Shadows and Chivalry: C. S. Lewis and George MacDonald on Suffering, Evil and Goodness

by Jeff McInnis, Robert Trexler (Foreword)

SHADOWS AND CHIVALRY studies the influence of George MacDonald, a nineteenth-century Scottish novelist and fantasy writer, upon one of the most influential writers of modern times, C. S. Lewis - the creator of Narnia, literary critic, and best-selling apologist. While other books, quoting Lewis himself, have only mentioned the fact that Lewis called MacDonald his "master," and that MacDonald's Phantastes helped "baptize" Lewis's imagination, this study attempts to trace the overall effect of MacDonald's work on Lewis's thought and imagination. Without ever ceasing to be a story of one man's influence upon another, the study also serves as an exploration of each writer's thought on, and literary visions of, good and evil. Lastly, using the metaphor of chivalry, McInnis looks at what Lewis and MacDonald believed to be greater than either suffering or hell: the severe and tender Love who longs to save. "By far the most penetrating and exhaustive study that I have seen of the origin in George MacDonald's writings of so many of C. S. Lewis's ideas. Jeff McInnis's sensitive and highly informed judgments greatly enrich our understanding of their imaginative and devotional achievement. A genuinely enriching read for any earnest Christian mind."

Rolland Hein, Professor Emeritus, Wheaton College

Author of Through the Year with George MacDonald

"Jeff McInnis has written a book that henceforth will be indispensable to all students of C. S. Lewis who seek to understand the oft-mentioned but till now not fully fathomed debt of his literary and theological imagination to George MacDonald. His well conceived study has the further benefit of doing considerable justice to the angular graces of MacDonald's anti-Calvinistic under standing of redemption. McInnis's chapter on "The Chivalry of God" finds an indispensable key to this great, but out-of-time conversation between two lay theologians of enduring interest and literary power."

David Lyle Jeffrey, Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities, Baylor University

Author of Christianity and Literature: Philosophical Foundations and Critical Practice

Jeff McInnis (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is Professor of English at Panola College in Carthage, Texas.

338 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Brenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm amazed by this book! I wish I had read it a decade ago.

[Dean Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff McInnis' book, Shadows and Chivalry, is a great study of the connection between C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald. I would go so far as to say that it's an indispensable book if one is doing research on either literary figure. MacDonald scholar,Rolland Hein wrote that the book is the "most penetrating and exhaustive study...of the origin in George MacDonald's writings of so many of C.S.Lewis' ideas" and I completely concur. His depth and breadth of knowledge of Lewis and MacDonald's work is astounding. He consistently amazed me in the connections between these authors' works that I'd never thought of prior to reading his book.

Topically, McInnis covered each men's ideas concerning the nature of Good and Evil, Faith and Reason, Hell and Punishment, and the purpose of Life as well as their perspectives on Death. Throughout all of this, McInnis peppers us with little gems like, "[C.S.] Lewis and [George] MacDonald believed the incarnation and death of Christ to be the great act that is imitated by all other 'knights' who leave 'castles' in order to save 'damsels.' " What an intriguing thought!

For any Lewis or MacDonald scholars, or even those just interested in the lives and thought of these two men, this is a no-brainer.

Disclaimer: I was given this book for review purposes, but to demonstrate my appreciation of Jeff's research, let the reader know that I will be using the book as one of many references for my own dissertation.

[Marilynn A Grieser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very in-depth book identifying the ideas shared by George MacDonald and CSLewis. As I've been studying the influence MacDonald's writing had on Lewis, I found the book essential. It's an exploration of what both Christian writers have written about good, evil, death, chivalry, and suffering.