When Lewis wrote the Chronicles, he thought he had invented the name Narnia; later he realized it was a real place in Italy. In Companion to Narnia Paul Ford lists ancient references to Narnia: “Pliny the Younger’s letter to his mother-in-law, in which he mentions the excellence of the accommodations of her villa at Narnia, especially its beautiful baths. Of Read More ›
by Perry Bramlett Many people know that C. S. Lewis’s The Last Battle won the Carnegie Medal in 1956. The Carnegie Medal has been awarded annually since 1936 for “an outstanding book for children written in English and published initially in the United Kingdom.” Note: this was changed in 1969 to any book written in English and published first or Read More ›
Deep magic n. [poss. from C. S. Lewis’s “Narnia” books] An awesomely arcane technique central to a program or system, esp. one neither generally published nor available to hackers at large (compare black art); one that could only have been composed by a true wizard. Compiler optimization techniques and many aspects of OS design used to be deep magic; many Read More ›
C. S. Lewis’s name is on the cover of David G. Hartwell’s giant anthologyThe Science Fiction Century (1997, Tor Books, 1005 pp.) and “Ministering Angels” is included with the following introduction. C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) is important both as a writer and critic of science fiction. He is indeed one of the sophisticated literary men of the century, whose scholarship Read More ›
The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill houses a treasure trove of C. S. Lewis material purchased from alumnus Walter Hooper in 1980. (Hooper included a bootleg copy of the Lewis Family Papers.) After Lindskoog used the Hooper collection in Light in the Shadowlands, Hooper got the library to close down access to most of the collection. It is Read More ›
George MacDonald “The Temptation in the Wilderness,” Unspoken Sermons, First Series “And when he can no longer feel the truth, he shall not therefore die. He lives because God is true; and he is able to know that he lives because he knows, having once understood the word that God is truth. He believes in the God of former vision, Read More ›
The Wood (An Outline of Christianity) by Perry Bramlett In Suffolk, VA, I went to an old junk bookshop and found a dirt cheap prize: The Wood (An Outline of Christianity) by Sister Penelope! It has a blurb on the back by C. S. Lewis for another book of hers, The Coming Of The Lord: “I am simply delighted with Read More ›
Kathryn Lindskoog told the following story in 1973 to about 100 people at the tenth anniversary commemoration of C. S. Lewis death that she had arranged in Santa Ana, California (reminiscent of St. Anne’s). “Robert Lehnhart was serving with Missionary Aviation Fellowship in Ecuador when he first got a copy of Surprised by Joy, the autobiography of C. S. Lewis. Read More ›
The monetary value of C. S. Lewis books, especially first editions, keeps going up. For proof, check the latest catalog of Nigel Williams Rare Books, London. First British edition of Out of the Silent Planet $47First British edition of Perelandra – $542First British edition of Miracles – $97First British edition of The Silver Chair – $2748First British edition of Surprised Read More ›
by Donald Williams When the fog obscures the outlines of the treesBut breaks to show the sharpness of the stars,And the blood feels sudden chill although the breezeIs warm, and all the old internal scars From stabbing beauty start to ache anew;When mushrooms gather in a fairy ringAnd every twig and grass-blade drips with dewAnd then a whippoorwill begins to Read More ›