It is of common knowledge that both Lewis and Tolkien took part in the First World War, and that in the years following the conflict they became distinguished scholars of the English language and literature at Oxford University. Those who accuse these writers of escapism tend to overlook the fact that such a curriculum vitae would make it virtually impossible for them to remain ignorant of, and not to at least in some way reflect in their own writing, the events that changed the world and the literature in the first half of the twentieth century. This paper aims to offer a new approach to the place of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings in this common context, and also to discuss how these works differ from each other with reference to the way in which they combine Christian and pagan elements.
The C.S. Lewis and Inklings Society is now accepting registrations for its twelfth annual meeting on March 26-28, 2009, addressing the theme “Inklings: Dinosaurs or Contemporaries?” and featuring plenary speaker Peter Schakel. See below for more details. Please click here to see the seminar schedule (as a PDF). A detailed schedule will be available mid-February.
In papers and plenary sessions, the conference will explore ways in which C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams may (or may not) be particularly relevant to the literary, theological, philosophical and socio-political issues of our own early 21st century times. As in previous conferences, we would like to extend the conversation to include Dorothy Sayers as well, and we would like to open the conversation even a bit further this year by including G.K. Chesterton, a strong-minded proto-Inkling of sorts, in the mix. What might this diverse and pleasantly provocative circle of thinkers have to offer to the world of ideas that we find ourselves in?
Jo-Anna wrote in to remind us about Silver Leaves. Our very own Jonathon Svendsen has an article in this issue, and we’re very proud of that:
Tolkien-based journal “Silver Leaves” Issue Two, has released as of Saturday, Jan. 10. The theme is The Inklings and we are very excited about getting it into folks’ hands. It’s a superb issue, with contributors including Douglas Gresham, Colin Duriez, Brian Sibley, and Jef Murray, along with many others. Ordering information is at www.whitetreefund.org.
Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to The Chronicles of Narnia and CS Lewis! For today’s book we will be reviewing Tales Before Narnia, edited by Douglas Anderson.
Title: Tales Before Narnia
Author: Various
Edited by: Douglas A. Anderson
Publisher: Del Ray
ISBN -10: 0345498909
ISBN -13: 978-0345498908
NarniaFans Staff Member, Jonathon D. Svendsen, is going to be featured in the second issue of Silver Leaves, which is put out by the White Tree Fund, a Tolkien-related publication. The theme for this issue is dedicated to the Inklings. Fans of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien know that the Inklings was the name of the informal literary group that consisted of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams and many others.
CS Lewis’ beloved classic is listed among other notables like JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird as one of the top 50 novels . The list, which was featured in the Telegraph.co.uk story about Play.com’s top 50 Novels, listed some of the 50 best novels of all time.
Here is a look at the top 10 novels:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
2. Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S Lewis
4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
5. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
6. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
7. Animal Farm – George Orwell
8. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – JK Rowling
10. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Give the full list a look over if you are interested in getting ideas for what to read this summer. Here at NarniaFans, of course, we recommend you start with Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first and then read Lord of the Rings. Once you’re done, I’d say read Pride & Prejudice followed by Great Expectations. After that it’s all up to you.
You can read the full list here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
James A. Owen is the author of a series called “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica.” The first book in the series, “Here, There Be Dragons” introduced us to the characters that would become the heroes of the stories: Jack, John and Charles.
Jack is actually C.S. Lewis, John is J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles is Charles Williams. They were each members of a group called the Inklings. This series is based on fictional adventures that these characters embarked on, into the Archipelago of Dreams, where they became Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica.
The second book in the series is titled “The Search for the Red Dragon,” and introduces new characters and a few more writers from that era to the story.
Now, author James A. Owen has revealed the cover art for the third book in the series: The Indigo King.
Having listened to the books on CD (I have the unabridged audio books!), I am very curious to learn what happens next in the adventures through the Archipelago of Dreams.
Check out the cover art on James A. Owen’s LiveJournal, and come and see him at LionCon, later this month!
Long time fans of the Chronicles of Narnia who were saddened by the end of the series in 1956 may rejoice at some news from publisher Harper Collins. With the help of Walter Hooper, Colin Duriez, and other Lewis scholars, Harper Collins is posthumously publishing the book that existed in various fragments. Lewis scholars had found these fragments and pieced them together, resulting in a coherent story.
“Parts of it were in old notebooks. A page or two had been written on a couple of cocktail napkins. The opening page had been scribbled on a student’s test booklet that he was grading. A few other bits and pieces were found in other places,” said Hooper, a long time editor and collaborator with Lewis.
“A few fragments were even found on an old chewing gum wrapper from a stick of gum that Tolkien gave to Lewis,” he added.
“We are very excited about this new release,” said a representative of Harper Collins. “ We were a little leery at first about releasing it as we weren’t sure if it would sell. The only fantasy books that seem to sell now a days are Harry Potter books. You can’t bank on the success of some old dead guy.”
However another CEO, who wished to remain anonymous, expects the book to do well considering the success of Tolkien’s Children of Hurin last summer.
“Children of Hurin was number 1 on the New York Times Best-Seller list. It knocked a Harry Potter book off of it’s spot and out sold the final Left Behind book. A rare feat for a book by a deceased writer. This has shown it could work.”
Narnia has it’s own built in fan base. Readers young and old have been hoping for more Narnia books since the release of the Last Battle,” said Colin Duriez, a noted Lewis scholar and author of various handbooks devoted to CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and their various works. “Now they have their wish.”
Hardcore fans will remember that Queen Swanwhite was mentioned by Jewel the unicorn in the Last Battle as an important figure in Narnian history. Her name is featured on countless Narnia Timelines. There does appear to be some discrepancy between when Jewel says the events happened ( the year 1500 in Narnia time), and the official timeline compiled by Lewis. (900. Approximately before Jadis came to rule Narnia.)
“This book will definitely shed some light on those questions,” said Hooper. “Fans have been wondering about her for years. Now they will discover her rich story.”
We have yet to receive any details on the full plot or what other characters will appear in the story. Early rumors indicate that it may also deal with the Jadis’s return to Narnia, the beginning of the 100 year winter and how Tumnus came under her employment.
The book is expected to be released sometime this Christmas. We have not yet been able to reach Douglas Gresham for comment on this book.
“The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community” by Diana Glyer has been nominated for a 2008 Hugo Award in the “Best Related Book” category.
“In this groundbreaking book, Diana Glyer invites readers into the heart of their meetings, showing how encouragement, criticism, and collaboration changed The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other important works.”
Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis! For this weeks review, we will be looking at CS Lewis’s
The Great Divorce
Book Title: The Great Divorce
Author: CS Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne; New Ed edition (February 6, 2001)
ISBN-10: 0060652950
ISBN-13: 978-0060652951
Summary of the book:
Some Possible Spoilers.( Please Highlight to read)
One rainy day a man stood in line waiting to board a bus. After waiting for a fairly long time and watching as the other passengers got on and watching everything with the other passengers in their attempts to get on board, the man was let on. The man notices that there seemed to be a Light about the driver. This Light even seemed to fill the bus.
As the bus was driving down the road it suddenly flew off into the air. The man spoke with a fellow passenger about the town and where the bus may be heading. The bus, or as it was called The Ominibus, came to a lush green valley unlike any on Earth. Everything in this Valley seemed far more real, and far more alive and vibrant than on Earth, so much so that the passengers of the bus seem as Ghosts in comparison.
The passengers are greeted by the Solid People, or those who dwell in this world. One of them, George McDonald, meets the man and guides him through this world that is filled with gentle lions, unicorns and may other wondrous things. This world exists in-between the worlds of Heaven, Hell and life itself. The man witnesses the discussions between many of the Ghosts and the Solid People and learns what it is that separated these two worlds and leads some to favoring one and not the other.
SPOILERS!As the man’s time in this world comes to a close, George McDonald reveals to him that all of this had been a dream, one which he must relate to others. He awakens , finding himself back home, just as an air raid begins above him.END SPOILERS!
Review:
Jesus once told a parable about two men. A very wealthy man, and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The rich man had everything and Lazarus had nothing. One day both men died. The Rich man went to Hell, while Lazarus was carried by angels to Paradise. The rich man looked over and saw Lazarus at peace in paradise with Abraham. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his hand in water and touch it to the rich man’s to cool him for he was in great agony. The Rich man said he could not send him as there was a great gulf fixed between Heaven and Hell that none could cross.
It is through this gulf between Heaven and Hell that Lewis allows the reader to peer through in his book The Great Divorce. In this fictional story, Lewis examines the nature of Heaven and Hell. The title’s implication is that the two are so far divided from one another that there is no chance that they can ever be reconciled. Lewis shows just what some of these divisions are.
The story is written from the first person perspective. It is implied by various details that the man in question is CS Lewis, who is dreaming a dream. Because of his limited knowledge as a first person narrator Lewis is able to convey the same sense of wonder and amazement at this strange land he finds himself in, similar to the feeling his characters of the Pevensies feel when they are in Narnia.
Much like with Narnia, Lewis the narrator is taking us to a world that we have never been to. Unlike Narnia, which is like the fantasy world we dream of, this land is one that as Shakespeare said, “ None have journeyed back from.” Lewis in effect is showing what does lie in that “undiscovered country” of death and how we can end up in either the worlds of Heaven or Hell.
In some ways The Great Divorce is not that dissimilar from Dante’s Divine Comedy. In both works the authors take us to the eternal realm, allow us to see the inhabitants and what leads some humans to ending up in one place or another. Much like with Dante, a guide is needed to navigate through this strange country. For Dante it was the poet Virgil in The Inferno, and Dante’s dead lover, Beatrice in Purgatorio and Paradiso.The guide for Lewis is George McDonald, noted author of numerous fantasy works that later inspired those of Lewis and JRR Tolkien.
As Virgil served as a guide and source for inspiration for Dante, McDonald had also served as a sort of guide for Lewis in his own personal life. It was the works of McDonald that Lewis said “baptized his imagination.” Lewis’s “Lord, Liar, Lunatic” rational that was used to confirm the deity of Christ in Mere Christianity, was first employed by McDonald in his Everlasting Man. Lewis felt he owed a great debt to McDonald’s works, both in terms of his own fantasy and his Christian faith, so to use one who guided him indirectly is fitting. Notably Lewis makes reference to the appearance of Beatrice to Dante in Purgatorio when McDonald first appears to him.
There are also many other characters that fall into one of two groups. Except for Lewis and McDonald, none of them are given names as much as descriptive terms and characteristics to describe who they were in life, such as “Man with the Bowler Hat”,”The Hard-bitten Ghost”, “The Tragedian”, and “The Dwarf.” The names of these characters is actually not needed. The only thing that matters with any of them is how they have ended up in Hell as opposed to Heaven.
These people are divided into two groups.The first are the Solid Ones, the people dwell in this Land. The second is The Ghosts or the new arrivals. Through the conversations between these two types of people, Lewis shows what divides Heaven and Hell. The key divider between Heaven and Hell is the choice of Christ. Those who accept Him become Solid.
Perhaps the most haunting conversation is between a Ghost and a Solid Man who killed the Ghost’s friend while the Solid Man was alive. The Solid Man came to Christ and is in Heaven with the Ghost’s friend. It is unsettling for many Christians as it reminds us that essentially every one can get into Heaven if they only choose Christ. This means that the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Phillip Pullman, Nietzsche and Osama Bin-Laden have the chance of being in Heaven with Jesus and standing side by side with the likes of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Theresa, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Billy Graham.
The world Lewis visits is described as being “real” and “hard” and is far more real than the world he left. Animals such as lions, fish, and even unicorns dwell and thrive in perfect harmony. This is in contrasted with the dismal ,rainy and virtually empty city they left. In some ways the world Lewis visits is not that dissimilar from Aslan’s kingdom in comparison to the Shadowlands in Narnia, which in turn is derived from Plato’s ideas of Higher Forms.
The Platonic ideas, the references to Dante and even George McDonald himself may be lost on many modern readers, as they may not understand them as most works of classic literature are fading into obscurity. This is the same fate of many of the allusions made in this, and Lewis’s other books, to works of classical literature. They can leave some modern readers confused. Lewis was a scholar of literature and writing in a time when people were more versed in such things. While a modern person may not understand completely what he means Lewis in away helps preserve the ideas in these works of literature and adds to their legacy.
Protestant and Catholic scholars debate about whether or not the dream is set in Purgatory as it appears to be an area in between Heaven and Hell. The location of the dream is not as important as the meaning. Quoting Milton, Lewis says that the choice of Hell over Heaven lies in saying, “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” and in doing so, choosing to favor our Pride and our own will over God’s. The choice of Heaven lies in giving oneself over to God and choosing Christ.
In doing so all the good things of life are outshined by the glory of Heaven. Lewis reminds us that this choice is always before us and that choosing Hell is to choose something that is even more pale, and horrible, and smaller in comparison to even this world. He reassures us that Hell can never veto Heaven as it is nothing next to Heaven. For those bound for Hell, this life ends up being as good as it gets.
The is choice of Heaven is one we all have to make, and must make it while we dwell on Earth. In The Great Divorce, Lewis shows not only why we have to make it, but how. Lewis reminds us in his dream that the only way for any of us to get to Heaven is to choose Christ and let go of ourselves.
Five out of Five sheilds
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