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The Collected Letters Of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1
The life and mind of C. S. Lewis have fascinated those who have read his works. This collection of his personal letters reveals a unique intellectual journey. The first of a three-volume collection, this volume contains letters from Lewis's boyhood, his army days in World War I, and his early academic life at Oxford. Here we encounter the creative, imaginative seeds that gave birth to some of his most famous works.
At age sixteen, Lewis begins writing to Arthur Greeves, a boy his age in Belfast who later becomes one of his most treasured friends. Their correspondence would continue over the next fifty years. In his letters to Arthur, Lewis admits that he has abandoned the Christian faith. "I believe in no religion," he says. "There is absolutely no proof for any of them."
Shortly after arriving at Oxford, Lewis is called away to war. Quickly wounded, he returns to Oxford, writing home to describe his thoughts and feelings about the horrors of war as well as the early joys of publication and academic success.
In 1929 Lewis writes to Arthur of a friend ship that was to greatly influence his life and writing. "I was up till 2:30 on Monday talking to the Anglo-Saxon professor Tolkien who came back with me to College ... and sat discoursing of the gods and giants & Asgard for three hours ..." Gradually, as Lewis spends time with Tolkien and other friends, he admits in his letters to a change of view on religion. In 1930 he writes, "Whereas once I would have said, 'Shall I adopt Christianity', I now wait to see whether it will adopt me ..."
The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume I offers an inside perspective to Lewis's thinking during his formative years. Walter Hooper's insightful notes and biographical appendix of all the correspondents make this an irreplaceable reference for those curious about the life and work of one of the most creative minds of the modern era.
1057 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
139 people are currently reading
905 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,297 books47k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis 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. 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 than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis 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. 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 than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 5, 2025
When Jack Lewis’ mom died at a young age, the trauma for this great writer must have been altogether insupportable.
This past summer, I devoted much of my reading time to the writings of Freud on a child’s separation from his or her mother. But separation by the mother’s early death is intolerable. Happened to Freud’s own grandson.
Occurring so early in the child’s life, it can never, ever, be assuaged by the much-needed closure of the writing of books, like Lewis’ later A Grief Observed, on the painful passing of his beloved wife. That gave him only a modicum of peace.
For such an objective vantage point is utterly out of reach for an immature child.
But, the clinical dispassion we love so well in Lewis might never have been obtained otherwise. And, fortunately, Lewis carried that dispassion into the Belgian trenches of WWI, so his psychic health was intact at his demobilization after the hell that was trench warfare.
It would also help him enormously to be rigorously analytical in his young professorship at Oxford a few short years later.
The ability to apply clear, logical thinking to his own inner problems was a godsend, too! And Mere Christianity, stemming out of the radio broadcasts at the time of the Blitz - with their unstressed clearheaded thinking - gave hope to millions in those dark years, and is still giving hope today.
From whence does hope arise in a broken young soul?
First off, for Lewis, in the Platonic forms: truth, goodness and beauty. These so-called forms were widely known, of old, to be eternal archetypes, shining before lost souls like a golden Eldorado - oases in the desert of modern life for us.
And those forms, with the help of his good buddy Tolkien, led Lewis to God. For him it was merely a logical transition, a gentle easing into the habit of belief.
It was similar with Father Murray Bodo, in his autobiography - which I’m now slowly inhaling with gratitude in my wonderful silent hours of late-night reading.
He lost his beloved mom, not long after she was becoming a close part of his life in the time when his Dad served with the Marines in the Pacific theatre.
Later, after the War, he described his duty-bound mother coming home after a day of gruelling drudgery at the local laundry with joy in her heart, because she was returning to her hardworking husband and only son, who had a heartfelt religious vocation.
But when he became a teenager he would lose her. And his dad would follow not long after.
So that becoming a priest was then a joyless duty. Until... he started writing poetry. And his heart was unlocked again - as Lewis’ heart was finally reawakened by the writing of Narnia.
And the priest became a close friend of one of the greatest modern US poets - Denise Levertov.
Both men felt strongly the icy separation of deep grief. And both men rediscovered their own golden age in the act of writing.
Our reading, too, like writing can work wonders in our soul.
For if we let ourselves for a few hours Revisit now and then the Land of Childhood, it may be - as it was for William Blake - the Golden Thread that leads us back to Nirvana.
I know, life is hard, but with high ideals and our wonderful books we KNOW, like Jack Lewis, that we’re going to be able to make it through the storm.
This past summer, I devoted much of my reading time to the writings of Freud on a child’s separation from his or her mother. But separation by the mother’s early death is intolerable. Happened to Freud’s own grandson.
Occurring so early in the child’s life, it can never, ever, be assuaged by the much-needed closure of the writing of books, like Lewis’ later A Grief Observed, on the painful passing of his beloved wife. That gave him only a modicum of peace.
For such an objective vantage point is utterly out of reach for an immature child.
But, the clinical dispassion we love so well in Lewis might never have been obtained otherwise. And, fortunately, Lewis carried that dispassion into the Belgian trenches of WWI, so his psychic health was intact at his demobilization after the hell that was trench warfare.
It would also help him enormously to be rigorously analytical in his young professorship at Oxford a few short years later.
The ability to apply clear, logical thinking to his own inner problems was a godsend, too! And Mere Christianity, stemming out of the radio broadcasts at the time of the Blitz - with their unstressed clearheaded thinking - gave hope to millions in those dark years, and is still giving hope today.
From whence does hope arise in a broken young soul?
First off, for Lewis, in the Platonic forms: truth, goodness and beauty. These so-called forms were widely known, of old, to be eternal archetypes, shining before lost souls like a golden Eldorado - oases in the desert of modern life for us.
And those forms, with the help of his good buddy Tolkien, led Lewis to God. For him it was merely a logical transition, a gentle easing into the habit of belief.
It was similar with Father Murray Bodo, in his autobiography - which I’m now slowly inhaling with gratitude in my wonderful silent hours of late-night reading.
He lost his beloved mom, not long after she was becoming a close part of his life in the time when his Dad served with the Marines in the Pacific theatre.
Later, after the War, he described his duty-bound mother coming home after a day of gruelling drudgery at the local laundry with joy in her heart, because she was returning to her hardworking husband and only son, who had a heartfelt religious vocation.
But when he became a teenager he would lose her. And his dad would follow not long after.
So that becoming a priest was then a joyless duty. Until... he started writing poetry. And his heart was unlocked again - as Lewis’ heart was finally reawakened by the writing of Narnia.
And the priest became a close friend of one of the greatest modern US poets - Denise Levertov.
Both men felt strongly the icy separation of deep grief. And both men rediscovered their own golden age in the act of writing.
Our reading, too, like writing can work wonders in our soul.
For if we let ourselves for a few hours Revisit now and then the Land of Childhood, it may be - as it was for William Blake - the Golden Thread that leads us back to Nirvana.
I know, life is hard, but with high ideals and our wonderful books we KNOW, like Jack Lewis, that we’re going to be able to make it through the storm.
July 9, 2020
"A startling thing in Lewis’s letters to other believers is how much energy and practical advice is dispensed about how to keep your belief going: they are constantly writing to each other about the state of their beliefs, as chronic sinus sufferers might write to each other about the state of their noses. Keep your belief going, no matter what it takes—the thought not occurring that a belief that needs this much work to believe in isn’t really a belief but a very strong desire to believe."
-Adam Gopnik
=====
the full quote you won't find on the back cover of Mere Christianity....
“C.S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way.”
― Anthony Burgess
============
The excellent article from which the top quote comes....
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
-Adam Gopnik
=====
the full quote you won't find on the back cover of Mere Christianity....
“C.S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way.”
― Anthony Burgess
============
The excellent article from which the top quote comes....
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
December 4, 2019
Reading his letters was a great way to get to know the man in formation. It was especially interesting when he commented on reading another writer's letters as that writer grew up, observing the seeds of what would become that writer's development ideas. The same is true for reading Lewis's letters. One can see the thinking the Lord will radically alter as Lewis is remade in the image of Christ, and more so that which He will subtly shift to an altogether different purpose.
July 10, 2023
Every Lewis fan should read these letters. SO GOOD!!
August 14, 2024
This book was a thousand pages on my kindle so it has taken me almost a year to complete. Volume 2 of his letters was my favorite book of 2022, but this one was more of a slog. The first half is obligatory letters to his father with him he did not get along very well. In order to avoid controversial topics, these are very bland.
I wanted to read this after I finished his biography, Surprised by Joy, to see if I could get a deeper glimpse into his conversion experience. But the few letters he wrote about it only come up in the last pages. Still, it was interesting (and heartbreaking) to read his letters to Warnie about his difficulties with his father, and fun to read of his first encounter with Tolkien.
His relationship to Mrs. Moore is a curiosity. If you read Alan Jacob’s The Narnian, he insists they were lovers (in spite of Lewis denying this). We know that Warnie disapproved of the relationship but we don’t really know why. In Volume 2, she is a noose around his neck, but in Volume 1, she and her daughter Maureen seem to supply him with the family life he’s always wanted.
As a Jane Eyre fan, I was delighted with this excerpt from a letter to Arthur Greeves in 1916: “I have also re-read Jane Eyre from beginning to end; it is a magnificent novel. Some of those long dialogues between her and Rochester are really like duets from a splendid opera, aren’t they?”
I wanted to read this after I finished his biography, Surprised by Joy, to see if I could get a deeper glimpse into his conversion experience. But the few letters he wrote about it only come up in the last pages. Still, it was interesting (and heartbreaking) to read his letters to Warnie about his difficulties with his father, and fun to read of his first encounter with Tolkien.
His relationship to Mrs. Moore is a curiosity. If you read Alan Jacob’s The Narnian, he insists they were lovers (in spite of Lewis denying this). We know that Warnie disapproved of the relationship but we don’t really know why. In Volume 2, she is a noose around his neck, but in Volume 1, she and her daughter Maureen seem to supply him with the family life he’s always wanted.
As a Jane Eyre fan, I was delighted with this excerpt from a letter to Arthur Greeves in 1916: “I have also re-read Jane Eyre from beginning to end; it is a magnificent novel. Some of those long dialogues between her and Rochester are really like duets from a splendid opera, aren’t they?”
January 1, 2011
CS Lewis' Letters 1905-1931 serve as a good record of CS Lewis' early life, along with his diary from about the same period, published as "All My Roads Before Me." 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
8:17 PM January 1, 2011
Agoo, La Union
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
8:17 PM January 1, 2011
Agoo, La Union
March 26, 2010
I love Lewis's epistolary style; it's such a pleasure to read, especially in this age where the art of letter writing has been lost.
What I've taken away from this volume is an appreciation for how well-read Lewis was. I got an idea of the kinds of books he enjoyed, and his opinions on many authors & poets. He committed MUCH poetry & literature to memory, and he frequently quoted lines in his letters. I was very impressed at his lingual abilities as well. The volume also gives a view of some of his early philosophies, and it shed some light on his later conversion & works.
There are plenty of things to enjoy in these letters for a dedicated Lewis reader. Besides literature & philosophy, there are anecdotes, humor, & friendships. The reader learns about his early situations as a student & tutor at Oxford, and his GREAT love of nature.
This collection is a gem for any Lewis aficionado.
What I've taken away from this volume is an appreciation for how well-read Lewis was. I got an idea of the kinds of books he enjoyed, and his opinions on many authors & poets. He committed MUCH poetry & literature to memory, and he frequently quoted lines in his letters. I was very impressed at his lingual abilities as well. The volume also gives a view of some of his early philosophies, and it shed some light on his later conversion & works.
There are plenty of things to enjoy in these letters for a dedicated Lewis reader. Besides literature & philosophy, there are anecdotes, humor, & friendships. The reader learns about his early situations as a student & tutor at Oxford, and his GREAT love of nature.
This collection is a gem for any Lewis aficionado.
December 13, 2016
It's taken me quite a while to read this wonderful book, since I have been reading it pretty much every night once I get into bed. Generally, nowadays, that means a page or two followed by a plunge into sleep. But it's been fascinating to learn about the brilliant man's early years, from his own letters and without any of the rethinking and shaping that went into a book like Surprised by Joy. Here Lewis is not telling a story, but talking to his friends, his brother, and his father, from the age of 7 to the age of 32. Boarding school, the Great Knock, the War, Oxford after the War, Barfield, Tolkien -- they're all there -- and all the comments on all the books he's reading, which is for me in some ways the most interesting part.
The book has a good biographical appendix at the end, to detail the cast of Lewis' relatives and friends and teachers. The notes are much less good, often so useless that they made me scratch my head. Why, for example, would anyone interested and motivated enough to read Lewis' letters need to be told that Herman Melville is the author of Moby Dick?
Don't let that deter you. The pleasure is in getting to spend all that time with Lewis.
The book has a good biographical appendix at the end, to detail the cast of Lewis' relatives and friends and teachers. The notes are much less good, often so useless that they made me scratch my head. Why, for example, would anyone interested and motivated enough to read Lewis' letters need to be told that Herman Melville is the author of Moby Dick?
Don't let that deter you. The pleasure is in getting to spend all that time with Lewis.
January 16, 2017
I made two discoveries as I worked my way through all these letters: the first that the word "snarky" was around far earlier than I thought. (Lewis uses it.) And the second that I like Lewis best like this, when he's writing letters to family and close friends.
I still enjoy Narnia and I still like arguing with his apologetics, but the man who shines here seems even more real. I think I appreciate C.S. "Jack" Lewis much more now--from what he went through in school and in WWI to his difficulties with his father to the family he created for himself with Mrs. Moore and her daughter.
And this Lewis feels like a friend: a well-read, intellectual friend with plenty of flaws, like elitism, prejudices and misogyny, but a surprisingly broad-minded, charitable and forgiving friend as well, and a friend who is actively doing his best to improve.
Looking forward to the next collection!
I still enjoy Narnia and I still like arguing with his apologetics, but the man who shines here seems even more real. I think I appreciate C.S. "Jack" Lewis much more now--from what he went through in school and in WWI to his difficulties with his father to the family he created for himself with Mrs. Moore and her daughter.
And this Lewis feels like a friend: a well-read, intellectual friend with plenty of flaws, like elitism, prejudices and misogyny, but a surprisingly broad-minded, charitable and forgiving friend as well, and a friend who is actively doing his best to improve.
Looking forward to the next collection!
March 30, 2012
This is a great look into the early life of C. S. Lewis. By the time you finish the first volume you will feel like he is an old friend.
May 4, 2023
Actually, the volume I read had letters spanning his entire life. It gives great insight into the way he 'did life'. Enjoyed immensely
May 16, 2019
This is a book which only fans of C. S. Lewis would consider reading, of course. I must confess I approached the book with a tiny bit of anxiety. Usually when you look at your heroes for too long and too closely, you discover various reasons why your admiration might have been misplaced.
This is only the first volume, up to his 31 years of age, but I think the danger is safely behind me now. My admiration did not diminish. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know young Lewis. It was clear from his young age, not only to us readers, but to people around him, that he was a gifted young man.
The letters in this volume cover his conversion to Christianity, which happened at 31. So only the last few letters cover this subject. Tolkien is cited as being one of the two responsible. I look forward to the next volume to see their friendship develop.
I must confess that some anxiety still remains for the next 2 volumes. These letters and some of his essays are the last things which I haven't yet read. I dread the day when I will have read everything he ever wrote.
This is only the first volume, up to his 31 years of age, but I think the danger is safely behind me now. My admiration did not diminish. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know young Lewis. It was clear from his young age, not only to us readers, but to people around him, that he was a gifted young man.
The letters in this volume cover his conversion to Christianity, which happened at 31. So only the last few letters cover this subject. Tolkien is cited as being one of the two responsible. I look forward to the next volume to see their friendship develop.
I must confess that some anxiety still remains for the next 2 volumes. These letters and some of his essays are the last things which I haven't yet read. I dread the day when I will have read everything he ever wrote.
January 9, 2014
Walter Hooper is a wonderful editor. He must know everything about C.S. Lewis there is to know. His insertions are helpful and all the notes explain quite adequately innumerable minutiae that I can't think how he found out unless he was crazy about Jack.
Reading this first volume is truly like being invited into the skype conversations of C.S. Lewis. He knew how to write interesting letters. He talks about faith, philosophy, literature, and the bills he continued to ring up from his father while at college. It's very humanizing. You get a real idea of what Lewis's life was like.
If you want to read any of the cool letters, the last two are amazing, but I'd be happy to select a few of the more interesting ones for my friends, if they wished. Consider it a open offer until this review is so old and decrepit that I have forgotten and have dimensia when someone finally asks for a sampling. I'll want a secretary like Hooper to get the best ones out to him.
Reading this first volume is truly like being invited into the skype conversations of C.S. Lewis. He knew how to write interesting letters. He talks about faith, philosophy, literature, and the bills he continued to ring up from his father while at college. It's very humanizing. You get a real idea of what Lewis's life was like.
If you want to read any of the cool letters, the last two are amazing, but I'd be happy to select a few of the more interesting ones for my friends, if they wished. Consider it a open offer until this review is so old and decrepit that I have forgotten and have dimensia when someone finally asks for a sampling. I'll want a secretary like Hooper to get the best ones out to him.
May 30, 2019
Finally finished all three volumes of C.S. Lewis' letters - totaling some 4,000 pages of letters. And it was worth every moment of reading. I'd recommend starting with volume two, as volume one had less material relevant to the stages of life many most associate with Lewis. I'm working on a long form article entailing many of the main insights gleaned from the letters and hope to have it published this year.
March 7, 2022
Dec 2021. Began on a holiday whim. Took me a while
to finish but it was time well spent. A wonderful, rich, detailed, charming letter writer. And there are many links to his later, published writings.
to finish but it was time well spent. A wonderful, rich, detailed, charming letter writer. And there are many links to his later, published writings.
September 15, 2024
It's hard to describe the journey this was. To see his childhood, boyhood, teenage years, early adulthood... and then it ending with his conversion to Christianity! What a thread, what a tapestry the Lord weaves for us. He can take an intellectual of gargantuan proportions and make him kneel at the foot of the cross. Glory to God
June 23, 2018
As much as I have enjoyed many of Lewis' writings in different stages of my life, some of these letters did prove to be somewhat of a slog for me, particularly those addressed to his brother (sorry Warnie). And yet, after awhile the letters do get interesting, as Lewis goes into the Army, attends university, and develops a strange relationship with a friend’s mother he calls the Minto, and whom he begins to live with, due to a mutual vow with his friend that one would care for the other’s parent if the other were to fall in battle. Yes, it sounds like the stuff out of a film, but it is all there; and there is much to surmise from between the lines. One almost feels sad for Lewis’ father, Albert, who is caring but highly criticized figure in the letters (perhaps due to his disapproval of Lewis’ strange relationship with the Minto and the financial toils it placed upon his pockets—for now he had to provide for an undergraduate son without work and the Minto, who does come across as a bit manipulative. Additionally, Lewis’ come to a later realization of his own unjust treatment of his father, and much of his youthful and selfish (even priggish) attitudes are in evidence throughout.
Of course, the real heart of this collection, and the most interesting letters by far are those addressed to his Galahad, Arthur Greeves, and one almost senses the same type of passion and eagerness to write one another that one feels when exchanging love letters in one’s youth. Of course, these are not love letters, and they do not touch on the homoerotic (despite Arthur’s sexual orientation); rather the letters touch upon shared interests and passions about subjects and mostly of books, such as found in Malory, Milton and Morris and even of classical music (no different than the way I remember communicating similar passions with friends in my own youth).
Both youths (and later young men) have developed the sort of aesthetic appreciations that come much later in life for most of us (myself included). Lewis talks about his love of certain bindings an ardent bibliophile and we do not get Arthur’s side of the conversation (a real pity, since he seems to invoke the best out of Lewis). Try this excerpt for size, wherein Lewis writes to Arthur: “Feelings ought to be kept for literature and art, where they are delightful and not intruded into life where they are merely a nuiscance.”
Both men seem to be like Grail knights, searching for something that is only hinted at and never fully satisfying, even in Lewis’ frequent walks with him across beautiful landscapes, which Lewis describes so beautifully and succinctly (he seems to have a preference for colder climes and autumnal shades). He writes to Arthur telling him about a painted scene: “a dull, gloomy pool in a wood in autumn, with a fierce scudding rain blown slantways across it, dashing withered leaves from the branches and beating the sedge at the sides. I don’t suppose that makes you realize it at all, but there was a beautiful dreariness about it that would have appealed to you.” Now, how I would have enjoyed the company of these two Grail knights walking across such dreary landscapes and loving them!
Lewis and his Galahad are searching, and the letters capture the uncertainty (even the terror) of it all; I love this correspondence between them because it is precisely the type of modern day Grail quest “more mystic & eerie than the ‘Morte” (to borrow Lewis’ own word about a French Grail romance) that I have been wanting to read about, and which has left me unfulfilled even in Lodges’ “Small World” and Percy’s “Lancelot.” Who knew I would find such a quest, sandwiched in between Lewis’ early correspondence.
Who can resist this cheering up that Lewis gives to his despondent friend: “…cheer up, and whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago.”
And this bit of shared ink has given me much joy, as I read through the growing friendship, lapses and all, until we realize the quest for the Grail cannot be completed in this world. The quest involves hints of what we are seeking, but it is still the quest and the quest itself cannot be confused with that which we are actually seeking. Lewis comments about Arthur’s re-reading of Morris towards the end of this collection: “I feel more and more that Morris has taught me things he did not understand himself. These hauntingly beautiful lands which somehow never satisfy,–this passion to escape from death plus the certainty that life owes all its charm to mortality–these push you on to the real thing because they fill you with desire and yet prove absolutely clearly that in Morris’s world that desire cannot be satisfied.”
Highly recommended to both the Arthurian and Lewis enthusiast.
Of course, the real heart of this collection, and the most interesting letters by far are those addressed to his Galahad, Arthur Greeves, and one almost senses the same type of passion and eagerness to write one another that one feels when exchanging love letters in one’s youth. Of course, these are not love letters, and they do not touch on the homoerotic (despite Arthur’s sexual orientation); rather the letters touch upon shared interests and passions about subjects and mostly of books, such as found in Malory, Milton and Morris and even of classical music (no different than the way I remember communicating similar passions with friends in my own youth).
Both youths (and later young men) have developed the sort of aesthetic appreciations that come much later in life for most of us (myself included). Lewis talks about his love of certain bindings an ardent bibliophile and we do not get Arthur’s side of the conversation (a real pity, since he seems to invoke the best out of Lewis). Try this excerpt for size, wherein Lewis writes to Arthur: “Feelings ought to be kept for literature and art, where they are delightful and not intruded into life where they are merely a nuiscance.”
Both men seem to be like Grail knights, searching for something that is only hinted at and never fully satisfying, even in Lewis’ frequent walks with him across beautiful landscapes, which Lewis describes so beautifully and succinctly (he seems to have a preference for colder climes and autumnal shades). He writes to Arthur telling him about a painted scene: “a dull, gloomy pool in a wood in autumn, with a fierce scudding rain blown slantways across it, dashing withered leaves from the branches and beating the sedge at the sides. I don’t suppose that makes you realize it at all, but there was a beautiful dreariness about it that would have appealed to you.” Now, how I would have enjoyed the company of these two Grail knights walking across such dreary landscapes and loving them!
Lewis and his Galahad are searching, and the letters capture the uncertainty (even the terror) of it all; I love this correspondence between them because it is precisely the type of modern day Grail quest “more mystic & eerie than the ‘Morte” (to borrow Lewis’ own word about a French Grail romance) that I have been wanting to read about, and which has left me unfulfilled even in Lodges’ “Small World” and Percy’s “Lancelot.” Who knew I would find such a quest, sandwiched in between Lewis’ early correspondence.
Who can resist this cheering up that Lewis gives to his despondent friend: “…cheer up, and whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago.”
And this bit of shared ink has given me much joy, as I read through the growing friendship, lapses and all, until we realize the quest for the Grail cannot be completed in this world. The quest involves hints of what we are seeking, but it is still the quest and the quest itself cannot be confused with that which we are actually seeking. Lewis comments about Arthur’s re-reading of Morris towards the end of this collection: “I feel more and more that Morris has taught me things he did not understand himself. These hauntingly beautiful lands which somehow never satisfy,–this passion to escape from death plus the certainty that life owes all its charm to mortality–these push you on to the real thing because they fill you with desire and yet prove absolutely clearly that in Morris’s world that desire cannot be satisfied.”
Highly recommended to both the Arthurian and Lewis enthusiast.
October 2, 2016
Reading an unabridged collection of letters is an odd experience. It is about 1000 pages long (and this is the first of a three volume set), and much of that is uninteresting, merely arranging details about when he will be coming and going, or reporting the latest cold, or mentioning inside jokes-- I really was glad I could skim. But over the course of it Lewis makes friends, goes to school, reads books, becomes an atheist, grows up, goes to war, becomes an English professor, buries his father and deals with the estate, converts to theism and then Christianity, and changes from being rather self-centered and elitist to someone much more open to the good in everyone.
He was always interested in mythology, fairy tales and fantasy books, and realized at some point that he had read essentially all of them (it was a much smaller field back then, and he was a voracious reader.) His favorite was probably George MacDonald (who wrote a book called The Wood Beyond the World, which you may recognize from The Magician's Nephew.) He read everything he could get his hands on, though-- a lot of his correspondence is borrowing books or reviewing books or discussing books. His fantasy writings of stories as a child are the subject of several letters to his best friend, Arthur (a kind, if not particularly bright, child of aristocrats who lived across the street and was willing to talk about whatever Lewis was interested in) and would be interesting to look over.
He had an unending interest from when he was very young of capturing a certain feeling-- a crisp fall morning, or looking into the open door of a house with a fire going, or in a wildly blowing storm, or looking down into a far valley-- a feeling that there was another better world just out of his reach. It was what he went looking for every time he took a walk, or bought a house, or read a book. It was what brought him to religion-- a conversation with Tolkien and another friend where he realized that the story of Christ's atonement was a myth, just like the ones he loved so much, but a myth not written by men of fictional characters, but crafted by God from real people.
One of the more interesting stories is about a promise he made to a friend who died in World War I to take care of his mother and sisters. Jack took it very seriously, and for years lived with the family and supported the whole household on his allowance. It is kind of hard to understand the nature of the relationship-- from my point of view the mother seems to be taking advantage of him ruthlessly, but that's not how he saw it.
He and his brothers disliked their father, who seems to have been emotionally absent-- he never visited his son in the hospital after he was wounded in the war, for example. This complicated the feeling as Jack sat with him as he was dying.
This books is letters to family and friends. Probably the most interesting volume will be the third volume, where he writes to Tolkien, but it costs too much so I will have to wait to read it.
He was always interested in mythology, fairy tales and fantasy books, and realized at some point that he had read essentially all of them (it was a much smaller field back then, and he was a voracious reader.) His favorite was probably George MacDonald (who wrote a book called The Wood Beyond the World, which you may recognize from The Magician's Nephew.) He read everything he could get his hands on, though-- a lot of his correspondence is borrowing books or reviewing books or discussing books. His fantasy writings of stories as a child are the subject of several letters to his best friend, Arthur (a kind, if not particularly bright, child of aristocrats who lived across the street and was willing to talk about whatever Lewis was interested in) and would be interesting to look over.
He had an unending interest from when he was very young of capturing a certain feeling-- a crisp fall morning, or looking into the open door of a house with a fire going, or in a wildly blowing storm, or looking down into a far valley-- a feeling that there was another better world just out of his reach. It was what he went looking for every time he took a walk, or bought a house, or read a book. It was what brought him to religion-- a conversation with Tolkien and another friend where he realized that the story of Christ's atonement was a myth, just like the ones he loved so much, but a myth not written by men of fictional characters, but crafted by God from real people.
One of the more interesting stories is about a promise he made to a friend who died in World War I to take care of his mother and sisters. Jack took it very seriously, and for years lived with the family and supported the whole household on his allowance. It is kind of hard to understand the nature of the relationship-- from my point of view the mother seems to be taking advantage of him ruthlessly, but that's not how he saw it.
He and his brothers disliked their father, who seems to have been emotionally absent-- he never visited his son in the hospital after he was wounded in the war, for example. This complicated the feeling as Jack sat with him as he was dying.
This books is letters to family and friends. Probably the most interesting volume will be the third volume, where he writes to Tolkien, but it costs too much so I will have to wait to read it.
May 13, 2016
Found this one on one of the ebook bargain sites along with the others which I didn't purchase. What was I thinking?!! Anyway, I did get the first volume and have now finished it. Almost 1100 pages in print!
A review on someone's personal letters isn't possible or needed. The only review item might be the arrangement or choice of material. Chronological works fine and not having access to all the material available I have to trust that Mr, Hooper acted in good faith in this project. He has added biographical information as needed throughout this volume to aid the reader as to the situation or setting that occasioned the letters that follow. Very helpful.
What surprised me in these letters was how mature Lewis' writing was at an early age, in this case something akin to the high school years now. Volume one covers those years through his early academic teaching years (1905-1931). His father plays a large role throughout this time in various ways, and there is some major tension between the two. As Lewis enters into adulthood a greater appreciation of his father develops as the younger Lewis comes to terms with their differences.
Friendship with his peers filled a great portion of the pages of this compilation. Little if any romantic ties is included, but some of the letters do address what, to me, was typical adolescent male anxieties, but only through allusions, no specifics. The letters have been screened to avoid embarrassment to any person.
Joy, grief, war, peace, religious leanings, financial affairs, illness, family issues, home, friends, and literature fill the pages. (Lots of good information here about some of the classics. and an especially good bit of advice to a friend about handling rejection.) The final entry is Lewis' admission that he has embraced the Christian faith after a lengthy period that traversed atheism, to deism, and then Christian beliefs.
I'm looking forward to volume two.
A review on someone's personal letters isn't possible or needed. The only review item might be the arrangement or choice of material. Chronological works fine and not having access to all the material available I have to trust that Mr, Hooper acted in good faith in this project. He has added biographical information as needed throughout this volume to aid the reader as to the situation or setting that occasioned the letters that follow. Very helpful.
What surprised me in these letters was how mature Lewis' writing was at an early age, in this case something akin to the high school years now. Volume one covers those years through his early academic teaching years (1905-1931). His father plays a large role throughout this time in various ways, and there is some major tension between the two. As Lewis enters into adulthood a greater appreciation of his father develops as the younger Lewis comes to terms with their differences.
Friendship with his peers filled a great portion of the pages of this compilation. Little if any romantic ties is included, but some of the letters do address what, to me, was typical adolescent male anxieties, but only through allusions, no specifics. The letters have been screened to avoid embarrassment to any person.
Joy, grief, war, peace, religious leanings, financial affairs, illness, family issues, home, friends, and literature fill the pages. (Lots of good information here about some of the classics. and an especially good bit of advice to a friend about handling rejection.) The final entry is Lewis' admission that he has embraced the Christian faith after a lengthy period that traversed atheism, to deism, and then Christian beliefs.
I'm looking forward to volume two.
September 8, 2016
This book--for obvious reasons--will appeal more to people who enjoy letter-writing as a form in itself. As someone who does, I have a possible leg-up on enjoying this collection. A purebred C.S.Lewis fan might not enjoy the book as much, because this is Lewis in his youth: i.e. before Narnia, before he became a famous author, before he was a Christian apologist; indeed, for much of this collection, before he had become a Christian at all.
On the other hand--and this is where I fit in--you can't appreciate someone's saintliness until you have seen their sinfulness. Lewis, as he reveals himself (chiefly to his father and Arthur Greeves--this portion of his life saw far few letters to correspondents survive than in his later, more famous years), begins as a fairly normal human: he's markedly selfish, concerned with material things, he deceives--in short, he has a lot of growth to do, and in the course of the years covered by the book, he begins to do so.
The one area where Lewis did not have to grow as much, where he was exceptional from the beginning, was in academics, and it is breath-taking to read, as a supposedly educated man myself, how much Lewis read, and what he read, both for work and for pleasure. Thirty years of life (making me almost as old as Lewis at the end of the volume) and two university degrees (the same as him) leave me not so much thinking I have had a comparable education (I did not go to Oxford, mind) as that I have had just enough education to be basically aware of the basics that he was swimming in--and that is without considering the 85 years of literature that have been generated since!
On the other hand--and this is where I fit in--you can't appreciate someone's saintliness until you have seen their sinfulness. Lewis, as he reveals himself (chiefly to his father and Arthur Greeves--this portion of his life saw far few letters to correspondents survive than in his later, more famous years), begins as a fairly normal human: he's markedly selfish, concerned with material things, he deceives--in short, he has a lot of growth to do, and in the course of the years covered by the book, he begins to do so.
The one area where Lewis did not have to grow as much, where he was exceptional from the beginning, was in academics, and it is breath-taking to read, as a supposedly educated man myself, how much Lewis read, and what he read, both for work and for pleasure. Thirty years of life (making me almost as old as Lewis at the end of the volume) and two university degrees (the same as him) leave me not so much thinking I have had a comparable education (I did not go to Oxford, mind) as that I have had just enough education to be basically aware of the basics that he was swimming in--and that is without considering the 85 years of literature that have been generated since!
June 30, 2017
Sometimes I'm afraid that if I learn too much about C.S. Lewis, I won't like him so much anymore. That fear has yet to be realized. So far, the more I learn about him, the more I love him. He wasn't perfect, of course, and I wouldn't recommend these books to anyone who's not already a big fan, but I loved learning more of his personality through his own writing and seeing how he developed over the years. It's definitely important to keep in mind that he wasn't the famous author so many people admire when these letters were written. He wasn't even a Christian until the very end of this book.
I was also super excited to see my name (twice!) in one of his letters. And it's actually not unlikely that he wrote my name other times as well because of his interest in Greek mythology. I was able to go to the Wade Center in Wheaton, Illinois and see the actual letter in which he wrote my name. It was glorious. I had to work so hard to keep my fangirling inside my head that day... XD
My one complaint is this: Editor Walter Hooper says in the preface that he left out several letters (technically he says "a few", but he estimated it to be 5% and I'm pretty sure 5% of 977 pages of letters is more than "a few"), which bothers me. I want to read those letters too!!
I was also super excited to see my name (twice!) in one of his letters. And it's actually not unlikely that he wrote my name other times as well because of his interest in Greek mythology. I was able to go to the Wade Center in Wheaton, Illinois and see the actual letter in which he wrote my name. It was glorious. I had to work so hard to keep my fangirling inside my head that day... XD
My one complaint is this: Editor Walter Hooper says in the preface that he left out several letters (technically he says "a few", but he estimated it to be 5% and I'm pretty sure 5% of 977 pages of letters is more than "a few"), which bothers me. I want to read those letters too!!
January 8, 2023
It is very interesting to look into the casual friend-to-friend writings of a master author like CS Lewis. The lion's share of the writings aren't all that consequential but now and then there is a letter explaining so beautifully a scene or situation that you may want to highlight it. I marked the passages that seemed to be interesting points or turns in his theological and philosophical thought.
Really the man that deserves all the credit for these volumes is Walter Hooper. Compiling these and footnoting them had to a massive undertaking.
On the whole this book probably isn't for the usual reader searching for another great masterful writing by Lewis. It is more for the fan who wants to see and understand where Lewis came from and how his interactions in life helped shape him.
Really the man that deserves all the credit for these volumes is Walter Hooper. Compiling these and footnoting them had to a massive undertaking.
On the whole this book probably isn't for the usual reader searching for another great masterful writing by Lewis. It is more for the fan who wants to see and understand where Lewis came from and how his interactions in life helped shape him.
January 1, 2018
There's no better letter writer that I have read at least. What a mind C.S. Lewis had! Many of his letters I consider truly literary pieces. Love particularly his descriptions of his walking tours and of his depictions of people. Even when I don't "get it" because much of what he is writes is "inside info" to friends or family, I still find something out of it. Of course, it helps to be a die hard Lewis fan since I was a child (now 51). If this is your first intro to Lewis, you probably won't get the same experience. It would be better to start with his other works to get acquainted with this truly unique and gifted writer and thinker.
January 27, 2016
The letters by a younger C.S. Lewis can get pretty repetitive, as they are almost all between just three people (his brother, his father, and his oldest friend Arthur Greeves) and tend to be more about day to day minutiae - which, while interesting in its own way, pales in comparison with the almost constant consideration of lofty subject matter in his later correspondence. Nevertheless (especially in about the latter third) the reader can see a fascinating look the development of Lewis' temperament and thought as he moves toward his conversion to Christianity.
January 19, 2016
I confess I haven't read the entire book--it's over 1000 pages, average reading time on Kindle is 26 hours, and someone really needs to know a lot about C.S. Lewis and the times and places in which he lived to understand it all. But I have enjoyed reading random letters, especially from his early years. I was amazed at his vocabulary, knowledge, and writing ability even in childhood. He was extremely well-read and had a classical, liberal-arts education.
September 13, 2018
This was a wonderful collection of letters that I enjoyed reading so very much. I really felt as if I not only got to watch "Jack" grow up, but I also felt as if I were there together, along for the ride. I was able to get a feel for studying at Oxford, living in England, taking countryside walks, and teaching at a British university. It was a lovely, dreamlike time spent together, one that I was very sad to have come to an end.
March 13, 2024
I always find C.S. Lewis interesting to read and fascinating when he is making points. Sadly, this collection of his letters is mostly like - well, reading private correspondence that you can't really follow. Towards the end of the volume, you start to get into the meatier material you'd expect from him, so I imagine the final two volumes of the letters would be much better reading. This one, sadly, is just disappointing.
March 19, 2012
These were personal letters of C.S. Lewis starting when he was 16 and onward. I only got about one quarter through the book then I felt like I was invading his personal space. I kept thinking ~ would I want my personal letters to my sister and dear friends published for the world to see? No, I say I wouldn't. So I put the book down.
January 6, 2013
Difficult start but well worth staying with as you see the development of CSL through his early years and to the place of his conversion to Christianity. Much of what he wrote is better seen and understood in light of these letters.
January 30, 2017
A fascinating and engaging read. Although the substance of Volume 1 in many ways is not as rich as the substance of Volumes 2 and 3 (owing largely to the fact that 2 and 3 are after Lewis' conversion to Christianity), nevertheless the letters are intriguing.
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