chronologically-lewis

Preparation for Responsions

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:27:58 +0100

This new file, uploaded just eight days after the last one (it's summer for me, so my schedule is lighter) contains a major upgrade. It includes about 2,500 more words, most of them about Lewis' reading list for Responsions during the first three months of 1917, but some of it about the contents of many of his letters. He arrived in Oxford for scholarship examinations on March 20, 1917, and the previous three months he kept a reading list, which appears in The Lewis Papers, but not in Collected Letters, Volume I. Consequently, I have added all of the things he was reading, which is an impressive list, although he doesn't always state how much of a given book he is reading. His reading includes books in German and French as a part of his foreign language preparation for Oxford University, which was probably slow going for the early days of such reading. This new information is important, but not nearly as important as many of the other stages of his life. Nevertheless, for those studying the early years of Lewis, especially his student years, this upload, which takes us through early May 1917, is a significant addition.

Phantastes

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:57:07 +0100

This latest version of the chronology is, of course, longer and with more detail than the previous one, taking us through almost half of 1916 (starting from the beginning of his letters). As I reread Volume 1 of Collected Letters, I see a few things I missed and add them. Mostly I add more detail, but occasionally I get an insight. One fascinating (to me at least) such detail is that I have discovered the actual date that Lewis bought Phantastes, March 4, 1916. Others probably already know this, but I didn't. I only had it generally placed in March of 1916, but a letter of Lewis places the date accurately and the place of purchase as a train station bookstall at Great Bookham.

Collected Letters, Vol. I

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:57:53 +0100

This chronology is about 3,000 words longer than the previous one. It contains especially information about letters written by Jack during the first years of his life, through 1914, from Collected Letters, Vol. I. As usual, I found a couple of letters and a couple of incidents I had previously missed. Included in this version also are some notes from The Lewis Papers, an unpublished set of papers, letters, diaries, etc. that Warren Lewis put together.

Collected Letters, Volume II

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:49:13 +0100

This updated chronology includes all of the contents of Jack's letters, briefly summarized, from Volume II of Collected Letters. It covers the years 1931 through 1949. As in the previous versions, I have included a couple of letters previously not included (I somehow missed them the first time through) and a few events previously overlooked. A very few corrections to the chronology were made. This version also includes a date for the publication of The Four Loves, which I got from William O'Flaherty, and the date of Jack's conversion to theism, explained by both Alister McGrath and Andrew Lazo. The next step is to work through Volume I of Collected Letters, summarizing the contents of those letters also. That, of course, is the least valuable volume for the life and works of Lewis, but still valuable in itself.

1931-1947

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 01:03:56 +0100

With this new posting, just thirteen days after the previous one, I have completed the summarizing of contents of the letters of Lewis through 1947. During this work, I noticed several letters previously not included (although I don't know why, probably just carelessness on the first read-through of Volume 2), hence the value of proofreading Collected Letters, Volume 2. One letter was to Sister Penelope and another to Dorothy L. Sayers. They don't tell much of what Lewis was doing, but they are new information. A minor mistake or two was corrected, and, of course, four more years have the content of the letters summarized. These themes create a much readable narrative and sometimes enable one to see connections between various events in a given month or year. One additional item is that I added some information on May 11, 1959, which is the date that Lewis delivered his "Fern-seed and Elephants" address (later renamed "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism") at Westcott House in Cambridge. I have included names of people who were present for that talk, plus a bit more historical detail, based on research I did in Cambridge, England last fall while on sabbatical. My article on that talk will be presented at a Lewis conference at Houston Baptist University on March 22, little less than a week from today. I will be interested in the reaction of those present. Perhaps you will be there.

McGrath, C. S. Lewis, A Life

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:01:47 +0100

This latest posting completes the additions to this chronology, based on Alister McGrath's recent biography of Lewis (to be released on March 1). It includes McGrath's redating of Lewis's conversion to theism and also to Christianity, but it has many other additional new pieces of information. It also adds additional information about the content of Lewis's letters in the early 1940s, as I continue that project of adding such information to this chronology. My review of McGrath's book will appear on the home page of this website in the next couple of days, once I complete my writing of it. The review is almost complete. You will find the review favorable, and McGrath's biography strongly recommended. In fact, the book is stunning. Seldom has so much new light been shed on Lewis in the past several decades. I have little doubt that it will become the standard biography of Lewis in a rather short period of time.

Alister McGrath

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:59:26 +0100

This new posting is about 2,000 words longer, mostly because I have given the contents of Jack's letters through 1941 (I have now read through and added brief material from half of Vol. II of Collected Letters), but also because I have incorporated some insights from the first part of Alister McGrath's new biography of Lewis, just about to come out from Tyndale House in 2013 (I have a prepublication copy), C. S. Lewis, A Life: Eccentric Genius. Reluctant Prophet. McGrath breaks some new ground in our understanding of the life of Lewis. I won't review it in this posting, but I will post my book review in a couple of weeks, once I have finished reading it. I have also corrected a couple of minor errors in the chronology and have added more documentation (footnotes).

I can't believe ...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:35:15 +0100

I can't believe that I never put into the 1914 chronology (on September 21) that Jack began translating Homer with Kirkpatrick for the first time. But he did and probably continued daily for quite some time, although I didn't put all of that into the chronology. The other item I missed is the incorporation of a number of RAF talks that Lewis did, based on a fine article by Bruce R. Johnson in Volumes 5/6 2011-2012 of Sehnsucht. With this latest update, which also adds a little in the way of letter content, I correct those two oversights. I am now past 1,000 footnotes and 259,000 (not that that is a measure of quality, but it does say something about the level of detail).

Does anyone read these postings?

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 03:49:06 +0100

I have a new update of the chronology, one that includes the brief contents of the letters of Lewis during most of the decade of the 1930s. It also includes some information from Laurence Harwood's book, C. S. Lewis, My Godfather. But my real question is this: "Does anyone really read these postings?" Email me if you do. Thanks.

Collected Letters, Vol. II

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:15:18 +0100

With this post, I make a few minor corrections and add information about Jack's letters in Volume Two of Collected Letters. In addition, it includes some significant additional information about three walking tours in the mid-1930s, i.e. 1936, 1937, and some of 1938. Happy New Year!