Selected Literary Essays [Paperback]

C. S. Lewis (Author), Walter Hooper (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 1979

This volume, available in print for the first time since 1980, includes over twenty of C. S. Lewis' most important literary essays, written between 1932 and 1962. The topics discussed range from Chaucer to Kipling, from 'The literary impact of the authorised version' to 'Psycho-analysis and literary criticism', from Shakespeare and Bunyan to Sir Walter Scott and William Morris. Common to each essay, however, are the lively wit, the distinctive forthrightness, and the discreet erudition which characterise Lewis' best critical writing.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This volume, available in print for the first time since 1980, includes over twenty of C. S. Lewis' most important literary essays, written between 1932 and 1962. Common to each essay are the lively wit, the distinctive forthrightness, and the discreet erudition which characterise Lewis' best critical writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 31, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521296803
• ISBN-13: 978-0521296809
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), known as Jack to his friends, was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. Lewis and his good friend J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the The Lord of the Rings, were part of the Inklings, an informal writers' club that met at a local pub to discuss story ideas. Lewis's fascination with fairy tales, myths, and ancient legends, coupled with inspiration drawn from his childhood, led him to write The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the best-loved books of all time. Six further books followed to become the immensely popular The Chronicles of Narnia. The final title in the series, The Last Battle, won the Carnegie Medal, one of the highest marks of excellence in children's literature. His other distinguished and popular accomplishments include Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Link, September 4, 2001

By 

Bowen Simmons (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Selected Literary Essays (Paperback)

That this collection stays of print while so many of C. S. Lewis's other writings are re-packaged (quite uselessly) again and again is, as the saying goes, worse than a crime: it is a blunder. A few of these works are available elsewhere (not that having them available in "They Asked for a Paper" is much help - it's out of print too), but most are not.

To aid the reader, I've given the table of contents below, and if the work is available in another collection, I've noted it.

Table of Contents:

"De Descrptione Temporum" (1)

"The Alliterative Metre"

"What Chaucer Really Did to Il Filostrato"

"The Fifteenth Century Heroic Line"

"Hero and Leander"

"Variation in Shakespeare and Others"

"Hamlet: The Prince or the Poem" (1)

"Donne and Love Poetry in the Seventeenth Century"

"The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version" (1)

"The Vision of John Bunyan"

"Addison"

"Four-Letter Words"

"A Note on Jane Austen"

"Shelley, Dryden, and Mr. Eliot"

"Sir Walter Scott" (1)

"William Morris"

"Kipling's World" (1)

"Bluspels and Flananspheres: A Semantic Nightmare"

"High and Low Brows" (2), (3)

"Metre"

"Psycho Analysis and Literary Criticism" (1)

"The Anthropological Approach"

Notes:

(1) also published in "They Asked for a Paper"

(2) also published in "Rehabilitations and Other Essays"

(3) also published in "Essay Collection & Other Short Pieces"

Recommendations:

If you find this collection, buy it.

If you are interested in Lewis's literary criticism, you may also want to consider the following collections, both readily available:

"Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature"

"On Stories, and Other Essays"

Finally, if you are interested in Lewis's shorter works, you should also be interested in "Essay Collection & Other Short Pieces", which, as of the time of this writing, is available from Amazon UK but not Amazon US. That collection consists of about 130 short works by Lewis. The works in that collection are mostly, but not exclusively, Christian. Almost everything in "On Stories, and Other Essays" is included in that volume, but nothing from "Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature" and almost nothing from "Selected Literary Essays".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading for fans of English Literature, April 5, 1998

By 

David Graham (Shell, Ecuador) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Selected Literary Essays (Paperback)

This book is an expansion of Lewis's book THEY ASKED FOR A PAPER (published in 1962) and collects 22 of Lewis's essays on literature together. Lewis is more interesting on some things than on others, but all in all, this was an enlightening book to read. Eng. lit. fans and Lewis enthusiasts will be the ones most likely to read this book with pleasure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Get. Get One Before They Disappear., March 9, 2011

By 

James Mckinnon - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Selected Literary Essays (Paperback)

Not much to add to the excellent review already written titled "Missing Link." Of course I best enjoyed the essays concerned with literature I have read, but I did not bog down with the ones that were beyond my reach. There's some untranslated French and Latin to wade through or skip over.

His writing voice and insight are so dependable I am almost content to make "Works C. S. Lewis Writes About That I Haven't Read" my personal reading list to last my lifetime. For one, it's hard to go wrong reading what Lewis felt worthy of an essay. For another, such a reader would get further into Lewis's thoughts when reading these essays. Not just to deepen one's brotherhood with him (and that's no small thing), but to fully benefit from his guidance.

There is a type of Lewis fan who might not like this book. If you don't care much for classic literature, but mainly hope to hear a good spiritual guide making broad stroke remarks about "bookish things," I would not recommend this book, especially at the out-of-print cost. You may as well attend the open heart operation of a Christian surgeon, for Lewis is hard at the technical parts of his work here. Certainly his faith is here in its delicate nuances, but I would say reading Mere Christianity or Screwtape over and over again would produce more of the fruit this reader wants. The person I'm really saying this to is myself from 15 years ago, but I can assume from reading other Lewis reviews that such a reader is still around!