The Personal Heresy

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s set of dueling critical essays with fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard in which they debate the role of an author’s biography in the critical appraisal of literature.

C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—challenges fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard on one of the most intriguing questions involving writers and writing. Is a work of imaginative literature primarily influenced by the author or by the subject matter?

Lewis argues that the author’s own personality and biography has little to no impact on the writing, while Tillyard contends the opposite: that the author’s own imagination and story have an indelible influence on a piece of work. Clever, erudite, and enlightening, their debate may not definitively settle the issue, but it does offer invaluable insight and intellectual delight for all dedicated readers.

ISBN: 9780062565624

ISBN10: 0062565621

Imprint: HarperOne

On Sale: 14/02/2017

80 x 53.1mm

Pages: 192

BISAC1: RELIGION / Spirituality

BISAC2: RELIGION: CHRISTIAN THOUGHT

BISAC3: RELIGION: C. S. LEWIS

BISAC4: RELIGION: APOLOGETICS

BISAC5: LITERATURE: LITERARY CRITICISM

BISAC6: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Authorship

BISAC7: RELIGION / Christianity / Literature & the Arts