C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), or ‘Jack’ to friends and family, was born in Belfast. As a boy he was an avid reader and particularly enjoyed stories of Norse mythology and Crusading knights ~ he was to become professor of Medieval & Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University in 1954. This passion, along with his deep interest in the logical justification of Christian beliefs, were the enduring themes of his writing.

He began as a poet, publishing ‘Spirits in Bondage’ in 1919. After gaining three degrees at Oxford University he stayed on as a tutor in philosophy and did not leave until his appointment at Cambridge. During WW2 he gave a series of uplifting sermons on BBC radio which appealed to believers and non-believers alike. These made him a household name.

However, he is best known for the seven novels that make up the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ and of these, the first is the most famous ~ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, published in 1950. Today they are sometimes unreasonably criticised for reflecting cultural attitudes of the time. That aside, Lewis’s work has been extremely influential in children’s fantasy literature and it is very popular in Christian evangelistic circles, selling 200 million copies in thirty languages.

(Image: Levan Ramishvili at Flickr.com / Public domain)