Duriez Colin - The A-Z of C. S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings

THE

AZ

OF

C.S. LEWIS

An encyclopedia of his life,
thought, and writings

COLIN DURIEZ

Text copyright 1990, 2000, 2002, 2013 Colin

Duriez This edition copyright 2013 Lion Hudson

The right of Colin Duriez to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Lion Books
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/lion

ISBN 978 0 7459 5586 5
e-ISBN 978 0 7459 5789 0

Original 2000 edition published in the USA by Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA. First British edition published in 1990 by Monarch Publications Ltd.

Acknowledgments

pp. 54, 143, 168: Extracts taken from Brothers and Friends: The Diaries of Major Warren Hamilton Lewis copyright The Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton Illinois.

p. 308: Extract from The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute and Paul Barnett copyright John Clute and Paul Barnett, 1997. Reprinted by permission of Little Brown.

Extracts by C.S. Lewis copyright C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Extracts reprinted by permission.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Cover image Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos

Duriez is a leading scholar in both Lewis and Tolkien studies, so it is no surprise he has packed so much useful information about Lewis between two covers. The AZ of C.S. Lewis serves well as a thorough and concise reference source. But it is more than that, as Duriez also offers insightful and substantive interpretive remarks about Lewiss recurring ideas, and the core concepts of his most enduring books. A valuable addition to the bookshelf for both casual readers of Lewis and more serious students of his life and legacy.

DAVID C. DOWNING, AUTHOR OF THE MOST RELUCTANT CONVERT AND OTHER KEY BOOKS ON C.S. LEWIS.

With The A Z of C.S. Lewis , Colin Duriez provides both novice readers and experienced scholars with a rich and ready resource for expanding their knowledge of the formidable Professor Lewis. There is an art to creating a compelling encyclopedia that demands both relevant and accurate information; we are indeed indebted to Duriez for his keen mastery of the Lewis canon that guides his judicious choices for inclusion and annotation. With this volume, he adds once more to his estimable catalogue of works that illuminate the life, works, and relationships of Lewis.

BRUCE L. EDWARDS, SCHOLAR AND AUTHOR OF MANY BOOKS ON C.S. LEWIS, AND EDITOR AND WEBMASTER, THE C.S. LEWIS REVIEW: WWW.CSLEWISREVIEW.ORG

Its good to see Colin Duriezs ever-useful AZ of C.S. Lewis back in print in a new expanded and updated version. Its a very helpful reference work for scholars and fans alike but its also a great pleasure simply to dip into and read. Its full of helpful, pithy summaries that combine scholarship, clarity, and brevity. I like the attention Duriez pays to Lewis as a critic and scholar as well as to the more famous Narnia books. Many of the entries show clearly how Lewis was engaged with the intellectual life of his own day and especially how relevant he is to issues being discussed today.

MALCOLM GUITE, GIRTON COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

Among the many books that claim to introduce readers to the life, thought, and works of C.S. Lewis, this one stands out. It is a lively encyclopedia of everything and everybody related to Lewis. In an engaging style, Duriez presents valuable entries on people, places, characters, books, and ideas in Lewiss life and writings. The AZ of C.S. Lewis is remarkably comprehensive and thoroughly cross-referenced, with the added advantage of enough suggested reading to satiate voracious readers of many kinds. Because of its scope and clarity, it should be in the collection of every Lewis fan and scholar.

SRINA HIGGINS, REVIEW EDITOR OF SEHNSUCHT:

THE C.S. LEWIS JOURNAL

This is one of the most useful books I know. I look for excuses to read it.

WALTER HOOPER, LITERARY ADVISOR TO THE C.S. LEWIS ESTATE

The AZ of C.S. Lewis delivers what the title promises. In this rich, encyclopedic overview, Lewis scholar Colin Duriez serves as an expert and engaging guide to the essentials of Lewiss life, thought, and writings. I highly recommend this volume to all who enjoy Lewiss books and would like to better understand the Christian world of C.S. Lewis.

MARJORIE LAMP MEAD, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, THE MARION E. WADE CENTER, WHEATON COLLEGE, ILLINOIS, USA

An invaluable work of reference and a fascinating volume in which to dip and browse, this is the perfect companion for every Lewis reader by an acknowledged expert on the life, thoughts, works, and worlds of one of the great imaginative writers of the twentieth century.

BRIAN SIBLEY, AUTHOR OF SHADOWLANDS, BBC RADIO ADAPTATIONS OF THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, AND MUCH MORE

Covering the whole range of Lewiss life and work, this encyclopedia is thorough, accurate, and well balanced. I highly recommend it.

UICHAEL WARD, AUTHOR OF PLANET NARNIA

Contents

C.S. Lewis AZ

In memory of
my father,
Charles Duriez
19152002

Preface

C.S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia are consistently among the bestselling childrens books, firmly established as classics along with Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, and The Wind in the Willows . Lewis, who for many years was an atheist, is also unmatched as a popularizer of the Christian faith in recent times, and is certainly one of the most widely read believers in the history of the church. In specialist circles, his books of literary criticism introducing writers such as John Milton or the period of the Middle Ages are still in print, half a century after his death.

Yet how well is C.S. Lewis actually known? I suspect that many of us have only read one kind of his wide range of writings his science fiction, perhaps, or his childrens stories, or his popular theology (especially The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity ), or his literary criticism. Some will undoubtedly have discovered his work and life through seeing the play or film versions of Shadowlands, or have come to know him through television or film adaptations of some of the Narnia stories.

The AZ of C.S. Lewis has been written to help an exploration and discovery (or rediscovery!) of his world. The rich variety of Lewiss writings is part of an integrated whole. He combined reasoning and imagination in a unified and bright vision of reality and of the God he discovered, whom he came to see as the giver of reality.

C.S. Lewis is an enigmatic figure. Different people seek to understand him in their image as they warm to him. In the Richard Attenborough version of Shadowlands , for instance, Lewis is a retiring bachelor don, quarantined from women and children, brought into the real world by his love for the abrasive dying American, Joy Davidman Gresham. After her death from cancer, he grieves in a temporary agnosticism. To his close friends in the Inklings club, however, Lewis was the jovial life and soul of the party, puffing on his pipe, swilling his theology down with the best bitter or cider, delighting in a good joke or pun. For an enormous number, Lewis has been the defender of the faith, and, for very many, the media evangelist who led them to faith, particularly through the published BBC radio talks, Mere Christianity.