There’s much, much more to C.S. Lewis than the Chronicles of Narnia.
Narnia is wonderful. But it’s a pity people don’t know more about the man, his career, and his famous town – all of which form the backdrop for the incredible fantasy world he created for millions of readers.
Meet our guests
Professor Simon Horobin, Professor of English Language & Literature and Tutorial Fellow, Magdalen College, Oxford University.
Links
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Download a transcript of the episode here
Read:
- The C.S. Lewis Timeline is a wonderful starting point outlining his life, works and achievements.
- The Life and Faith of C.S. Lewis is a multi-award-winning documentary, narrated by Ben Kingsley, providing an overview of the life of Lewis, and how his faith was integral to his later works.
- This New York Times article, written 50 years after his death, recounts his impact on western literature, and why – despite not being known for poetry – he’s been commemorated in Westminster abbey’s Poet’s Corner.
- We’re fans of balance here at Undeceptions, so here’s a critique of the Narnia movies which you might find amusing
- Author, book critic and senior technology writer for Time Magazine Lev Grossman explains for The Atlantic how reading Lewis’ work changed his life; Confronting Reality By Reading Fantasy.
- Listen to Lewis’ famous sermon The Weight of Glory, preached in the Chruch of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford on June 8, 1942
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the University of Oxford.
- Of course, C.S. Lewis isn’t the only famous Oxonian. Check out this expansive list here of renowned former students – including a few Australians.
- Our guest Professor Horobin is a regular guest on radio, TV and in the papers. Here’s an excellent article he wrote for the BBC on ‘The True Importance of Good Spelling’ – time to download the dictionary on your phone!
- Good news for JD: The owners of a closed-down pub, which was made famous as a meeting place for authors CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, say they are actively working on reopening it, according to this BBC article from September.
- Listen to The Screwtape Letters narrated by John Cleese. This version received a 1999 Grammy nomination for best spoken-word performance! It’s only available in full on cassette (whoa), but you can listen to an abridged version on YouTube, here.
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