Contents
C. S. Lewis
Creating The Chronicles of Narnia and writing influential explanations of Christian belief.
Aslan · Mere Christianity
- Born
- 29 November 1898
- Birthplace
- Belfast, Ireland
- Died
- 22 November 1963
More people
C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis was a Belfast-born writer and literary scholar. He combined academic work on medieval and Renaissance literature with children’s fantasy, science fiction and accessible Christian argument.
Early life
Belfast childhood
He and his brother invented imaginary worlds; his mother’s death in 1908 deeply affected his childhood.
Education and war
He studied at Oxford and served in the First World War before returning to university.
Career
- 1925
Oxford fellow
He became a fellow and tutor in English at Magdalen College.
- 1930s–1940s
Fiction and faith
He published imaginative fiction and gave wartime broadcasts explaining Christianity.
- 1950–1956
Narnia
Seven books developed the fantasy world first entered through a wardrobe.
- 1954
Cambridge professor
He became professor of medieval and Renaissance literature at Cambridge.
Selected work
The Screwtape Letters
A senior devil advises a junior tempter in a satirical exploration of moral life.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Four children enter Narnia during the White Witch’s rule.
Mere Christianity
His wartime talks were collected into a widely read account of Christian belief.
Beyond work
The Inklings
He discussed writing with an Oxford circle that included J. R. R. Tolkien.
Marriage and grief
He married Joy Davidman in 1956; her death informed A Grief Observed.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: John S. Murray. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
