C.S. Lewis

Legacy: the Artists Behind the Legends

Clive Staples Lewis, or as he was later called Jack, was an Irish born novelist, poet, essayist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist active during the 20th century, and he is probably best known for his series The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis’ immense career saw him publish around forty books, which have been translated into over three dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. But as all of you know, it isn’t the literary works we tackle on this podcast, it’s the artist, and Jack was definitely one hell of a fascinating character. While he was a notable and extremely popular Christian apologist, this only came later in his life, as he was a staunch atheist from his adolescence until his early thirties. And while the majority of Lewis’ adult life was spent teaching at his alma mater, Oxford, he did for a time hold a position at Cambridge, and this aspect of his professional life is often overshadowed by his novels. Jack also carried on a longstanding love affair with one of his best friend’s mothers, fought in World War I, was best friends with JRR Tolkien as well as a member of the Inklings, and on top of all that, saw his death overshadowed, as President JFK was shot less than an hour after Lewis’ death. Mr. Lewis was a lover of beer, a smoker of cigarettes, and above all, he loved a good story. So let’s get episode five of Legacy rolling and dive into the life of none other than C.S. Lewis.