C.S. Lewis (1898 to 1963) was a British author, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian, best known for the seven fantasy novels that make up “The Chronicles of Narnia”. He also wrote the Space Trilogy, “The Screwtape Letters” and works of Christian apologetics such as “Mere Christianity”.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast on 29 November 1898, the son of a solicitor. He entered University College, Oxford, in 1917 and served in France with the Somerset Light Infantry during the First World War. He taught English literature at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1954 and then at Magdalene College, Cambridge, until 1963. At Oxford he was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, and both belonged to the informal literary group known as the Inklings.
His first two books were poetry, “Spirits in Bondage” (1919) and “Dymer” (1926), published under the pen name Clive Hamilton. Lewis returned to Christianity at the age of 32, and his first novel afterwards was the allegory “The Pilgrim’s Regress” (1933). The Space Trilogy began with “Out of the Silent Planet” (1938), whose hero Elwin Ransom is based in part on Tolkien. “The Screwtape Letters” (1942) takes the form of letters of advice from a senior demon to his nephew Wormwood. His wartime radio talks on Christianity were later revised as “Mere Christianity”.
The Narnia books were published between 1950 and 1956 with illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and the last of them, “The Last Battle”, won the Carnegie Medal. The series has sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages. His final novel, “Till We Have Faces” (1956), retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche.
In 1956 Lewis married the American writer Joy Davidman, who died of cancer four years later. “A Grief Observed” (1961) first appeared under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk. Lewis died on 22 November 1963, and a memorial to him was placed in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, in 2013.
Four of the Narnia books were adapted as television serials between 1988 and 1990. Walden Media produced three feature films, released in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Netflix acquired the rights to the whole series in 2018, and in 2023 Greta Gerwig was hired to write and direct at least two Narnia films.
Publication Order of The Chronicles of Narnia Books
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 1950 |
| Prince Caspian | 1951 |
| The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 1952 |
| The Silver Chair | 1953 |
| The Horse and His Boy | 1954 |
| The Magician’s Nephew | 1955 |
| The Last Battle | 1956 |
Publication Order of Space Trilogy Books
| Out of the Silent Planet | 1938 |
| Perelandra / Voyage to Venus | 1943 |
| That Hideous Strength | 1945 |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Pilgrim’s Regress | 1933 |
| The Screwtape Letters | 1942 |
| The Great Divorce | 1945 |
| Till We Have Faces | 1956 |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| The Dark Tower and Other Stories | 1977 |
| Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C.S. Lewis | 1985 |
Publication Order of Poetry Collections
| Spirits in Bondage | 1919 |
| Dymer | 1926 |
| Poems | 1964 |
| Narrative Poems | 1969 |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Allegory of Love | 1936 |
| Rehabilitations and Other Essays | 1939 |
| The Personal Heresy (With: E.M.W. Tillyard) | 1939 |
| The Problem of Pain | 1940 |
| A Preface to Paradise Lost | 1942 |
| Broadcast Talks | 1942 |
| The Abolition of Man | 1943 |
| Christian Behaviour | 1943 |
| Beyond Personality | 1944 |
| Miracles | 1947 |
| Arthurian Torso | 1948 |
| Transposition and Other Addresses | 1949 |
| Mere Christianity | 1952 |
| English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama | 1954 |
| Surprised by Joy | 1955 |
| Reflections on the Psalms | 1958 |
| The Four Loves | 1960 |
| Studies in Words | 1960 |
| The World’s Last Night and Other Essays | 1960 |
| An Experiment in Criticism | 1961 |
| A Grief Observed | 1961 |
| They Asked for a Paper | 1962 |
| Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer | 1964 |
| The Discarded Image | 1964 |
| Screwtape Proposes a Toast and Other Pieces | 1965 |
| Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories | 1966 |
| Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature | 1966 |
| Christian Reflections | 1967 |
| Letters to an American Lady | 1967 |
| Spenser’s Images of Life | 1967 |
| Selected Literary Essays | 1969 |
| God in the Dock | 1970 |
| Of This and Other Worlds / On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature | 1982 |
| Present Concerns | 1986 |
Photo: John S. Murray, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).