James O’Fee has announced in his Lewis Centenary newsletter that in response to the “Shadowlands” film the South Herefordshire District Council offers a leaflet on “The Shadowlands Trail.” (Write to The Tourist Information Centre, Eddie Cross Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire; Tel: 01989 562768.) The leaflet explains, “In the film, shortly before his wife’s death, the couple visited South Herefordshire…” Most filmgoers Read More ›
The Abolition of Man was first published in 1943, but that date was accidentally changed to 1947 in the essay “C. S. Lewis: The Natural Law in Literature and Life,” by Kathryn Lindskoog and Gracia Fay Ellwood. This error changed the chronology at the end of the essay. After David Mills arranged for use of the essay in his journal Read More ›
In Samarkand recently I visited the old observatory built by Ulugh Beg in the 1420’s. In a museum there we saw copies of many paintings from that era depicting people of military life, their equipment, their clothing and uniforms, etc. They looked like they had just stepped out of Narnia and Tashbaan! Pauline Baynes’s illustrations of the Calormenes must have Read More ›
In April 1998 the glitterati of the New York art world gathered at a party in Jeff Koons’ large gallery to launch best-selling British author William Boyd’s new book, the biography of an obscure and tragic American artist named Nat Tate. The Sunday Telegraph ran a full-page extract from the evocative book. Its publisher is 21 Publishing, a company run Read More ›
According to an essay in the 7 February 1997 issue of Chronicles of Higher Education, several years ago a candidate named Manfred Mickelson applied for positions teaching 18th-century literature at universities around the country. His application letter told of three books under contract, more than 40 papers presented at conferences, and articles under consideration at 12 scholarly journals. Mickelson emphasized Read More ›
According to the 5 November 1997 issue of the Christian Science Monitor representatives of the United Nations gave a standing ovation to “His Royal Highness Prince Hadji Mohd al Alsagof van Eldik of Bornea” when he appeared in robes and ceremonials at a conference in Melbourne and announced that he would match Ted Turner’s $1 billion gift to the United Read More ›
In his book The Discovery of the Titanic (Warner Books, 1987), Dr. Robert D. Ballard included the image of a farewell note from one of the ship’s ill-fated passengers. The man had scribbled his note on a page torn from a diary, sealed it in an empty bottle, and handed it to a woman entering a lifeboat. “if saved inform Read More ›
Purgatory, Journey to Joy, Part Two by Kathryn Lindskoog Mercer University Press, 1997Introduction and Preface, xiv pages, Purgatory, 202 pages A Review by Father David Baumann AT THE TIME he was writing the Comedy nearly seven hundred years ago, Durante (later shortened to Dante) Alighieri was confident that he was producing classic literature of timeless beauty. He intended to present Read More ›
Katherine Paterson, C. S. Lewis lover and author of Newbery Medal Award winner Bridge to Terebithia (a realistic novel about children inspired by Narnia), has won the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Award, which is often referred to as the little Nobel prize. (It was established in 1956 by the International Board on Books for Young People and is awarded every Read More ›
“At Wheaton College in Illinois, where they are rather stupid fundamentalists, they have made C. S. Lewis into a god. They think he gives intellectual support for their prejudices.” A. N. Wilson, as quoted in the Times of London at the time of the release of “Shadowlands” “Kathryn Lindskoog has provided a very readable and engaging introduction to Dante…. Her Read More ›