LEWIS, C.S.

“A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.”

Clive Staples Lewis is usually referred to as C.S. Lewis, and was known to his friends simply as Jack.  (After his dog, Jacksie, who died when Lewis was four – after his death Lewis appropriated his name and refused to answer to anything else).  Born in Belfast, he won a scholarship to Oxford and became a fellow of Magdalen College in 1925, a position he was to hold for the next 29 years.   A noted Romantic academic and Christian apologist, he is perhaps best known as a writer of fantasy fiction.  He described himself as having, from an early age  “listened for the horns of elfland” [Surprised By Joy], and once established in Oxford he helped form the group of literary enthusiasts known as The Inklings, whose raison d’etre was to promote the use of narrative in fiction and to encourage the writing of fantasy.  In accordance with this philosophy Lewis devised the world of Narnia, a blending of fantasy and Christian theology, and in 1950, despite the lack of encouragement from fellow Inkling, J.R.R. Tolkien, (who thought you shouldn’t have witches and Father Christmas in the same story) he published The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  The book continues to be one of the most popular works of children’s fiction and has gone on to be published in 47 languages.  The success of the story enabled Lewis to write a total of seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia, the final volume, The Last Battle, being published in 1956.

In addition to the Narnia series, he is also noted for his satire The Screwtape Letters and for his science fiction series The Space Trilogy.

Please scroll down to see our current range of first editions, signed copies and manuscripts by Lewis.