The Neglected C.S. Lewis

Readers who can quote word for word from C.S. Lewis’s theological classic, Mere Christianity, or his science fiction novel, Perelandra, have often never read his work as a professional literary historian. They may not even recognize some of the neglected works discussed, here. Mark Neal and Jerry Root have done students of Lewis a great service, tracing the signature ideas in Lewis’s works of literary criticism and showing their relevance to Lewis’s more familiar books. Their thorough research and lucid prose will be welcome to all who would like to understand Lewis more fully, but who feel daunted by books of such evident scholarly erudition.

For example, when you read The Discarded Image on the ancients’ view of the heavens, you understand better why Ransom has such unpleasant sensations when first descending toward Malacandra in Out of the Silent Planet. And when you come across Lewis’s discussion in OHEL  of a minor sixteenth-century poet who described the hellish River Styx as a “puddle glum,” you can’t help but chuckle at the name when you meet the famous Marshwiggle in The Silver Chair. These are just two examples of how reading the “Neglected Lewis” can help every reader understand Lewis more fully.
    

Mark Neal is the co-author of both The Neglected C.S. Lewis and The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis. He has lectured, taught and published nationally and internationally on Lewis for the last ten years. He works as the VP of a Chicago-area marketing firm and is married with two children.

DR. JERRY ROOT is an Associate Professor at Wheaton College where he teaches graduate courses in the MA in Evangelism Program as well as courses in the undergraduate Christian Formation and Ministry Department. In addition, Jerry is a visiting professor at Biola University and Talbot Graduate School of Theology in La Mirada, California.Jerry has written C. S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil: an Investigation of a Pervasive Theme, and is the co-author and co-editor of The Soul of C. S. Lewis: A Meditative Journey through Twenty-six of His Best Loved Writings. Furthermore, he is co-editor, with Wayne Martindale, of the best selling and award winning The Quotable C. S. Lewis. Jerry has authored numerous articles and contributed many chapters to other books on topics related to C.S. Lewis. Jerry is also the consulting editor of the new Harper Collins C. S. Lewis Bible. He has lectured on C. S. Lewis at 48 College or University Campuses in 11 countries. He has taught college and graduate courses on C. S. Lewis for 30 consecutive years.Jerry and his wife Claudia have four married children, four grandchildren, and a Welsh Corgi; they live in Wheaton, Illinois.