A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18

by Joseph Loconte

Poet Thomas Hardy, writing upon the signing of the Armistice, undoubtedly spoke for many: Some could, some could not, shake off misery; The Sinister Spirit sneered: “It had to be!” And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, “Why?”2