Light in the Shadowlands: Protecting the Real C. S. Lewis (Paperback)

~ (Author), Robert S. Ellwood (Foreword, Illustrator), Joe R. Christopher (Foreword) "It's an industry, you see." That was C. S. Lewis's rueful comment about serious literature less than a year before he died..." (more)
Key Phrases: bonfire letter, bonfire story, most substantial people, Walter Hooper, New York, Owen Barfield (more...)

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

Product Description

Twentyfive 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 rerelease this extraordinary piece of literary scholarship.

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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.com Sales Rank: #1,685,322 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 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

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.

29 of 32 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

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 .

16 of 17 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.