C. S. Lewis - Writer,Dreamer & Mentor [Paperback]

Lionel Adey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0802842038 | ISBN-13: 978-0802842039

From early childhood, C. S. Lewis engaged the world around him primarily through the medium of books. He read voraciously, and his own writing covers a broad range of genres. This new study by Lionel Adey is unique in its attempt to trace the development of C. S. Lewis as a maker and reader of books. Adey shows how the two sides of Lewis's personality, the "Dreamer" and the "Mentor," affected his writing in its various modes: literary history and criticism, fiction for adults and for children, poetry, essays and addresses, and letters. Adey also discusses the formative biographical events in Lewis's life and offers an estimate of Lewis's achievement and legacy as a writer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In celebration of the centenary year of Lewis's birth, Adey, coauthor of C.S. Lewis's 'Great War,' shows that understanding the two sides of Lewis's personality?reason and imagination?is the key to understanding his writings. Adey devotes chapters to Lewis's literary criticism, his fiction for adults and children, his apologetics and his essays, addresses and letters. Adey contends that the roles of dreamer (imagination/romanticism) and mentor (reason/rationalism) manifested themselves throughout Lewis's writing career, and they were often in conflict in his early manhood. Through a careful analysis of Lewis's writings, Adey concludes that Lewis plays the role of dreamer in novels like Perelandra and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As a moralist and rationalist, the mentor Lewis is to be found in his apologetic works like The Great Divorce and Miracles. Though Adey's prose is engaging and accessible, his book is an unremarkable study that reveals little new about Lewis's life and work.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Adey (Class & Idol in the English Hymn, Univ. of Washington, 1989. o.p.) devotes a chapter to each of the types of writing that Lewis produced: literary history, criticism, literary theory, adult fiction, children's literature, poetry, letters, and essays and speeches. While recognizing his shortcomings, Adey defends Lewis as a solid literary historian and critic, setting Lewis in the context of his times and the literary world he inhabited, making use of much unpublished material. He defends Lewis against literary attacks that took place during his lifetime and after his death. While an excellent study of Lewis's literary output, this work would be tough going for anyone not already familiar with Lewis's oeuvre. For an introduction to Lewis, one should seek out George Sayer's Jack: C.S. Lewis and His Times (Crossroad, 1994) or Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper's C.S. Lewis: A Biography (Harvest, 1995).?Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, N.J.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (April 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802842038
• ISBN-13: 978-0802842039
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,843,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Short and Sweet, January 21, 2004

By 

W. Jamison "William S. Jamison" (Eagle River, Ak United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: C. S. Lewis - Writer,Dreamer & Mentor (Paperback)

While the editorial reviews suggest this does not offer anything new, and that may very well be the case if you are familiar with all of the materials available on Lewis, it seems to me that this book was a short and sweet review of the essential elements of information on Lewis' works. A summary of such works as "The Allegory of Love" in four pages can help someone even after having read Allegory. This applies to other writings as well. In that respect, this may not offer much that is new, but it offers a very handy review of what Lewis was about in a way that reduces the work it would normally take to find this out.