Biographies of C.S. Lewis
Posted: Nov 01, 2019 5:49 pm
Hi everyone,
I've searched and there doesn't seem to be an existing thread on this specific topic, so I hope no-one will mind me starting one. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss biographies of C.S. Lewis — ones we've read or would like to read — and share our reviews and thoughts about them.
I've only read one full-length biography of Lewis so far: The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs, which is relatively short, but very informative and readable. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Lewis's life and ideas and the main influences on his writing. I did, some years earlier, make a start on the first and probably best-known biography, C.S. Lewis: A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper, but although it was very well written, I just found it too long and detailed and difficult to get into. I may come back to it some day, though.
Just recently, I learned that Douglas Gresham, Lewis's stepson, has written a couple of biographical works too — Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis and Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis. I've read excerpts from them online and they sound very good, so I've ordered both. I'll be happy to post my thoughts on them if people are interested. I'd also love to hear anyone else's thoughts and recommendations on Lewis biographies that you've read.
I should add (almost didn't think of this! ) — I have also read Lewis's own autobiography, Surprised by Joy. I'm sorry to say I found it quite disappointing, however. I would have loved to see him go into much more depth about how his thoughts about God and religion developed and what in particular gradually convinced him that a) there is undeniably a God, and b) that this God is the one revealed through Jesus Christ. He does of course talk about that a bit, but much of it seems to be about how dreadful most of his schools were and what an obnoxious young bloke he was in general. If you took everything out but the parts where he does deal directly and clearly with his spiritual development (which I thought was supposed to be the point of the book), you'd be left with a really thin booklet. I do understand he was a very private man and found it difficult to write publicly about his deepest personal experiences, but most of the really interesting details of his life, especially of his journey from atheism to Christianity, I've only learned through reading other books about him.
I've searched and there doesn't seem to be an existing thread on this specific topic, so I hope no-one will mind me starting one. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss biographies of C.S. Lewis — ones we've read or would like to read — and share our reviews and thoughts about them.
I've only read one full-length biography of Lewis so far: The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs, which is relatively short, but very informative and readable. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Lewis's life and ideas and the main influences on his writing. I did, some years earlier, make a start on the first and probably best-known biography, C.S. Lewis: A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper, but although it was very well written, I just found it too long and detailed and difficult to get into. I may come back to it some day, though.
Just recently, I learned that Douglas Gresham, Lewis's stepson, has written a couple of biographical works too — Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis and Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis. I've read excerpts from them online and they sound very good, so I've ordered both. I'll be happy to post my thoughts on them if people are interested. I'd also love to hear anyone else's thoughts and recommendations on Lewis biographies that you've read.
I should add (almost didn't think of this! ) — I have also read Lewis's own autobiography, Surprised by Joy. I'm sorry to say I found it quite disappointing, however. I would have loved to see him go into much more depth about how his thoughts about God and religion developed and what in particular gradually convinced him that a) there is undeniably a God, and b) that this God is the one revealed through Jesus Christ. He does of course talk about that a bit, but much of it seems to be about how dreadful most of his schools were and what an obnoxious young bloke he was in general. If you took everything out but the parts where he does deal directly and clearly with his spiritual development (which I thought was supposed to be the point of the book), you'd be left with a really thin booklet. I do understand he was a very private man and found it difficult to write publicly about his deepest personal experiences, but most of the really interesting details of his life, especially of his journey from atheism to Christianity, I've only learned through reading other books about him.