Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis [Paperback]

Kathryn Ann Lindskoog (Author), Patrick Wynne (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

Twenty-five years ago rumors began to circulate that all was not well in the literary world of C. S. Lewis. Lewis's brother vehemently denied false claims made by those who control the C. S. Lewis literary estate but bogus Lewis literature began to appear in print anyway.
Since Lewis's books still sell in the millions, powerful forces have been exerted to keep this controversy from surfacing. Author Lindskoog has spent 20 years unearthing old evidence and compiling new data that Martin E. Marty calls "compelling," adding that he hopes Lindskoog "will be heeded." Instead, within weeks of being released, her book's original publishers yielded to pressure and silently dropped it from their active list.
Willard Dickerson, Jr., director of education and professional development for the American Booksellers Association has stated, "I am surprised that so many who love the writings of C.S. Lewis have chosen to remain deliberately silent or to suppose the evidence they have that his writings have indeed been tampered with. I can vouch for Kathryn Lindskoog's scholarship, integrity and clear thinking. Her facts ring with truth." An array of famous authors, including Arthur C. Clark and Ursula K. LeGuin have joined the chorus of those who recommend her "fascinating," "astonishing" and "exciting" book. Therefore we have determined to re-release this extraordinary piece of literary scholarship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dark Tower in the Shadowlands: The Mysterious Manuscript Found after the Death of C. S. Lewis is a fascinating examination of the controversy surrounding C. S. Lewis' works that reads like a literary mystery story. This critical work presents genuine evidence to resolve once and for all the questions regarding the industry surrounding this well-loved author's name. Dark Tower in the Shadowlands examines the authenticity of minor works attributed to C. S. Lewis that were published after his death. It presents well-researched evidence that many of these works were not written by Lewis. Provided also are insights into the character and writing style of one of the greatest authors of our time and a fascinating read for and C. S. Lewis enthusiast. -- Midwest Book Review

Review

Ursula K. Le Guin, winner of four Hugo awards, three Nebula awards, a Newbery Honor Book Citation and a National Book Award: "A fascinating piece of literary detective work, which may serve to free C.S. Lewis from the shadows of a misogyny and arrogance which it appears may have been cast upon him, rather than by him. I finished it like Lewis, as man and artist, better than I had ever done before. Although some of the subject matter is rather shocking, the book's temperate,pleasant tone and elegant illustrations make it a pleasure to read."

Richard Wilbur, second U.S. Poet Laureate, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, winner of the National book Aware and the Bollingen Prize: "'Light in the Shadowlands' is an astonishing and engrossing report. I much admire the tone of humane amusement, which is applied even to Lewis (in a way that would have amused him)."

W.R. Wortman, Professor of English, Baylor Univ.: "For readers of C.S. Lewis, the questions raised in this witty and profound book could scarcely be more serious."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 345 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880706953
• ISBN-13: 978-0880706957
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is Must Reading for Serious Lewis Fans & Scholars!, June 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis (Paperback)

In this outstanding update to "The C.S. Lewis Hoax", Kathryn Lindskoog shows, by evidence of indisputable facts, several works posthumously published in the name of C.S. Lewis are by the simplest analysis: FORGED!

In "Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval & Renaissance Literature", C.S. Lewis reminds his students to follow the wisdom of Occam when attempting to explain the "bad bits" of Shakespeare -- thus, as the reality that "writers aren't always at their best" relies on fewer assuptions than "adapters wrote the bad parts", Occam suggests the former as the best available theory.

On the contrary, with Lindskoog's thoroughly documented research available, one is compelled to admit that Occam and Lewis himself would likely accept this startling book's conclusions with respect to the authenticity of certain alleged "Lewis" texts. Quite frankly, Lindskoog's theories require the least reliance upon "assumptions" as she carefully confines her own theories to known facts.

The really amazing result is that the real Lewis shows up here like nowhere before -- in brilliant clarity. Other than Lewis's own biography, there is no other book which truly reveals Lewis so clearly.

Lindskoog recieved the highest documented praise of any Lewis researcher in print (by Lewis himself) for so uniquely and completely "seeing him." Undoubtedly, she still does.

Second generation Lewis researchers better not ignore her findings. Surely, in time, the revelations of "Light in the Shadowlands" will require much of the Lewis mis-history to be corrected. Naturally, the best way to avoid producing anachronistic research will be to get the facts straight now.

"Light in the Shadowlands" is a reliable guide for this purpose. It is simply true.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book exposes false information about C. S. Lewis, January 7, 1999

By 

it (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis (Paperback)

Lord Acton said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. St. Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil. These two principles have combined in the C. S. Lewis literary estate. As one of the many economically foolish things CSL did in his life, he left the management of his literary estate to two friends who did not have the experience or time to manage it. At the first opportunity his friends unloaded the management upon the first person handy, a student from America who was keenly interested in Lewis' books and occasionally visited him in the last summer of his life.

Predictable results occurred. This person wielded power over publishers who made huge profits from the books. He had the power to say which academics had access to certain Lewis archives and which got permission to quote Lewis. The publishers had to include this person's book introductions in which he rewrote himself in a favorable light into history. Ambitious specialists needed to agree with the claims. One such claim was that this person was Lewis' live in, full time, private secretary for several years. This person also "discovered" many unknown Lewis literary works and revisions of existing works that were significantly lower in literary quality than the original, known Lewis literature and in some cases contained religious and ethical themes that were the exact opposite of Lewis' adamantly held views.

In this book Kathryn Lindskoog does a thorough job of investigative journalism in deflating much of the rewritten history and "new" Lewis works with documentary evidence and eye witness accounts. This book reads much like a Chapman Pincher espionage expose. A previous book, "The C. S. Lewis Hoax," attracted much attention five years earlier, and then further eye witness and documentary evidence led to this book .

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Readers of Lewis, October 30, 2000

By 

NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis (Paperback)

Mrs. Lindskoog makes a strong case in these pages. Eveyone who reads C.S. Lewis should be made aware of the case presented here...a case that is supported by excellent research and a mountain of evidence...a case that makes Walter Hooper deeply suspect as an editor and introducer of the works of Lewis, and more than that, suspect as a man of integrity. If what the book says is true, the way that Mr Hooper mistreated Warren Lewis and misrepresented people after they had died is truly shameful.