Photo: Wikipedia.

So who was C.S. Lewis?

Clive Staples Lewis (known to friends and family as Jack) was born November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His mother died when he was ten, and he and his brother were sent to boarding school. It was during this time, around 1913, that Lewis apparently abandoned the Christian faith of his childhood.

Lewis attended University College, Oxford from April to September, 1917, before enlisting in the army. He reached the front lines of World War I on his birthday, November 29, 1917. On April 15 of the following spring, Lewis was wounded and returned to England. Upon the war’s end, he resumed his studies at Oxford and graduated with degrees in Greek and Latin Literature, Philosophy and Ancient History, and English.

In 1925, Lewis began teaching at Oxford, where he taught for 29 years before moving to Cambridge.

Lewis is known for organizing the “Inklings,” a circle of friends who in 1933 began meeting a couple times a week to discuss their literary projects. A famous friend in this group was the great J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the majestic Lord of the Rings.

It wasn’t until 1931 that Lewis became a Christian when, after a long talk with friends J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson, Lewis explained his conversion thus: “When we [Lewis and his brother, Warren] set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.”

in 1956, Lewis married Joy Davidman Gresham, who had converted from Judaism to Christianity, influenced by Lewis’ writings. They had no children of their own. Joy died of cancer on July 13, 1960.

Lewis died on November 22, 1963, the same day as President John F. Kennedy and author Aldous Huxley.

C.S. Lewis wrote masterful fiction (The Pilgrim’s Regress, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters, and others), and penetrating non-fiction (Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, Surprised by Joy, The Problem of Pain, and others).

I compiled this brief bio from these websites, where you can read more if you are interested:

• Into the Wardrobe (endorsed by Douglas Gresham, Lewis’ step-son)
• C.S. Lewis Foundation

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