Book Review: C. S. Lewis A Life

The Book

C. S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet
Alister McGrath

All of my readers should have a grasp of my fondness for C. S. Lewis and his works. I have written several posts dedicated to either his works, his quotes or works about him. When one clicks on the tag entitled "CSLewis", 12 posts are returned (13 actually, counting this one) which are related to Lewis in one way or another. A few of these include:

• A book review of Mere Christianity
• A book review of A Grief Observed
• A book review of The Problem of Pain
• And a critical examination of Lewis's Young Adult Fiction (written for class)

Therefore, I was naturally drawn to this biographical account of Clive Staples Lewis, written by Alister McGrath (an individual on whom I have also dedicated some space for on this blog.) I was afforded the opportunity to borrow this ebook from the Miami-Dade Public Library system and did not hesitate to put my name on the queue.

Technical Merit

This book is very well written. For technical merit, I give it 4 out of five stars. It is difficult to compose a biographical narrative that captivates in the way a novel does, but McGrath does a fine job of piecing together details. In order to do this, he subdivides the biography in 5 parts:

1. Prelude: Early life up to Lewis's involvement in the war
2. Oxford: Lewis's rise in academia culminating with the international fame of Mere Christianity
3. Narnia: Section devoted to Lewis's most popular works
4. Cambridge: Lewis's move to Cambridge and end-of-life
5. Afterlife: The decline and subsequent rise of Lewis's popularity

Also included in this 471 page biography is a timeline, list of works consulted, end-notes and an index. As can be assumed from both the integrity of the author and the extensive contents, this is a well researched piece.

The Review

Alister McGrath sets out to write a biography of C. S. Lewis that is informed, not from a personal relationship with the man, but from an intimate relationship with the man's works. As he leans on Lewis's correspondence and diaries for dates, he also discusses Lewis's publications in their appropriate place in the Lewis timeline. This approach emphasizes the impact that literary pursuits had on Lewis's development. This is stated outright in McGrath's description of Lewis's conversion:

Lewis fits into a broader pattern at (his) time--the conversion of literary scholars and writers through and because of their literary interests. Lewis' love of literature is not a backdrop to his conversion; it is integral to his discovery of the rational and imaginative appeal of Christianity

Alister McGrath, C. S. Lewis: A Life, Page 132

One of the bolder distinctions made in this book is a correction to the generally accepted timeline of C. S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity from Atheism. In fact, this correction is made with careful attention to detail that borders on trepidation.

TRADITIONAL CHRONOLOGY OF LEWIS' CONVERSION

1. 28 April--22 June 1929: Lewis comes to believe in God
2. 19 September 1931: A conversation with Tolkien leads Lewis to realise that Christianity is a "true myth"
3. 28 September 1931: Lewis comes to believe in the divinity of Christ while being driven to Whipsnade Zoo
4. 1 October 1931: Lewis tells Arthur Greeves that he has "passed over" from belief in God to belief in Christ.
5. 15--29 August 1932: Lewis describes his intellectual journey to God in The Pilgrim's Regress, written at this time in Belfast.

ALISTER MCGRATH'S CHRONOLOGY OF LEWIS' CONVERSION

1. March--June 1930: Lewis comes to believe in God.
2. 19 September 1931: A conversation with Tolkien leads Lewis to realise that Christianity is a "true myth"
3. 1 October 1931: Lewis tells Arthur Greeves that he has "passed over" from belief in God to belief in Christ.
4. 7(?) June 1932: Lewis comes to believe in the divinity of Christ while being driven to Whipsnade Zoo in a car by Edward Foord-Kelcey.
5. 15--29 August 1932: Lewis describes his intellectual journey to God in The Pilgrim's Regress, written at this time in Belfast.

Alister McGrath, C. S. Lewis: A life, Page 142

I have not provided the reasoning for the changes in this review, just know that it is fascinating. These are the small details that have no real bearing on the over-arching significance of Lewis's conversion. However, they are the interesting minutiae that academics are concerned with.

Another interesting portion of this biography is found in the Narnia section of this book. In this third part, Alister McGrath emphasizes C. S. Lewis's fascination with the Middle Ages and explains a hint from Michael Ward (2008) that seeks to answer why there are seven books in the Narnia series. The pre-Copernican worldview of the Heptarchy is used as a model which explains some element of each of the books in the series:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Jupiter
2. Prince Caspian - Mars
3. The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" - the Sun
4. The Silver Chair - the Moon
5. The Horse and His Boy - Mercury
6. The Magician's Nephew - Venus
7. The Last Battle - Saturn

Finally, McGrath spends time unraveling the Lewis/Davidman relationship. He contends that it began as a purely mercenary arrangement that developed into true love only after Joy Davidman fell ill. Again, the significance of this relationship is manifested in literature, as McGrath credits Davidman as a midwife to three of his late books: Till We Have Faces, Reflections on the Psalms, and The Four Loves. It is in the pain of bereavement at the loss his wife that Lewis wrote A Grief Observed.

Conclusion

This is a good, if dense, read that I recommend to all who have an interest in both C. S. Lewis as an academic and as a Christian apologist. McGrath, being an apologist himself, focuses a lot on the way these two main themes manifest themselves throughout Clive Staples Lewis's life.