C. S. Lewis

From the time I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a young girl I loved C.S. Lewis. Lewis inspired my imagination and like so many other children Narnia has become real to me. I have read a few of his other works, including The Screwtape Letters with my middle school students in class and A Grief Observed right after we lost our first baby to miscarriage. Again and again Lewis’ works inspire and speak to me.

I had never read Mere Christianity, but did so along with a study guide I reviewed a few months ago. At the time I didn’t realize this was actually a series of radio broadcasts completed for the BBC during the terrifying period of World War II. I have been fascinated with this period in our world’s history for many reasons, the biggest being my grandfather served during the war. I was all the more intrigued to learn about this radio series which was intended to give hope and meaning to life for all of England.

I was very excited for the opportunity to review C.S. Lewis & Mere Christianity by Paul McCusker. We are long-time Adventures in Odyssey fans and I was very familiar with his name because of that. He also wrote the script for C.S. Lewis at War which dramatizes much of what I read in the book.

This historical account of what was going on behind this classic is simply fascinating. C.S. Lewis did not recognize at the time how full of impact this was or would continue to be decades later. This wonderful biographical and historical work will provide the story behind the classic.

I love how the many different players of this time in history are all given time. We not only find out about C. S. Lewis during this time, but many others such as James Welch, the director of religious broadcasting for the BBC, not to mention the historical details. All of these are strung together seamlessly so the reader can get the full picture behind this classic. I very much appreciated the use of breaks within chapters. This keeps the reader clear on the change of subject or individual creating diverse continuity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was the perfect blend of history and biography written by an incredible story-teller. If you are a fan of C. S. Lewis’ works you will truly appreciate this historical account.