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“The Narnian is thoughtful, intriguing and inspiring—a treasure for Narnia fans, as well as aficionados of fine biography.”—Booklist
The Narnian is unlike other biographies on C. S. Lewis. Author Alan Jacobs seeks a more elusive quarry: an understanding of the way Lewis’s experiences, both direct and literary, formed themselves into patterns―themes that then shaped his thought and writings, especially the stories of Narnia.
Jacobs explores the imagination of C.S. Lewis and the themes and life events that contributed to The Chronicles of Narnia. You’ll read about:
- Lewis’s childhood days in Ireland playing with his brother.
- The horrific experiences of World War I.
- Lewis’s friendships with J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the “Inklings.”
- His marriage to Joy Davidman.
- Other life experiences that shaped Lewis’s philosophy, theology, and fiction writing.
This biography is for believers and non-believers. As the Minneapolis Star Tribune said, “Jacobs has written a mind-chew of a biography—not only a portrait of a dazzling writer but also a defense of Lewis as a seeker and thinker, a man who embraced and questioned his faith with equal parts pain and zeal.”
C.S. Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. Yet among his poetry, literary history and criticism, novels and Christian apologias stands a unique, delightfully imaginative children’s series called The Chronicles of Narnia, which has become an enduring classic.
Alan Jacobs takes the imaginary world of Narnia, which has captivated children and adults alike for years, and uses the themes and stories found within to explore the imaginative life of Lewis. Eschewing a conventional biographical structure, Jacobs instead seeks a more elusive quarry: an understanding of the way Lewis’s experiences, both direct and literary, formed themselves into themes that then shaped his thoughts and writings, especially the stories of Narnia. It is in the Narnia stories that we see the most of C.S. Lewis, and this illuminating biography delivers a true picture of his life and imagination. Alan Jacobs is a professor of literature at Wheaton College. He is the author of several collections of essays, including the recent Shaming the Devil: Essays in Truthtelling. A cultural critic and journalist, his work appears in such publications as First Things, Christianity Today, The Weekly Standard, Books and Culture, and The Oxford American. “As C. S. Lewis helped make sense of so much for so many, Alan Jacobs helps make sense of C. S. Lewis. The most influential Christian apologist of the last hundred years has found a worthy biographer.” – Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief of First ThingsYou may also like
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