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Diana Glyer

Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings Paperback – December 8, 2015

by Diana Pavlac Glyer (Author), James A. Owen (Illustrator)

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An inspiring look at the creative process
C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings met each week to read and discuss each other's work-in-progress, offering both encouragement and blistering critique. How did these conversations shape the books they were writing? How does creative collaboration enhance individual talent? And what can we learn from their example?
Featuring full-page illustrations by James A. Owen, Bandersnatch offers an inside look at the Inklings of Oxford, and a seat at their table at the Eagle and Child pub. It shows how encouragement and criticism made all the difference in The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other books written by the members of their circle. You'll learn what made these writers tick, and more: inspired by their example, you'll discover how collaboration can help your own creative process and lead to genius breakthroughs in whatever work you do.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The Kent State University Press / Black Squirrel Books
Publication date

December 8, 2015
Dimensions

6 x 0.65 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1606352768
ISBN-13

978-1606352762
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Editorial Reviews

Review

No one knows more than Diana Pavlac Glyer about the internal workings of the Inklings. In Bandersnatch, she shows us how they inspired, encouraged, refined and opposed one another in the course of producing some of the greatest literature of the last one hundred years. A brilliant and beautifully clear case study of iron sharpening iron. --Michael Ward, coeditor of C.S. Lewis at Poets Corner

The Inklings are about as important a group as ever existed in the literary world. This tremendous new book about them is much anticipated and hugely welcome! --Eric Metaxas, New York Times Bestselling author of Bonhoeffer and Miracles

What a gift! Bandersnatch is a joy to read and helps dispel that dangerous myth that our greatest writers created in solitude. We all need community in order to do our best work, and this book will show you how some of the greatest minds of the twentieth century did just that. You won't be able to read this book just once. --Jeff Goins, founder of Tribe Writers and author of The Art of Work

About the Author

Diana Pavlac Glyer is an award-winning writer who has spent more than 40 years combing through archives and studying old manuscripts. She is a leading expert on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien; her book The Company They Keep (The Kent State University Press, 2007) changed the way we talk about these writers. Her scholarship, teaching, and work as an artist all circle back to one common theme: creativity thrives in community.
James A. Owen has written and illustrated the Starchild graphic novel, the Mythworld series of novels, the bestselling The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, and the forthcoming series Fool's Hollow. He is also the author of the inspirational nonfiction trilogy The Meditations and the illustrator/designer of The Hundred Books Project, a series that showcases some of the greatest books ever published. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages, and more than a million copies are in print. He works in the Coppervale Studio, a century-old restored church in Northeastern Arizona.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Kent State University Press / Black Squirrel Books (December 8, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1606352768
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1606352762
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.65 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #182,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #128 in Science Fiction & Fantasy Literary Criticism (Books)
- #130 in Science Fiction History & Criticism
- #202 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
206 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Michael Kelley

The Inklings: The Church As God Intended It To Be

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021

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Diana Glyer does a remarkable job evincing the influence that the Inklings had on each other. The early chapters deal primarily with Lewis and Tolkien, mainly Lewis's influence on Tolkien's drafts of the Lord of the Rings. Later on, though, Dr. Glyer brings in each of the other Inklings, one of my favorite parts being Charles Williams's very technical attention to Tolkien by suggesting that Treebeard should say "root and twig" instead of "crack my timbers" in three places of the story, noting that "crack my timbers" seemed out of character to the slow and thoughtful Ents. It's a minor change, but I particularly like Dr. Glyer's placement of it as a contrast with some of the other Inklings like Dyson who disliked the Lord of the Rings so much that he constantly shut discussion down about it. Williams on the other hand paid incredibly close attention to details and Tolkien, after having thought about the suggestion, made the change in the manuscript.

I also particularly like Dr. Glyer's description of the Inklings as being quite a passionate group, Lewis and Barfield getting into such a heated argument that Tolkien said that had an outsider eavesdropped, he might have thought it was a meeting of two fell enemies were exchanging words before pulling their guns (pg. 54). Yet, all this the Inklings could endure as a group because, even if they did not come to an agreement, they were constantly forced to amend their own views, making their views stronger. This is a principle that we need to learn in the modern day more than ever. On the one hand, we live in an age of tolerance, everyone wanting to get along, and yet, we also live in an age of polarization, and therefore, nobody engages in rational opposition. Our idea of "tolerance" is greatly flawed, basically ignoring all opposing ideas so we can be happy in our own echo-chambers without being forced to think through the beliefs of our opponents or even our own beliefs very deeply. All people have reasons for what they believe. Our world needs more groups like the Inklings, groups who are very different and may at times appear as foes, and yet, grow closer in friendship. It is no wonder that the Inklings eventually disbanded because of Dyson's complete dismissal of Tolkien's writings. When the members of any group, or any society, no longer feel safe to express their own views, the group or society cannot endure for very much longer.

The only chapter that was a bit difficult for me was chapter 6, "Mystical Caboodle." I may go back and try re-reading it. It seemed a bit of a "caboodle" to me.

4 people found this helpful

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M. Mueller

Not just for Inklings fans (but oh, what a treat if you are!)

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2016

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Years ago I heard that there were those among the biographers of Tolkien who believed that the members of the Inklings did not have a significant influence on his creative work, and possibly not much on other members’ writings either. That never made sense to me: how in the world could these brilliant thinkers meet every week for decades to read drafts of their new work and *not* influence each other? Diana Pavlac Glyer has dispelled that misperception for good with her meticulously researched and insightful book, "The Company They Keep," which is recognized as a benchmark of scholarship for understanding how Inklings worked and the impact they had on each other. "Bandersnatch" was written for a different purpose, but it rests on and draws from the breadth and depth of her prior research and analysis.

If you are already an Inklings fan, here is a feast of tasty morsels to savor! The author gives example after example from letters, margin notes, dedications, conversations, diaries and the like to show how the works of members of the Inklings were shaped by the others. For example, Tolkien was floundering in his attempt to produce a “Hobbit sequel” until Lewis gave a piece of advice about which Tolkien recorded: “Mr Lewis says hobbits are only amusing when in unhobbitlike situations.” Suddenly, Tolkien had a new direction for his story, more serious and weighty, and he soon reported that the story “is now flowing along.” This is the kind of detail, complete with specific dating, that the author provides to demonstrate how the Inklings did, indeed, support and influence each other’s work in substantive ways.

But even if you aren’t especially familiar with the Inklings, you will find much in this book to chew on and enjoy. Her description of the creative process in general, with its fits and starts, highs and lows, and different styles of creative work, has implications in many settings. Her insights into what productive collaboration requires and what supports and what hinders it are also widely applicable. At the end of every chapter, the author offers practical comments under the heading of “Doing What They Did.” In one of those sections, her distinction between giving diagnostic feedback vs prescriptive feedback immediately resonated with me (I work in the medical field); it also sparked insights for my personal life. Collaboration is not just for creatives. Or perhaps it is better to say that creativity is required in different forms in different settings, and collaboration is vitally important for it to flourish in any of them.

With gorgeous illustrations by James A Owen and the author’s silky smooth prose, this book is a delight to read. It is clear from many examples that the author practices what she preaches. This book has grown from her own creative collaborations and the “leaf-mould of the mind” (Tolkien’s apt phrase). It is well worth reading and pondering; I highly recommend “Bandersnatch.”

20 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Colin Duriez

A must-read for anyone serious about writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2016

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Any writer, no matter how talented, can benefit from the creative collaboration of a writing group, in giving honest advice and encouragement. Demonstrating this, Diana Glyer provides a unique, inspiring and captivating resource for the writer-in-group (even a small group). She draws richly upon the experience of the Inklings, one of literature's most well-known groups: their art of collaboration that can still mentor and sustain writers today.
Colin Duriez, author of THE OXFORD INKLINGS, LEWIS, TOLKIEN AND THEIR CIRCLE; J.R.R. TOLKIEN: THE MAKING OF A LEGEND; C.S. LEWIS: A BIOGRAPHY OF FRIENDSHIP; etc.

3 people found this helpful

Stanley James Hanna

Important and Relevant

Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a must read for anyyone in the arts and literature world. It explores and emphasizes the absolute necessity of collaboration. We all like to think we can go it alone. Glyer points out the folly and detriment of that notion. If some of the greatest authors of all time needed the benefit of working together what makes any of us as writers and poets think we do not? I am grateful for Ms. Glyer's research and dogged efforts to bring this to our attention. It is a labour of love and much needed.

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