C. S. Lewis and His Circle: Essays and Memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society PDF
Preview C. S. Lewis and His Circle: Essays and Memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society
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 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 © Oxford University Press 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. 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.
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