.S. Lewis: My Godfather. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Letters from Lewis as the Godfather of Harwood include one that is especially encouraging—the time Harwood had to drop out of Oxford due to his grades.

Hooper, Walter, ed. 1966, 1988. Letters of C.S. Lewis. Second edition, with a memoir by W.H. Lewis. Harcourt Brace & Company. This is a “revised and enlarged edition.”

Introduction by Walter Hooper; Memoir by Warren Lewis; The Letters; Index.

“Introduced and edited by Walter Hooper, this volume represents an important revision to the collection of Lewis’s letters published in 1966 [by W.H. Lewis]: several letters have been added, proper dates have been restored to some, correspondents’ names to others. And, as in the original volume, selected entries from Lewis’s own diary are included, as is Warnie Lewis’s fascinating memoir of his brother’s life.” (From the back cover)

Part IX (522-532) contains  letters from Lewis that have been previously published, including those to children and to an “American Lady.”

Howard, Thomas. 1987. C.S. Lewis: Man of Letters. A Reading of His Fiction. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.

Contents: Preface by Peter J. Kreeft. 1) The Peal of a Thousand Bells; 2) Narnia: the Forgotten Country; 3) Out of the Silent Planet: The Discarded Image; 4) Perelandra: The Paradoxes of Joy; 5) That Hideous Strength: The Miserific Vision; 6)Till We Have Faces: The Uttermost Farthing.

“At last! A book about C.S. Lewis that doesn’t sound like a term paper…a book that looks along Lewis rather than merely at him; a book that looks at something far important than Lewis: his world, which is also our world because it is the real world.” (From the Preface, p. 9)

Howard examines several stories to examine Lewis’s imagery, characters and value, as well as interjecting comments from his own readings that relate to the book of Lewis he is examining.

Kent, Daniel. 2015. The Screwtape Letters study guide: with answers. @thatdankent. [On my Kindle]

According to the author, “This study guide unpacks the major lessons Lewis emphasizes and will seek to apply these lessons in our daily lives. Also included: Teaching Tips and a 6 Week Teaching Outline.” Kent uses provocative questions and illustrations of his own as commentaries on each “letter” of Screwtape.

Daniel Kent is an adjunct professor at Bethel University and has taught on The Screwtape Letters for 17 years.

*King, Don W. 2009. Out of my bone: The letters of Joy Davidman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

“Although best known as the wife of C. S. Lewis, Joy Davidman was an accomplished writer in her own right, with several published works to her credit. Out of My Bone tells Davidman’s life story in her own words through her numerous letters — most never published before — and her autobiographical essay “The Longest Way Round.” / Gathered and expertly introduced by Don W. King, these letters reveal Davidman’s persistent search for truth, her curious, incisive mind, and her arresting, sharply penetrating voice. They chronicle her religious, philosophical, and intellectual journey from secular Judaism to atheism to Communism to Christianity. Her personal engagement with large issues offers key insights into the historical milieu of America in the 1930s and 1940s. Davidman also writes about the struggles of her earlier marriage to William Lindsay Gresham and of trying to reconcile her career goals with her life as mother of two sons. Most poignantly, perhaps, these letters expose Davidman’s mental, emotional, and spiritual state as she confronted the cancer that eventually took her life in 1960 at age 45. / Moving and riveting, Out of My Bone reveals anew the singular woman whom Lewis deeply loved and who influenced his later writings, especially Till We Have Faces.” (From Amazon)

King, Don W. 2013. Plain to the inward eye: Selected essays on C.S. Lewis. Abilene Christian U. Press. [On my Kindle]

Kort’s C.S. Lewis: Then and Now; A Review Essay on The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis.

*King, Don W., ed. 2014. The Letters of Ruth Pitter: Silent Music. Newark: University of Delaware Press.

A friend and frequent with C.S. Lewis, they met dozens of times. Like Lewis , she was moved by the writings of George MacDonald. (Reviewed in CSL, The Bulletin of the New York C.S. Lewis Society, May/June 2014)

Lewis did not save Pitter’s letters but she reconstructed their contents. She comments on Lewis’s poetic style, among other things. (She was negative about it and he thanks her.)

Lewis, W.H., ed. 1966. Letters of C.S. Lewis. Edited and, with a Memoir, by W.H. Lewis. Later revised and enlarged edition edited by Walter Hooper NY: Harcourt, Brace Company, 1988.

Illustrations are: C.S. Lewis in childhood; The family in Northern Ireland, circa 1901; Jack and Warren with their father, 1911; Jack aged ten with his father and Warren; Jack and his father; C.S. Lewis  on leave, 1918; C.S. Lewis in 1938; The brothers at Annogassan, 1949; The kilns at C.S. Lewis’ home; C.S. Lewis, circa 1958. The Memoir of C.S. Lewis is pp. 1-26.

Among other notable entries, Warnie notes: 1) his brothers “re-conversion to Christianity,” his honorary degrees, “a lavish and improvident scattering of cheques to various societies and individual lame dogs” (20), his fellowship at Cambridge and his marriage to Joy. In selecting the Letters, Warnie chose those that would help show “show what manner of man he was…[his] liveliness, [and] the colour and wit displayed throughout his life” (25).

See Hooper, ed. 1988, for a revised and enlarged edition of the letters.

W.H. Lewis was an authority on sixteenth-century France.

Morneau, Robert E. 1999. A retreat with C.S. Lewis: Yielding to a pursuing God. Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press.

“Robert E. Morneau weaves excerpts from Lewis’s allegories, letters and poems into a week of prayer and deepening acquaintance, ending with a list of resources to help you continue this relationship.” (From the Back Cover)

Moynihan, Martin, translator and editor. 1987. The Latin letters of C.S. Lewis to Don Giovanni Calabria of Verona and to members of his congregation, 1947 to 1961. Distributed by Crossway Books, Westchester Illinois. A Division of Good News Publishers.

Originally published under the title “The Latin Letters 1947-1961 of C.S. Lewis to Don Giovanni Calabria of Verona (1873-1954) and to Members of His Congregation,” in Seven: An Anglo-American Literary Journal, Vol. 6, published by the Marion E. Wade Center and Bookmakers Guild, Inc. © 1985 Bookmakers Guild, Inc. “The letters reveal what kind of friend C.S. Lewis was—concerned and encouraging, honest as well as gentle. They exhibit a joyful sense of intellectual camaraderie between two men committed to serving God with all their talents.”

O’Flaherty, William. C.S. Lewis goes to hell: A companion and study guide to The Screwtape Letters. Hamden, CT: Winged Lion Press.

Contents: Introduction: Why read a book about another book? A note on the arrangement of this book; How to get the most out of this book. Part One: Topical glossary: A) Major characters; B) Alphabetical listing of topics. Part Two: Flexible study guide; Includes short summary of key topics. Part Three: Extended summary of key topics. Part Four: Suggested answers to study guide. Appendices: 1) Lessons from The Screwtape Letters; 2) The popularity of C.S. Lewis; 3) Screwtape facts; 4) Keeping things out—the devils best tool? 5) God’s love in The Screwtape Letters: Where Wormwood is told about the love of God; 6) Publication history of The Screwtape Letters & Screwtape proposes a toast; 7) Screwtape speaks at Deomon-: Chapel: An original piece. Acknowledgments. About the author. Other books of interest.

Dickerson and O’Hara offer a new understanding of his pioneering style of fiction. An avid outdoorsman, Lewis deftly combined an active imagination with a deep appreciation for the natural world. Narnia and the Fields of Arbol, the first book-length work on the subject, explores the marriage of Lewis’s environmental passion with his skill as a novelist and finds the author’s legacy to have as much in common with the agrarian environmentalism of Wendell Berry as it does with the fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien. In an era of increasing concern about deforestation, climate change, and other environmental issues, Lewis’s work remains as pertinent as ever.” (From Amazon)

Peters, John. 1985. C.S. Lewis: The Man and His Achievement. Exeter, U.K.: Pater Noster Press.

Contents: 1) An Abiding Influence; 2) A Sketch of Lewis’s Life; 3) Visionary and Allegorist; 4) The Imaginative Apologist; 5) Science Fiction Too; 6) Letter Writer Extraordinary; 7) Appraisal. Notes. Index.

“My chosen method has been to allow Lewis to speak for himself as much as possible; he is by far the best and ablest commentator on and elucidator of his works, and this is where his letters act as companion volumes to his published works and help to substantiate certain of his attitudes and beliefs” (14).

*Sammons, Martha C. 2000. A far-off country: A guide to C.S. Lewis’s fantasy fiction. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

“A Far-Off Country offers a comprehensive introduction to C.S. Lewis’ major works of fantasy fiction: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, and Till We Have Faces. Drawing on Lewis’ manuscripts as well as unpublished letters, Sammons provides a detailed background for the novels, including biographical information on Lewis as it pertains to each work. She thoroughly investigates the characters, symbols, and themes of the novels, highlighting the Christian doctrines that are embedded in them in addition to the many Biblical parallels.

Vanauken, Sheldon. 1977. A Severe mercy. [Includes 18 previously unpublished letters by C.S. Lewis.] SF: Harper and Row.

Lewis and the author share their deep feelings as their wives live their last days on earth with cancer. Vanauken came to see his wife’s (Davy) death as a “severe mercy.” He saw Lewis a fortnight before Lewis’s death and they made tea “in the Kilns and talked about prayer and books” (229). “The disappearance of the grief is not followed by happiness. It is followed by emptiness” (231). But Vanauken found a foretaste of eternity in Davy’s dying.

Vaus, Will. 2010. The hidden story of Narnia: A book-by -book guide to C.S. Lewis’ spiritual themes. Cheshire, CT: Winged Lion Press.

“In a number of Lewis’ letters he comments on how children almost always recognize who Aslan is, whereas grown-ups seldom do.”

White, William Luther. 1969. The image of man in C.S. Lewis. Nashville: Abingdon Press. Also published by Hodder: London, 1970.

“I will be considering all forty-nine of Lewis’ books, but it is not essential for my purposes to survey all of Lewis’ articles, book reviews and letters….I will offer no extended biographical treatment….” (18)

White examines all of Lewis;’ books and articles and adds his own training in theology and literary criticism to his study.

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