C.S. Lewis Bibliography

Aeschliman, Michael. The Restitution of Man: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Elaborates the debate between those in the metaphysical tradition (Plato, Augustine, Aquinas) and those who hold to materialistic scientism (Bacon, Huxley, Nietzsche, Skinner), placing Lewis firmly in the metaphysical camp.

Anderton, Charles H. Screwtape’s Master Plan: A Satirical Take on Christianity and Culture. Eugene: Cascade, 2012. Print.

Baggett, David, Gary R. Habermas, and Jerry L. Walls. C.S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2008. Print.

Barfield, Owen. Owen Barfield on C.S. Lewis. Edited by G. B. Tennyson. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan U P, 1989.
Owen Barfield was a close friend of C.S. Lewis, and his exact contemporary. This collection includes poems, addresses, essays, and interviews, as well as fictionalized portraits of Lewis as he appears in Barfield’s fiction.

Benge, Geoff and Janet. C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller. Seattle: YWAM, 2007.

Bingham, Derick. C.S. Lewis: A Shiver of Wonder. Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2004.

Bleakley, David. C.S. Lewis at Home in Ireland: A Centenary Biography. Bangor, N.I.: Strandtown, 1998.
A rhapsodic account of Lewis’s relationship with Ireland, incorporating short reminiscences by people he knew or influenced.

Bramlett, Perry C.  C.S. Lewis: Life at the Center. Macon, GA: Peak Road, 1996.
A biographical essay describing Lewis’s spiritual practice.

Bramlett, Perry C. and Robert W. Higdon. Touring C.S. Lewis’ Ireland and England. Macon GA: Smyth and Helwys, 1998.
Though it is designed to be used as a travel guide for those who would like to visit Lewis-oriented sites in Great Britain, this little book also supplies an appealing array of information and insight into Lewis’s life.

Brazier, Paul H. C.S. Lewis: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource. Eugene: Pickwick, 2012.

Brazier, Paul H.  C.S. Lewis: Revelation, Conversion, and Apologetics. Eugene: Pickwick, 2012.

Brazier, Paul H. C.S. Lewis: On the Christ of a Religious Economy. Eugene: Pickwick, 2013.

Bresland, Ronald. The Backward Glance: C.S. Lewis and Ireland. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University of Belfast, 1999.
A specialty biography of Lewis that discusses Irish influences on his fiction and summarizes his unfinished Ulster novel.

Bremer, John. C.S. Lewis, Poetry, and the Great War 1914-1918. Plymouth: Lexington, 2014.

A bit of a hodgepodge. Argues that Lewis is not a war poet, but rather a poet whose work is inspired by war. Some good insight into Lewis’s early poetry. See also Don King C.S. Lewis: Poet.

Brown, Devin. A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2013.

Brown, Devin. Bringing Narnia Home: Lessons from the Other Side of the Wardrobe. Nasheville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Brown, Devin. Inside Narnia: A Guide to Exploring The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Books, 2005.

Brown, Devin. Inside Prince Caspian: A Guide to Exploring the Return to Narnia. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Books, 2008.

Burson, Scott R., and Jerry L. Walls. C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. Lesson For a New Century From the Most Influential Apologists of Our Time. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1998.
Contrasts Lewis and Schaeffer on topics including salvation, God’s sovereignty, biblical authority, and strategic apologetics. Serious and substantial.

Carnell, Corbin Scott. Bright Shadow of Reality: C.S. Lewis and the Feeling Intellect. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
One of the most insightful studies of Lewis, this classic explores Lewis’s concept of “Sehnsucht” or longing.

Carpenter, Humphrey. The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends. Boston: Houghton, 1979.
A collective biography, brisk and engaging.

Caughey, Shanna, ed. Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles. Dallas: Benbella, 2005.
Informal (sometimes chatty) essays mostly on moral questions in the Narnian books. Runs the gamut: Christians who criticize Narnia are jostled next to non- and even anti-Christians who love it. Some very good essays, some not so much.

Christopher, Joe R. C.S. Lewis. Boston: Twayne, 1987.
A general overview of Lewis’s writings in autobiography, literary criticism, moral philosophy, apologetics, and romance. Full of precise and accurate detail, especially on allusions and references in Lewis’s work. Also has a good annotated bibliography of secondary sources. Recommended.

Christopher, Joe R. and Joan K. Ostling, compilers. C.S. Lewis: An Annotated Checklist of Writings About Him and His Works. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 1974.
A key reference for those who are interested in locating and evaluating secondary sources on Lewis, covering material published through 1972.

Clark, David G. C.S. Lewis Goes to Heaven: A Reader’s Guide to The Great Divorce. N. P.: Winged Lion Press, 2012.

**Como, James T., ed. Remembering C.S. Lewis: Recollections of Those Who Knew Him. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2005.
Formerly published as C.S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences (1979). Twenty-four essays, mostly by people who knew Lewis well, including Leo Baker, John Wain, Adam Fox, George Sayer, Austin Farrer and R.E. Havard. One of the most vivid, important, and readable books about Lewis. Highly recommended.

Cording, Ruth James. C.S. Lewis: A Celebration of His Early Life. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2000.

Coren, Michael. The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1996.

Derrick, Christopher. C.S. Lewis and the Church of Rome: A Study in Proto-Ecumenism. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1981.
Explores Lewis’s perspective on the Catholic church.

Dorsett, Lyle W., ed. The Essential C.S. Lewis. New York: Macmillan, 1988.
An anthology of Lewis’s work grouped in seven categories: autobiography, children’s fiction, adult fiction, Christian nonfiction, poetry, philosophy, letters, and literary theory and criticism. Contains the full texts of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Perelandra, and The Abolition of Man.

Dorsett, Lyle W.  A Love Observed: Joy Davidman’s Life and Marriage to C.S. Lewis. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw, 1998.
Formerly published as Joy and C.S. Lewis (1988), and also as And God Came In (1983). A biography of Joy Davidman, rich in specific information about this amazing woman.

Dorsett, Lyle W. Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2004.
Highly detailed study, based largely on primary sources, of Lewis’s personal spiritual practice: prayer habits, spiritual guidance he gave and received, sectarian views, and doctrinal beliefs and practices.

Dorsett, Lyle W. and C.S. Lewis. The Essential C.S. Lewis. New York: Touchstone, 2015. Print.

Downing, David C. Into the Region of Awe: Mysticism in C.S. Lewis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005.
A study of mystical elements in Lewis’s life, spiritual practice, fiction, and apologetics.

Downing, David C. Into the Wardrobe: C.S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
A literary study of the Chronicles, giving full details on their writing, literary voice and style, and symbolism.

*Downing, David C. The Most Reluctant Convert: C.S. Lewis’s Journey to Faith. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.
A history of the intellectual influences on Lewis that led to his conversion. Compares Lewis’s pre- and post-conversion writing. Recommended.

Downing, David C. Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1992.
An in-depth study of the Ransom Trilogy, well-written and insightful.

Duncan, John Ryan. The Magic Never Ends: An Oral History of the Life and Work of C.S. Lewis. Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group, 2001.

Duriez, Colin. The C.S. Lewis Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to His Life, Thought, and Writings. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
An enjoyable collection of brief informative articles. See also Hooper’s C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide and Jeffrey Schultz and John West’s The C.S. Lewis Reader’s Encyclopedia.

Duriez, Colin. C.S. Lewis: A Biography of Friendship. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2013. Print.

Duriez, Colin. The A-Z of C S Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings. Oxford: Lion, 2013.

Duriez, Colin. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship. Mahwah: HiddenSpring, 2003.

*Edwards, Bruce L., ed. C.S. Lewis: Life, Works, Legacy.

A valuable four-volume reference series. Lengthy analytic essays cover Lewis and his writings. Recommended.

Edwards, Bruce L. Not a Tame Lion: Unveil Narnia Through the Eyes of Lucy, Peter, and Other Characters Created by C.S. Lewis. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2005.

Primarily character studies, moral in nature rather than religious or literary.

Edwards, Bruce L. A Rhetoric of Reading: C.S. Lewis’s Defense of Western Literacy. Provo, UT: Brigham Young U, 1986.
An in-depth look at Lewis as literary critic.

Edwards, Bruce L., ed. The Taste of the Pineapple: Essays on C.S. Lewis as Reader, Critic, and Imaginative Writer. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988.
Fourteen essays of outstanding quality on Lewis as reader & critic. Contributors include Kath Filmer, Joe McClatchey, Alzina Stone Dale, Margaret Hannay, and Kathryn Lindskoog.

*Ford, Paul F. Companion to Narnia. San Francisco: Harper, 1980.
An alphabetical encyclopedia of brief articles that describe and clarify all aspects of the realm of Narnia. Recommended.

Gibb, Jocelyn, ed. Light on C.S. Lewis. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1965.
A collection of biographical essays, commissioned and assembled immediately after his death, by Owen Barfield, Austin Farrar, J. A. W. Bennett, Nevill Coghill, John Lawlor, Stella Gibbons, Kathleen Raine, Chad Walsh, and Walter Hooper.

Gibson, Evan K. C.S. Lewis: Spinner of Tales: A Guide to His Fiction. Washington, D. C.: Christian U P, 1980.
A good starting place for those interested in a general overview of characters, ideas, and Christian themes in Lewis’s fiction.

Gilbert, Douglas and Clyde S. Kilby. C.S. Lewis: Images of His World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973.
A picture book of people and places important to Lewis.

Gilchrist, K. J. A Morning After War: C.S. Lewis and WWI. New York: Peter Lang, 2005.
A diligently researched history of Lewis’s military service and his life during World War I.

*Glaspey, Terry. Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis. Elkton, MD: Highland Books, 1996.
Called “lively, concise, and lucid” for good reason. An excellent introduction to Lewis’s spiritual life and thought, in a devotional format. Recommended.

Glover, Donald F. C.S. Lewis: The Art of Enchantment. Athens, OH: Ohio U P, 1981.
Glover uses Lewis’s own critical method as described in An Experiment in Criticism to discuss Lewis’s fiction.

*Glyer, Diana Pavlac. The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 2006.
An inside look at the Inklings, showing how the participants influenced each other through encouragement, criticism, and collaboration. Offers significant insight into the creative process. Recommended.

Glyer, Diana Pavlac. Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings.Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 2015.
An adaptation of The Company They Keep offering practical guidelines for those who seek to apply the process of the Inklings.

**Goffar, Janine. C.S. Lewis Index: Rumours from the Sculptor’s Shop. Riverside, CA: La Sierra U P, 1995.
Also published as Rumors from a Sculptor’s Shop. A comprehensive index to Lewis’s theological works. Highly recommended.

*Gormley, Beatrice. C.S. Lewis: Christian and Storyteller. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
Discusses Lewis as the creator of Narnia. Written for young adults, but appropriately readable by adults as well. Recommended.

Gormley, Beatrice. C.S. Lewis: The Man behind Narnia. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans for Young Readers, 2005.

Graham, David, ed. We Remember C.S. Lewis: Essays & Memoirs. Nashville: Broadman, 2001.
Personal reflections by Lewis’s tutorial students and others who knew him. See also Como C.S. Lewis Remembered.

*Green, Roger Lancelyn, and Walter Hooper. C.S. Lewis: A Biography. New York: Harcourt, 1974.
Revised and expanded edition, London: HarperCollins, 2002. This authorized biography includes personal stories by these two important friends of Lewis. Especially good: Green’s accounts of the creation of Narnia and his insight into the relationship of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. Predates the layers of interpretations and reinterpretations found in subsequent biographical writing on Lewis. Recommended.

Gresham, Douglas H. Jack’s Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis. Nashville: Broadman, 2005.
A domestic biography of Lewis, full of details about his daily life.

Gresham, Douglas H. Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. New York: Macmillan, 1988.
An autobiography by Lewis’s step-son, Douglas Gresham. Tells of Gresham’s life, not Lewis’s, though Lewis features prominently in it.

Griffin, William. Clive Staples Lewis: A Dramatic Life. San Francisco: Harper, 1986.
Griffin takes you year by year through Lewis’s life in a series of dramatic vignettes. Inventive.

Griffin, William. C.S. Lewis: Spirituality for Mere Christians. New York: Crossroad, 2005.
Using the same kind of dramatic vignettes as his biography (mentioned above), Griffin discusses Lewis’s spiritual practice and draws moral lessons from Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters.

Hannay, Margaret Patterson. C.S. Lewis. New York: Frederick Unger, 1981.
Combines biography and criticism, brief and very good.

Hart, Dabney Adams. Through the Open Door: A New Look at C.S. Lewis. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1984.
Hart describes Lewis’s skill as a teacher and offers helpful insight into Lewis’s use of myth and language.

Hilder, Monika B. Surprised by the Feminine: A Rereading of C.S. Lewis and Gender. Edited by Karen Marguerite Randall. New York: Peter Lang, 2013.

Hilder, Monika B. The Feminine Ethos in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. New York: Peter Lang, 2012.

 Hilder, Monika B. The Gender Dance: Ironic Subversion in C.S. Lewis’s Cosmic Trilogy. New York: Peter Lang, 2013.

Hinten, Marvin D. The Keys to the Chronicles: Unlocking the Symbols of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. Nashville: Broadman, 2005.
A detailed run-through of allusions and references—theological, literary, and historical allusions—in the Chronicles.

**Hooper, Walter. C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
What a book! Hooper offers summaries of Lewis’s books and encyclopedic articles about important people, places, and ideas. Packed with facts. Highly recommended.

Hooper, Walter. Past Watchful Dragons: The Narnian Chronicles of C.S. Lewis. New York: Collier, 1979.
One of the first published introductions to the Narnia series, containing some early drafts that shed light on Lewis’s creative process.

Howard, Thomas. Narnia and Beyond: A Guide to the Fiction of C.S. Lewis. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2006.
Formerly published at C.S. Lewis: Man of Letters (1987) and also as The Achievement of C.S. Lewis: A Reading of His Fiction (1980). A beautifully written, spiritually rich discussion of Lewis as a fiction writer.

Hurd, Crystal. Thirty Days with C.S. Lewis: A Women’s Devotional. ITRD Publishing House, 2014.

*Huttar, Charles A. and Peter J. Schakel, eds., Word and Story in C.S. Lewis. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1991.
One of the best collections of scholarly essays about Lewis, clearly organized and carefully edited. Includes essays by Verlyn Flieger, Gilbert Meilaender, Donald Glover, Jared Lobdell, Colin Manlove, and others. Recommended.

*Jacobs, Alan. The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.
A well-written, lively biography of Lewis, integrating his personal and intellectual lives deftly, and treating the subject with freshness and vigor. Recommended.

Joeckel, Samuel. The C.S. Lewis Phenomenon: Christianity and the Public Sphere. Macon: Mercer U P, 2013.

Kawano, Roland M. C.S. Lewis: Always a Poet. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2004. See also King’s C.S. Lewis: Poet.

Keefe, Carolyn, ed. C.S. Lewis: Speaker and Teacher. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971.
Seven essays that fill an important gap, exploring Lewis as an oral communicator—teacher, lecturer, debater, and radio broadcaster. Contributors include Clyde S. Kilby, Walter Hooper, and Owen Barfield.

Khoddam, Salwa, Mark R. Hall and Jason Fisher. C.S. Lewis and the Inklings: Reflections on Faith, Imagination, and Modern Technology. New York: Cambridge, 2015. Print.

Kilby, Clyde S. The Christian World of C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 1964. It is hard to overstate Kilby’s importance to Lewis studies. An early (if thin) look at Lewis’s faith. See also Vaus’ Mere Theology.

*King, Don W. C.S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 2001.
Detailed textual study of Lewis’s poetry and his history as a poet. Recommended.

King, Don W. Plain to the Inward Eye: Selected Essays on C.S. Lewis. Abilene: Abilene Christian University, 2013.

A collection of essays and book reviews by one of our most important C.  S. Lewis scholars.

King, Don W. The Collected Poems of C.S. Lewis: A Critical Edition. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 2015. Print.

Kort, Wesley A. C.S. Lewis Then and Now. New York: Oxford U P, 2001.
Thoughtful, imaginative discussion of Lewis’s sense of a Christian’s relationship with general culture and the world. Scholarly rather than pastoral or apologetic.

Kreeft, Peter. C.S. Lewis: A Critical Essay. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969.
Perhaps the ideal basic introduction to Lewis for those unfamiliar with his work: it avoids unnecessary summaries, uses many direct quotations, and is only 68 pages long.

Kreeft, Peter. C.S. Lewis for the Third Millennium: Six Essays on The Abolition of Man. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1994.
Kreeft uses The Abolition of Man as his starting point for a philosophical discussion of what ails the “third millennium,” and what will cure it.

Lawlor, John. C.S. Lewis: Memories and Reflections. Dallas: Spence, 1998.
A highly personal book, it includes memories of Lewis and his circle and literary discussion of his works.

Lazo, Andrew and Mary Anne Phemister, eds. Mere Christians: Inspiring Stories of Encounters with C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009.

Lewis, C.S. and Paul McCaster. C.S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity. N.P.: Tyndale, 2013. CD-ROM.

Lewis, C.S. The C.S. Lewis Bible. New York: HarperOne, 2010.

***Lewis, Warren Hamilton. Brothers and Friends: The Diaries of Major Warren Hamilton Lewis. Edited by Clyde S. Kilby and Marjorie Lamp Mead. San Francisco: Harper, 1982.
Lewis was extremely close to his brother, and Warren Lewis’s diaries remain an essential source of information about him. The entire manuscript is available at the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. These published selections are well chosen and helpfully annotated. Highly recommended.

Lindskoog, Kathryn. Finding the Landlord: A Guidebook to C.S. Lewis’s Pilgrim’s Regress. Chicago: Cornerstone, 1995.
A well-written and helpful guide to The Pilgrim’s Regress.

Lindskoog, Kathryn. Journey Into Narnia. Pasadena, CA: Hope Publishing House, 1997.
This contains an updated version of Lindskoog’s pioneering Narnia study The Lion of Judah in Never-Never Land and adds seven chapters reflecting on each of the Chronicles. The original book, a study of Christian themes in Narnia, was read in draft by Lewis who praised it.

Lindsley, Art. C.S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination, and Faith. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005.
Lewis’s apologetics paraphrased and framed as the sessions of a book discussion group.

Lindvall, Terry. Surprised by Laughter. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996.
Short chapters and copious examples: this functions as a catalogue of funny moments in Lewis’s writing.

Lobdell, Jared. The Scientifiction Novels of C.S. Lewis: Space and Time in the Ransom Stories. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2004.
Argues that these novels have their roots in 18th century pastoral and satire. A narrow but instructive perspective of their source and inspiration.

Loconte, Joseph. A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J. R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918. Nashville: Nelson, 2015. Print.

Lowenberg, Susan. C.S. Lewis: A Reference Guide 1972-1988. New York: Maxwell Macmillan, 1993.
A secondary bibliography that picks up where Christopher and Ostling leave off.

Macdonald, Michael H. and Andrew A. Tadie, eds. The Riddle of Joy: G. K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Seventeen papers on C.S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton.

MacSwain, Robert, ed. The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis. Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 2010.

Markos, Louis. From A to Z to Narnia with C.S. Lewis. Silverton: Lampion, 2015. Print.

Markos, Louis and David Diener. C.S. Lewis: An Apologist for Education. Camp Hill, PA: Classical, 2015. Print.

Manlove, Colin. C.S. Lewis: His Literary Achievement. New York: St. Martin’s, 1987.
A thorough analysis of Lewis’s fiction in terms of its literary technique, rather than its mythic structure, moral values, or Christian symbolism.

Manlove, Colin. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Patterning of a Fantastic World. New York: Twayne, 1993.
In just over one hundred pages, Manlove offers historical context, critical reception, a careful reading, and notes on teaching the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia and does so with remarkable accuracy and grace. Impressive.

Markos, Louis. Lewis Agonistes: How C.S. Lewis can Train us to Wrestle with the Modern and Post-Modern World. Nashville: Broadman, 2003.
Uses Lewis’s “method and language” to critique the assumptions of modern and postmodern worldviews. Ambitious and thought-provoking.

Markos, Louis. On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis. Chicago: Moody, 2012.

Martin, Thomas L., ed. Reading the Classics with C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.
A collection of essays covering Lewis’s opinions of all manner of literature, from the Greek and Roman classics to science fiction and children’s literature.

Martindale, Wayne. Beyond the Shadowlands: C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2005.
An in-depth exploration of Lewis’s views on heaven, hell, and purgatory, drawing examples primarily from his fiction.

*Martindale, Wayne and Jerry Root, eds. The Quotable Lewis: An Encyclopedic Selection of Quotes from the Complete Published Works. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1989.
An alphabetically arranged collection of quotations of moderate length on a wide variety of subjects. Interesting for browsing: indispensable for research. Recommended.

McCusker, Paul. C.S. Lewis & Mere Christianity: The Crisis That Created a Classic. Carol Stream: Tyndale, 2014.

McGrath, Alister E.  C.S. Lewis: A Life : Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2013.

McGrath, Alister. Deep Magic, Dragons and Talking Mice: How Reading C.S. Lewis Can Change Your Life. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2014.

McGrath, Alister. If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C.S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life. Colorado Springs: Tyndale, 2014.

McGrath, Alister E. The Intellectual World of C.S. Lewis. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.

Meilander, Gilbert. The Taste for the Other: The Social and Ethical Thought of C.S. Lewis. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
Thoughtful discussion of Lewis’s view of the Christian’s place in society. Wise and often moving.

Menuge, Angus J. L., ed. C.S. Lewis, Lightbearer in the Shadowlands: The Evangelistic Vision of C.S. Lewis. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1997.
Contains sixteen essays by Wayne Martindale, Corbin Scott Carnell, Michael Ward, George Musacchio, Christopher W. Mitchell, Jerry Root, Gene Edward Veith and others.

Miller, Rod, ed. C.S. Lewis and the Arts: Creativity in the Shadowlands. Baltimore: Square Halo, 2013.

Mills, David, ed. The Pilgrim’s Guide: C.S. Lewis and the Art of Witness. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
Scholarly essays on Lewis’s theology and philosophy, mostly as expressed in his fiction. Includes essays by Christopher W. Mitchell, Harry Blamires, Diana Pavlac Glyer, Bruce L. Edwards, Thomas Howard, Jerry Root, and others.

Myers, Doris T. Bareface: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s Last Novel. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2004.
“Bareface” was Lewis’s working title for Till We Have Faces. Myers offers insight into Lewis’s finest but most difficult work of fiction.

Myers, Doris. C.S. Lewis in Context. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 1994.
Considers Lewis in the context of his literary milieu, particularly as one writing in direct response to the debate (exemplified by Ogden and Richards) about the nature of language. Substantial.

Nicoli, Armand M., Jr. The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life. New York: Free Press, 2002.
A fair presentation of Lewis’s theology, contrasted with Freud’s. Lays out the two philosophers’ thinking on a number of issues both doctrinal and pastoral, emphasizing their irreconcilability but also their common need to explain human experience.

Peters, Thomas C. Simply C.S. Lewis: A Beginner’s Guide to the Life and Works of C.S. Lewis. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1997.

Pearce, Joseph. C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2003.

Phillips, Justin. C.S. Lewis in a Time of War. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Formerly published as C.S. Lewis at the BBC (2002). A history of Lewis’s work as a religious broadcaster, drawn largely from the BBC’s archives.

Piper, John and David Mathis, eds. The Romantic Rationalist: God, Life, and Imagination in the Work of C.S. Lewis”. Wheaton: Crossway, 2014.

Poe, Harry Lee, and Jim Veneman. The Inklings of Oxford: C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Their Friends. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.

Poe, Harry Lee, and Rebecca Whitten Poe, eds. C.S. Lewis Remembered: Collected Reflections of Students, Friends, and Colleagues. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Prothero, James and Donald T. Williams. Gaining a Face: The Romanticism of C.S. Lewis. Newcastle: Cambridge, 2013. 

Rigney, Joe. Live Like A Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’s Chronicles. Minneanapolis: Eyes & Pen, 2013. 

Rogers, Jonathan. The World According to Narnia: Christian Meaning in C.S. Lewis’s Beloved Chronicles. New York: Time Warner, 2005.
A walk through the plots of the books, clearly and straightforwardly pointing out moral lessons. Draws illustrations as much from Lewis’s theology as from scripture.

Root, Jeremy and Mark Neal. The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis: An Introduction. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015. Print.

Ryken, Leland, and Marjorie Lamp Mead. A Reader’s Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis’s Classic Story. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005.

Sammons, Martha C. A Far-off Country: Journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2000.
A useful guide to the mythological and literary background and allusions in all Lewis’s fiction. Incorporates her earlier books A Guide Through Narnia (1979) and A Guide Through C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (1980).

**Sayer, George. Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1994.
Formerly published as Jack: C.S. Lewis and His Times (1988). Considered by most to be the very best biography of Lewis. The 1994 edition has an interesting introduction that corrects common errors found in other biographies. Highly recommended.

Schakel, Peter J., ed. The Longing For a Form: Essays on the Fiction of C.S. Lewis. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 1977.
One of the first and best literary studies of Lewis. Fourteen essays by a who’s who of Lewis scholars.

*Schakel, Peter J. Reading with the Heart: The Way into Narnia. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
A literary study of symbols and patterning in the structure of the Chronicles, with special attention to their sacramental meaning. Schakel’s writing style is a pleasure. Recommended.

*Schakel, Peter J. Reason and Imagination in C.S. Lewis: A Study in Till We Have Faces. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
A brilliant study of Till We Have Faces. Recommended.

Schakel, Peter J. The Way into Narnia: A Reader’s Guide. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
Not a revision of Schakel’s earlier Reading with the Heart: The Way into Narnia, despite the overlap in titles. Half the book analyzes Narnia as a series of fairy tales, intended for experienced readers. The other half annotates obscure and dated references, hard words, and textual variations, more useful for beginning readers.

Schofield, Stephen, ed. In Search of C.S. Lewis. South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1983.
Contains 25 essays, interviews, and letters, most of them reprinted from The Canadian C.S. Lewis Journal. An interesting assortment.

*Schultz, Jeffrey D., and John G. West, Jr. eds. The C.S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
Offers interpretive essays on every book and article published by Lewis, plus short entries on important people, places, and concepts. Includes a useful lists of publications and organizations devoted to Lewis studies. Marred by careless copyediting. Recommended.

Sibley, Brian. C.S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
Sibley tells the story of Lewis’s marriage to Joy Davidman.

Sims, John A. Missionaries to the Skeptics: Christian Apologists for the Twentieth Century. Macon, GA: Mercer U P, 1995.
Discusses the apologetics of Edward John Carnell, Reinhold Niebuhr, and C.S. Lewis.

Smith, Alexander. C.S. Lewis and the Island of His Birth. Londonderry: Lagan, 2013.

Tadie, Andrew A., and Michael H. Macdonald, eds. Permanent Things: Toward the Recovery of a More Human Scale at the End of the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Nineteen essays, four on Lewis. Others give a Lewisian perspective on Chesterton, Sayers, Waugh, and Eliot.

Tandy, Gary L. C.S. The Rhetoric of Certitude: C.S. Lewis’s Nonfiction Prose. Kent, OH: Kent State U P, 2009.

Tandy, George L. The Rhetoric of Certitude: C.S. Lewis’ Nonfiction Prose. Kent, OH: Kent State University, 2009. Print.

*Vaus, Will. Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C.S. Lewis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004.
Vaus describes Lewis’s beliefs on a number of key theological questions, skillfully drawing from a wide selection of his theology, letters, and fiction. Supersedes a number of books attempting a similar task, including Clyde S. Kilby’s The Christian World of C.S. Lewis and Kathryn Lindskoog’s C.S. Lewis: Mere Christian. Recommended.

Vaus, Will. The Professor of Narnia: [the C.S. Lewis Story]. Washington, DC: Believe, 2008.

Vaus, Will. C.S. Lewis’ Top Ten: Influential Books and Authors, Volume One. Winged Lion Press, LLC, 2014.

Walker, Andrew and James Patrick, eds. A Christian for All Christians: Essays in Honor of C.S. Lewis. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1992.
Formerly published as Rumours of Heaven: Essays in Celebration of C.S. Lewis (1998). Thirteen (fairly short) essays on Lewis by Richard Purtill, Aidan Mackey, Peter Schakel, Lyle W. Dorsett, Joe R. Christopher, and others.

Walsh, Chad. C.S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics. New York: Macmillan, 1949.
Walsh was one of the earliest Lewis scholars and still one of the most insightful and reliable. This is the very first full-length study written about Lewis’s life and work, focused primarily on his Christian faith.

Walsh, Chad. The Literary Legacy of C.S. Lewis. New York: Harcourt, 1979.

Ward, Michael. The Narnia Code: C.S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2010.

A popular adaptation of Planet Narnia.

*Ward, Michael. Planet Narnia. Oxford U P, 2010.

Explores the possibility that Lewis based each of the Chronicles on a different medieval planet. In addition to its other virtues,  I find it indispensable for its insight into Lewis’s medieval worldview. Recommended.

Watson, George, ed. Critical Essays on C.S. Lewis. Aldershot, Eng.: Scolar Press, 1992.
Collects obituaries, essays, and reviews of many of Lewis’s books of literary criticism and reproduces them in facsimile.

Werther, David and Susan Werther. C.S. Lewis’s List: The Ten Books That Influenced Him Most. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.

Werther, David and Susan Werther. C.S. Lewis’s List: The Ten Books That Influenced Him Most. London: Bloomsbury, 2015. Print.

West, John G. The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society. Seattle: Discovery Institute. 

White, Michael. C.S. Lewis: A Life. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004.
A presumptuous and error-filled biography. To be avoided.

White, Roger M, Judith Wolfe, and Brendan Wolfe. C.S. Lewis and His Circle: Essays and Memoirs from the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society. New York: Oxford, 2015. Print.

Williams, Donald T. Mere Humanity: G. K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition. Nashville: Broadman, 2006.
Williams succeeds at weaving together images, quotations, and insights to shed considerable light on the human condition. A very rewarding personal essay.

Williams, Peter S. C.S. Lewis vs the New Atheists

Willis, John Randolph. Pleasures Forevermore: The Theology of C.S. Lewis. Chicago: Loyola U P, 1983.

An assessment of Lewis as theologian from a Roman Catholic vantage point.

Wilson, A.N.C.S. Lewis: A Biography. New York: Norton, 1990.
Wilson writes engagingly, but commits serious gaffes in fact, interpretation, and tone that overshadow any value in his book. To be avoided.

Wolfe, Judith, and Brendan Wolfe. C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra: Reshaping the Image of the Cosmos. Kent: Kent State University, 2013. Print.

Zaleski, Philip and Carol Zaleski. The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J. R. R Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams. New York, NY: Farrar, 2015. Print.