About C.S. LEWIS

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Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.

Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. C. S. Lewis’s most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

EXPLORE THE C.S. LEWIS TIMELINE

  • November 29, 1898

    Clive Staple Lewis born in Belfast, Ireland.

  • August 23, 1908

    Lewis’s mother, Florence Augusta (‘Flora’) Hamilton Lewis, dies.

  • September 18, 1908

    Sent to the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, England.

  • September 1910

    Enrolls as boarding student at Campbell College, Belfast, Ireland; leaves in December due to respiratory problems.

  • September 1911

    Enrolls at Cherboug House near Malvern College, England; abandons his Christian faith.

  • April 1914

    Meets Arthur Greeves, who becomes a lifelong friend.

  • September 19, 1914

    Is privately tutored by W. T. "The Great Knock" Kirkpatrick.

  • December 1916

    Receives a scholarship to University College, Oxford.

  • June 8, 1917

    Enlists in British Army.

  • April 1918

    Lewis’s close friend Paddy Moore reported killed in battle.

  • April 15, 1918

    Wounded in Battle of Arras.

  • December, 1918

    Discharged from British Army.

  • 1919

    Moves in with Moore’s mother, Mrs Janie King Moore, and sister, Maureen.

  • May 20, 1919
    Spirits in Bondage

    Publishes Spirits in Bondage under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.

  • May 20, 1925

    Appointed English Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he tutors English Language and Literature.

  • May 11, 1926

    Meets friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien.

  • September 20, 1926
    Dymer under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.

    Publishes Dymer under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.

  • 1929

    Abandons atheism and converts to theism.

  • September 24, 1929

    Lewis’s father, Albert Lewis, dies in Belfast.

  • October 11, 1930

    Lewis, the Moores, and later Warren, Lewis's brother, move into "The Kilns".

  • September 1931

    Converts to Christianity.

  • May 25, 1933
    The Pilgrim’s Regress

    Publishes The Pilgrim’s Regress.

  • May 21, 1936
    Allegory of Love

    Publishes The Allegory of Love.Buy this book

  • September 23, 1938
    Out of the Silent Planet.

    Publishes the first novel in the Space Trilogy series, Out of the Silent Planet.Buy this book

  • April 25, 1940

    Weekly meetings of the "Inklings" begin.

  • October 18, 1940
    The Problem of Pain

    Publishes The Problem of Pain.Buy this book

  • August 1941
    Mere Christianity

    Begins war-time broadcast talks on Christianity, later collected as Mere Christianity.Buy this book

  • January 26, 1942

    Attends the first meeting of Oxford University's Socratic Club.

  • February 9, 1942
    The Screwtape Letters

    Publishes The Screwtape Letters.Buy this book

  • July 13, 1942
    broadcast Talks

    Publishes Broadcast Talks, based on BBC recordings.

  • October 8, 1942
    Paradise Lost

    Publishes A Preface to Paradise Lost.

  • January 6, 1943
    The Abolition of Man

    Publishes The Abolition of Man.Buy this book

  • April 19, 1943
    Christian Behavior

    Publishes Christian Behaviour, based on BBC recordings.

  • April 20, 1943
    Perelandra

    Publishes the second novel in the Space Trilogy series, Perelandra.Buy this book

  • October 9, 1944
    Beyond Personality

    Publishes Beyond Personality, based on BBC recordings.

  • August 16, 1945
    That Hideous Strength

    Publishes the third novel in the Space Trilogy series, That Hideous Strength.Buy this book

  • January 14, 1946
    The Great Divorce

    Publishes The Great Divorce.Buy this book

  • June 28, 1946

    Awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by the University of St. Andrews.

  • May 12, 1947
    Miracles

    Publishes Miracles.Buy this book

  • September 8, 1947

    Appears on the cover of Time magazine.

  • 1948

    Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

  • September 13, 1949
    The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses.

    Publishes The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses.Buy this book

  • October 16, 1950
    The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

    Publishes the first novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.Buy this book

  • January 12, 1951

    Mrs. Moore dies.

  • October 15, 1951
    Prince Casbian

    Publishes the second novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia.Buy this book

  • July 7, 1952
    Mere Christianity

    Publishes Mere Christianity, which combines previously published Broadcast Talks (1942), Christian Behavior (1943), and Beyond Personality (1944).Buy this book

  • September 15, 1952
    in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

    Publishes the third novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.Buy this book

  • September 7, 1953
    The Silver Chair

    Publishes the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Silver Chair.Buy this book

  • 1954

    Becomes chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge.

  • September 6, 1954
    The Horse and His Boy

    Publishes the fifth novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Horse and His Boy.Buy this book

  • September 16, 1954
    English Literature in the Sixteenth Century.

    Publishes English Literature in the Sixteenth Century.

  • May 2, 1955
    The Magician's Nephew

    Publishes the sixth novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Magician’s Nephew.Buy this book

  • September 19, 1955
    Surprised By Joy

    Publishes Surprised By Joy.Buy this book

  • March 19, 1956
    The Last Battle

    Publishes the seventh, and final, novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Last Battle.Buy this book

  • April 23, 1956

    Marries Joy Davidman Gresham.

  • September 10, 1956
    Till We Have faces

    Publishes Till We Have Faces.Buy this book

  • September 8, 1958
    Reflections on the psalms

    Publishes Reflections on the Psalms.Buy this book

  • June 1959

    Becomes, with T. S. Eliot, a member of the Commission to Revise the Psalter.

  • March 28, 1960
    Publishes The Four Loves

    Publishes The Four Loves.Buy this book

  • July 13, 1960

    Lewis’s wife dies.

  • September 9, 1960
    Studies in Words

    Publishes Studies in Words.Buy this book

  • June 1961:

    Diagnosed with kidney inflammation.

  • September 29, 1961
    A Grief Observed

    Publishes A Grief Observed under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk.Buy this book

  • October 13, 1961
    An Experiment in Criticism

    Publishes An Experiment in Criticism.Buy this book

  • November 22, 1963

    Dies.

  • January 27, 1964
    Letters to Malcolm

    Posthumously publishes Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.Buy this book

  • May 7, 1964
    The Discarded image

    Posthumously publishes The Discarded Image.Buy this book

  • June 9, 1966
    Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

    Posthumously publishes Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature.Buy this book