Wardrobes and Rings: Through Lenten Lands with the Inklings

by Julia Golding, Malcolm Guite, Simon Horobin

Journey through Lent with the insight and imagination of the Oxford Inklings - a group of writers who reshaped Christian thought and storytelling in the twentieth century. Drawing on the work of some of the Inklings’ most well-known members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as friends of the Inklings such as Dorothy Sayers and T.S. Eliot, Wardrobes and Rings explores through their eyes a faith which is tinged with seriousness, creativity and joy.

This devotional draws on their writings - fiction, poetry, and essays - offering daily readings and reflections that illuminate the path to the cross and resurrection. Weekly themes such as temptation, time, nature and creativity guide the way. Written by Julia Golding, Malcolm Guite and Simon a novelist, a poet-priest, and an Oxford professor all deeply immersed in the Inklings’ world and wisdom, Wardrobes and Rings invites you to rediscover Lent through the lens of imagination-infused faith.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2025

About the author

My journey to becoming an author has been a roundabout one, taking in many other careers. I grew up on the edge of Epping Forest and was that dreamy kind of child who was always writing stories. After reading English at Cambridge, I decided to find out as much as I could about the wider world so joined the Foreign Office and served in Poland. My work as a diplomat took me from the high point of town twinning in the Tatra Mountains to the low of inspecting the bottom of a Silesian coal mine.

On leaving Poland, I exchanged diplomacy for academia and took a doctorate in the literature of the English Romantic Period at Oxford. I then joined Oxfam as a lobbyist on conflict issues, campaigning at the UN and with governments to lessen the impact of conflict on civilians living in war zones - a cause about which I still feel very passionate.

Married with three children, I now live in Oxford between two rivers, surrounded by gargoyles, beautiful sandstone buildings and ancient trees.

My first novel, 'The Diamond of Drury Lane', won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2006 and the Nestle Children's Book Prize 2006 (formerly known as the Smarties Prize). I was also chosen by Waterstone's in 2007 as one of their 'Twenty-five authors for the future'. In the US, 'Secret of the Sirens' won the honor book medal of the Green Earth Book Award.

My latest series, which starts with Mel Foster and the Demon Butler, about an intrepid Victorian orphan who lives in a household of monsters, won Bronze in the Primary Teacher awards in 2015. The next part, Mel Foster and the Time Machine, has set the time-dial to arrive in 2016.

Reviews

[Brent Matley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wardrobes and Rings acts as an amalgamation - it is educational, calls on the reader to reflect, and it gives some entertaining insights into The Inklings. What I also loved about the book is how it delved into some of the 'lesser known' authors such as Dorothy Sayers. It was a shame the group had no female members as the UK has had some fantastic female authors, so it was nice these passages were included. The book can be read for daily wisdom and self-reflection through lent in the build up to Easter Sunday.

I loved how the book intertwined the narratives of LOTR and The Chronicles of Narnia and how faith ran intrinsically through them. There are are a many great lessons that can be gained and thought about - from Frodo and Sam's journey to banish the One Ring, to Gandalf's resurrection, to the children's journey through Narnia.

These stories are timeless and Wardrobes and Rings perfectly encapsulates why the tales of The Inklings are still are as relevant today as any other time in history.