C. S. Lewis

Lore & Background

Lewis was born in Belfast to Albert James Lewis, a solicitor, and Florence Augusta Lewis, the first female graduate in any subject from Queen's College Belfast, earning her degree in logic and mathematics. He was baptized in the Church of Ireland. After his mother's death in 1908, he was sent to schools in England, including Wynyard School, Campbell College, Cherbourg House, and Malvern College. He abandoned Christianity as a child and became an atheist, later returning to Anglicanism at age 32 under the influence of J. R. R. Tolkien and other friends. He studied privately with William T. Kirkpatrick and was awarded a scholarship at University College, Oxford in 1916.

Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, and both were active in the Oxford literary group the Inklings. He married American writer Joy Davidman in 1956; she died of cancer four years later. Lewis died on 22 November 1963. In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of his death, he was honored with a memorial in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Reader's Guide

Lewis's significance lies in his dual impact as a scholar of English literature and a widely read Christian apologist. His wartime radio broadcasts on Christianity brought him wide acclaim, and his philosophical writings are cited by Christian scholars from many denominations. The Chronicles of Narnia have sold millions of copies and been adapted for stage, television, radio, and cinema. His works have been translated into over 30 languages. Lewis's faith profoundly affected his work, and his ecumenical emphasis on 'Mere Christianity' reflected a desire for unity among Christian denominations, possibly influenced by his dismay over sectarian conflict in Belfast. His legacy endures through his fiction and apologetics, which continue to reach broad audiences.

Did You Know?

• Lewis adopted the name Jacksie after his dog was killed, later accepting the name Jack.
• As a boy, he created the fantasy world of Boxen with his brother Warnie.
• He was baptized by his maternal grandfather in St Mark's Church, Dundela.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British author, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian." — C. S. Lewis "I have at last come to the end of the Faerie Queene: and though I say "at last", I almost wish he had lived to write six books more as he had hoped to do — so much have I enjoyed it." — C. S. Lewis "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." — C. S. Lewis "For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition." — C. S. Lewis