The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2

4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 · rating details · 38 ratings · 2 reviews

C. S. Lewis was a prolific letter writer, and his personal correspondence reveals much of his private life, reflections, friendships, and the progress of his thought. This second of a three-volume collection contains the letters Lewis wrote after his conversion to Christianity, as he began a lifetime of serious writing. Lewis corresponded with many of the twentieth century...more C. S. Lewis was a prolific letter writer, and his personal correspondence reveals much of his private life, reflections, friendships, and the progress of his thought. This second of a three-volume collection contains the letters Lewis wrote after his conversion to Christianity, as he began a lifetime of serious writing. Lewis corresponded with many of the twentieth century's major literary figures, including J. R. R. Tolkien and Dorothy Sayers. Here we encounter a surge of letters in response to a new audience of laypeople who wrote to him after the great success of his BBC radio broadcasts during World War II -- talks that would ultimately become his masterwork, Mere Christianity.

Volume II begins with C. S. Lewis writing his first major work of literary history, The Allegory of Love, which established him as a scholar with imaginative power. These letters trace his creative journey and recount his new circle of friends, "The Inklings," who meet regularly to share their writing. Tolkien reads aloud chapters of his unfinished The Lord of the Rings, while Lewis shares portions of his first novel, Out of the Silent Planet. Lewis's weekly letters to his brother, Warnie, away serving in the army during World War II, lead him to begin writing his first spiritual work, The Problem of Pain.

After the serialization of The Screwtape Letters, the director of religious broadcasting at the BBC approached Lewis and the "Mere Christianity" talks were born. With his new broadcasting career, Lewis was inundated with letters from all over the world. His faithful, thoughtful responses to numerous questions reveal the clarity and wisdom of his theological and intellectual beliefs.

Volume II includes Lewis's correspondence with great writers such as Owen Barfield, Arthur C. Clarke, Sheldon Vanauken, and Dom Bede Griffiths. The letters address many of Lewis's interests -- theology, literary criticism, poetry, fantasy, and children's stories -- as well as reveal his relation ships with close friends and family. But what is apparent throughout this volume is how this quiet bachelor professor in England touched the lives of many through an amazing discipline of personal correspondence. Walter Hooper's insightful notes and compre hensive biographical appendix of the correspon dents make this an irreplaceable reference for those curious about the life and work of one of the most creative minds of the modern era.(less)

Hardcover, 1152 pages

Published June 29th 2004 by HarperOne

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 132)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 01, 2011 RE de Leon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lewisiana, collected-letters, cs-lewis, biography, posthumous-publication

CS Lewis' Letters 1931-1949 are what you're looking for if you'd like an intimate look at Lewis' state of mind in the days when he first became a Christian, until those days when he was becaming a popular Christian apologist.

Obviously, this volume is not for the casual Lewis reader, and it is good to have a Lewis biography or two handy whenever reading a letter. Nor is it a book one would read from cover to cover unless for some special project. But if you're big on CS Lewis quotes and want to s...more CS Lewis' Letters 1931-1949 are what you're looking for if you'd like an intimate look at Lewis' state of mind in the days when he first became a Christian, until those days when he was becaming a popular Christian apologist.

Obviously, this volume is not for the casual Lewis reader, and it is good to have a Lewis biography or two handy whenever reading a letter. Nor is it a book one would read from cover to cover unless for some special project. But if you're big on CS Lewis quotes and want to see the full context for some of them, or perhaps you'd like the occasional insight into CS Lewis' day to day activities, or you simply can't get enough of Lewis' unique writing style, you can't beat this definitive volume.

One note on "definitive", though. The picture of Lewis that we get from reading his letters and diaries is not complete. For one thing, there's always the possibility of a new letter turning up in someone's attic with a new detail, a new insight, into Lewis. For another, there is the fact that quite a number of Lewis' letters were destroyed before he died, probably in an effort to preserve the privacy both of Lewis and those close to him who might have disclosed sensitive personal information to him. That, and two more things: first, a written record of one's life is not necessarily a definitive record of what actually happened, as the task of writing definitively skews one's perspective; and second, this is only one half of the record - letters FROM Lewis, not TO him.

In spite of all those caveats, I suppose these volumes are necessary parts of any collector's library. If only for bragging rights. Although I'm quite certain Lewis would have adamantly objected to that idea.

One last note: my edition is a paperbound one, bundled with Volume 1 (1905-1931) and placed in a box. The box is too tight. And holding on to the box means one chooses not to have the volumes covered in a protective plastic sheet. I would definitely recommend a hardcover edition if you could find one.

RE de Leon
8:26 PM January 1, 2011
Agoo, La Union(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 03, 2009 Pat marked it as part-read-on-hold · review of another edition

Shelves: letters, biography

Most books are on hold until I'm through school. But these are great letters. I hope no one ever collects my emails.

like · see review

Jun 04, 2013 Vanessa Siemens marked it as to-read

Jun 04, 2013 Deni Davis added it

Shelves: bookcase-1-shelf-3

Jun 01, 2013 Will Mari marked it as to-read

May 14, 2013 Jeffrey Roderick marked it as to-read

Apr 27, 2013 Mary catherine marked it as to-read

Apr 26, 2013 Steven marked it as to-read

Apr 24, 2013 Adrian W. marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-read-xianity

Apr 22, 2013 Jenn marked it as to-read

May 04, 2013 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

Apr 16, 2013 Jeff Reimer marked it as to-read

Shelves: inklings

Apr 16, 2013 Shaun Nolan added it · review of another edition

Apr 07, 2013 Tom is currently reading it

Mar 27, 2013 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mar 14, 2013 Meghan marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2017-06, hardcopy

Feb 18, 2013 Ken Claassen marked it as to-read

Feb 08, 2013 Eric Nygren marked it as to-read

Feb 02, 2013 Kathryn marked it as to-read

Feb 02, 2013 Stefan marked it as to-read

Jan 20, 2013 Blair Wilner added it

Jan 17, 2013 Laura marked it as to-read

Jan 14, 2013 Mark is currently reading it

Jan 11, 2013 Miss.terri marked it as to-read

Shelves: c-s-lewis

Jan 08, 2013 Jenny Burridge marked it as to-read

Shelves: c-s-lewis

Jan 04, 2013 Andrew Barbin marked it as to-read

Dec 31, 2012 Jacob rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dec 27, 2012 Bill Leachman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 18, 2012 Kevin Alexander marked it as to-read

Dec 08, 2012 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (3)

Genres

Biography

4 users

Non Fiction

2 users

Christian

2 users

See top shelves...

About C.S. Lewis

CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more th...more

More about C.S. Lewis...

Books by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia #1-7)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)

The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Collected Let...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Collected Letters ...

“Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I should say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.” — 11 people liked it

“We must both, I'm afraid, recognize that, as we grow older, we become like old cars-more and more repairs and replacements are necessary. We must just look forward to the fine new machines (latest Resurrection model) which are waiting for us, we hope, in the Divine garage.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2
avg rating	preview: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2 Goodreads rating: 4.37 (38 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55274.The_Collected_Letters_of_C_S_Lewis_Volume_2?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357613279l/55274.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55274.The_Collected_Letters_of_C_S_Lewis_Volume_2?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2 by C.S. Lewis[/url]

The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website