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The Place of the Lion Paperback – February 14, 2003

by Charles Williams (Author)

30 customer reviews

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Charles Williams had a genius for choosing strange and exciting themes for his novels and making them believable and profoundly suggestive of spiritual truths. Beneath the brilliant and imaginative surface of his "supernatural thrillers" lies a concealed and meticulously thought-out Christian message.

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About the Author

Charles Williams—novelist, poet, critic, dramatist and biographer—died in his native England in May, 1945. He had a lively and devoted following there and achieved a considerable reputation as a lecturer on the faculty of Oxford University. T. S. Eliot, Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis were among his distinguished friends and literary sponsors. He was also a member of the Inklings, a group of Christian writers that included J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.

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Product Details

Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Regent College Publishing (February 14, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1573831085
ISBN-13: 978-1573831086
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3934 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
- #9959 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

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Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars

5 star		37%
4 star		27%
3 star		23%
2 star		3%
1 star		10%

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful

Best Williams So Far...

By C. V. Manning on September 3, 2005

Format: Paperback

Working through Williams's seven novels I come to "Place of the Lion" fourth (after "Shadows of Ecstasy", "War in Heaven", and "Many Dimensions"). "...Lion" is in some ways the most simple to read of these four, with the most cohesive narrative and fewest extraneous characters. Conceptually, it may be the most difficult of the four, but a simple, definitional understanding of Platonic Ideals is all that is required to open it up to everyone. With that caveat, I find "Place of the Lion" the best of the four novels mentioned. True to Williams's norm, the fantastical pops into the book within the first half-dozen pages and never retreats. Also of the four, "...Lion" is most clearly applicable to life, with particularly valuable insights into the transcendence of love - most overtly of eros and friendship, but of charity and affection as well (see CS Lewis - "The Four Loves" for an excellent non-fiction treatment of the same topics). All-in-all...very good and highly recommended.

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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful

A stunning book for the philosophically inclined

By A Customer on November 19, 1998

Format: Audio Cassette

Living manifestations of Platonic archtypes invade the earth (a lion embodies courage, a butterfly beauty, etc.) in this supernatural thriller. The destiny of an uncharitable young woman, neurotically absorbed in her doctoral dissertation, hangs in the balance. This is a great read for anyone, but especially for those who struggle with balancing their intellectual pursuits and "the real world."

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65 of 71 people found the following review helpful

"Difficult" with a capital D.

By Cipriano on May 21, 2002

Format: Paperback

This is the fourth Williams book I have read. For me, it's been the most difficult to understand, so far. One needs to be schooled (and schooled fairly thoroughly) in philosophy to fully appreciate what is going on here in The Place Of The Lion.
I am not, and don't.
A reader of this book also needs to know a bit about Williams himself. As a neo-Platonist he did not see God acting alone to create the universe, but as the creator also of sub-creators, which are traditionally known as the angelic hierarchies. For Williams, these were ever-present realities, ruling not only the great principles of creation, but also having the ability to burst in and effect the lives and destinies of men, whether on a group or individual basis. Here in The Place Of The Lion these universal powers are inadvertently stumbled upon by a Platonic meditation group led by a Mr. Berringer. Now, according to Platonic theory, behind the visible world lies the invisible world of Ideas. That is, behind every chair we observe, whether it is a King's throne or a leprechaun's toadstool, lies the Idea of "chairness". There is, so to speak, an eternal Chair from which all chairs proceed. This applies to everything in our world; a table is an instance of the Idea of tables, or of the Table; a man and a woman are cases in point of Maleness and Femaleness. In other words, if there is anything that may be called "unreal" says the Platonist, it is this transitory world of mere appearances which we live in.
The picture which Williams chose for The Place Of The Lion is this Platonic one. It so happens that on one occasion, Mr. Berringer's meditation is deep enough to cause a rupture in the divide between the outer and inner worlds.Read more ›

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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

Apocalypse Where?

By John D. Burlinson on December 29, 2005

Format: Paperback

Once again, Mr. Williams fantasizes the eruption of eschatological events into the ordinary life of the provincial British bourgeoisie. The result is something like the literary offspring of the mating of P.G. Wodehouse with the Book of Revelations. One thing that is rarely discussed, though, is the strange brand of comedy that ensues. For example, picture a young woman sitting at her breakfast table and pondering the remarkable events of the previous evening: A giant pterodactyl, which seems to incarnate the essence of her own self-centeredness and bears something of a resemblance to Peter Abelard, has attempted to assault her by smashing through her bedroom window, ultimately destroying the upper stories of her house while virtually obliterating her father in the process. In the nick of time, she is saved from complete physical and spiritual annihilation by the arrival of her boyfriend riding a unicorn and with an enormous eagle resting on his shoulder. Little wonder she seems distracted as she butters her toast!

I'd agree with my fellow reviewer who notes that a passing familiarity with Plato's Ideals is really all the philosophical preparation a reader needs to jump into this novel. However, a little extra reading regarding Abelard's take on "universals" might add a little extra spice - since Abelard is the subject of the heroine's (the pterodactyl girl) doctoral dissertation. I'd suggest the article "The Medieval Problem of Universals" in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

An amazing read

By Wendy P. Danbury on June 8, 2003

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

I was so glad to find this book in print and available on Amazon; it's been 20 years since I read it as part of a C.S. Lewis Literature class at Cal State Fullerton, and the themes have stayed with me ever since. Reading this book put me into an almost dreamlike state, living the characters' experiences. The idea that archetypal Ideas could enter our world, consuming their physical shadows (our reality) and threatening humanity's existence, is depicted in the setting of a simple English village. Restoration of balance and order are the salvation of the world -- and keeping balance in my own life became a goal after I read this book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Williams was a really good writer of this kind of mythopoetic...

Williams was a really good writer of this kind of mythopoetic metaphysical story. There is a gradual crescendo and build up of the central drama, and the finale is satisfying. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Andrew James

Three Stars

Interesting in how this book relates to the other inkling writers but dated a bit.

Published 1 month ago by Scott William

Not so clearly Christian.

I love his writing, but his topics or messages are cloudy and confusng. CS Lewis I usually understand, but I wish Charles Williams had brought more Gospel truth into his books,... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Scottish Covenanters1688

an acquired taste, but I love it!

Published 13 months ago by Michael W. Sprague

A thrilling read!

This was a wonderful, and challenging read that any Charles Williams or Inklings fan would enjoy. Though, this edition does have some issue, such as, incorrect spacing between... Read more

Published 14 months ago by A.N. Loginow

Bizarre

What a bizarre story, parts were so strange that it was extraordinarily hard to follow along, and I don't think Charlses Williams style of writing made it any easier. Read more

Published 16 months ago by John

I'm glad I ordered it

Fascinating book. I'm glad I ordered it. It gives me great insight into not only the thinking of early prophets and writers,but a greater understanding of their style of... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Shawn McAllister

Great book, less than perfect scanning

This book is great, I read it for a study group at my church. Overall, the quality of the eBook was very good, but there were a few typos, especially it seems at we got towards the... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Kevin

A fantasy that brings fantasy relevant and alive!

....one needs to be ready to read. Amazing theological reflection. All of us who study to learn the never ending truth, risk losing sight of the mystical.

Published 21 months ago by Barbara Robinson-Inderbitzin

Victorian religious fiction

This book is almost impossible to read. It is a good example of the garbled prose of Victorian religious writers' attempt at fiction.

Published 21 months ago by Amazon Customer

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