C.S. Lewis and his circle : essays and memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society

285 Pages·2015·3.41 MB·English

by  Clive Staples

C. S. Lewis and His Circle

C. S. Lewis
and His Circle
Essays and Memoirs from
the Oxford C. S. Lewis Society
z
Edited by
ROGER WHITE
JUDITH WOLFE
AND BRENDAN N. WOLFE
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
C. S. Lewis and his circle : essays and memoirs from the Oxford C. S. Lewis Society / edited
by Roger White, Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978–0–19–021434–0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898–1963—
Criticism and interpretation. 2. Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society. I. White, Roger, 1957–
editor. II. Wolfe, J. E. (Judith Elisabeth), 1979– editor. III. Wolfe, B. N. (Brendan N.) editor.
PR6023.E926Z5963 2015
823’.912—dc23
2014036236
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Contents
Foreword
suzanne m. wolfe and gregory wolfe (founders of the Oxford
C. S. Lewis Society) ix
Preface
roger white, judith wolfe, and brendan n. wolfe xi
Author Biographies xiii
PART I: Essays
philosophy and theology
1. C. S. Lewis, Defender of the Faith
alister mcgrath (Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion,
University of Oxford) 5
2. C. S. Lewis’s Rewrite of Chapter III of Miracles
elizabeth anscombe (leading twentieth-century philosopher) 15
3. C. S. Lewis and the Limits of Reason
stephen logan (musician, poet; Principal Supervisor in English,
Clare College, Cambridge) 24
4. Sacramentalism in C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams
kallistos ware (Metropolitan Bishop of Diocleia; Spalding Lecturer
in Eastern Orthodox Studies (Emeritus), University of Oxford) 53
vi Contents
5. Charles Williams and the Problem of Evil
paul s. fiddes (Professor of Systematic Theology, Oxford University) 65
literature
6. That Hideous Strength: A Reassessment
rowan williams (Baron Williams of Oystermouth, Master of Magdalene
College, Cambridge, previously 104th Archbishop of Canterbury) 91
7. Yearning for a Far-Off Country
malcolm guite (poet, singer-songwriter; Chaplain at Girton
College, Cambridge) 110
8. W. H. Auden and the Inklings
michael piret (Dean of Divinity, Magdalen College, Oxford) 122
9. The Lewis Diaries: C. S. Lewis and the English Faculty in the 1920s
tom shippey (Walter J. Ong Chair of Humanities (Emeritus),
Saint Louis University) 135
10. It All Began with a Picture: The Making of C. S. Lewis’s
Chronicles of Narnia
walter hooper (editor and biographer of C. S. Lewis; literary advisor
to the C. S. Lewis Estate) 150
PART II: Memoirs
memories of c. s. lewis by his family and friends
11. The Lewis Family
joan murphy (a Lewis family cousin) 169
12. Recollections of C. S. Lewis
george sayer ( former student, friend, and biographer of C. S. Lewis) 175
Contents vii
13. C. S. Lewis as a Parishioner
ronald head (formerly Vicar of Holy Trinity Church Headington
Quarry, where C. S. Lewis attended) 179
14. Marrying C. S. Lewis
peter bide (friend and priest of C. S. Lewis, officiate of Lewis’s
marriage to Joy Davidman) 187
15. Memories of the Socratic Club
stella aldwinckle (founder of the Oxford Socratic Club) 192
memories of the inklings
16. The Inklings
walter hooper (editor and biographer of C. S. Lewis; literary
advisor to the C. S. Lewis Estate) 197
17. Lewis and/or Barfield
owen barfield (friend of C. S. Lewis, Inklings member, solicitor,
philosopher, poet) 214
18. Brothers and Friends: The Diaries of W. H. Lewis
john wain (friend of C. S. Lewis, Inklings member, poet, novelist) 223
19. Nevill Coghill and C. S. Lewis: Two Irishmen at Oxford
john wain (friend of C. S. Lewis, Inklings member, poet, novelist) 239
Afterword: A Brief History of the Oxford C. S. Lewis Society
michael ward (Senior Member of the Oxford C. S. Lewis Society) 249
Index 257

Foreword
in michaelmas term of 1981, the beginning of the academic year at Oxford
University, the two of us kept meeting at the seemingly innumerable sherry
parties that bring new students and their dons together.
We were both reading English Language and Literature at Mansfield Col-
lege. Greg had arrived from the United States with an undergraduate degree
under his belt, seeking at Oxford to deepen his literary education, while Su-
zanne had come from Loreto Convent School in Manchester. Almost instantly,
as the saying goes, ‘sparks flew’ between us.
Early on we found points of connection through our shared love of
C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Suzanne’s first gift to Greg was a single-
volume paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings.
As we walked through the gorgeous halls of the Examination Schools at
the ‘Freshers’ Fair’—the annual event where all the Oxford University student
societies set up booths and recruit new members—we came to the room with
various religious clubs. Most appeared to be strongly focused on either spiri-
tuality alone or on social justice and political action.
Later, as we reflected on what we’d seen, we felt that something was miss-
ing. Why wasn’t there a society that grappled with the rich relationship be-
tween Christianity, culture, and the imagination, including literature?
Pondering the idea that we could found such a society, we were immedi-
ately struck with a question: What would it be called? What would the focal
point be? If we named it ‘The Theology and Culture Club’, the result would be
too abstract and academic. We wanted a serious discussion of ideas, to be
sure, but we also hoped for lively conversation, wit, laughter, and a vibrant
sense that literature, faith, and daily life might be deeply entwined.
Then it occurred to us: C. S. Lewis would be the ideal patron. He was not
only a great ‘talker’, a towering literary and theological figure and former
Oxford don, but above all a writer who was passionate to introduce his readers
to other great writers and thinkers.