The Man Behind Narnia

by A.N. Wilson

It looks like a wardrobe, but open it up and it leads you back into a world of childhood – of fantasy.

Lewis, now famed the world over as a children’s author and religious apologist, was a university Professor who kept his private life a doggedly guarded secret. Living exclusively in the world of men, his life was really dominated by women – by his mother, whose death when he was a child scarred his whole life; by Jane Moore, with whom he lived for thirty-three years; and by Joy Davidman, the American he married. The mystery of Lewis is deep. He was a man who professed to be ruled by his head, but was manifestly governed by his heart. In THE MAN BEHIND NARNIA, A.N. Wilson, who wrote Lewis's full-length biography over twenty years ago, returns to the theme – having made a television documentary about Lewis and his work. He opens the wardrobe and finds many demons – some are Lewis’s, and some are his own.

A.N. Wilson is the author of over forty books – 20 novels, biographies of C.S. Lewis, Tolstoy, and John Milton, a three-part history of the last 100 years, and stories for children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Religion

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Andrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views. He is an occasional columnist for the Daily Mail and former columnist for the London Evening Standard, and has been an occasional contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, The Spectator and The Observer.

Reviews

[Brenton]

I have reviewed A.N. Wilson's longer biography here: https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2019/02/.... That led me to this little book, The Man Behind Narnia, which I will talk about on my blog. This book is a lot of fun to read. Wilson doubles down on most of the controversial aspects of C.S. Lewis' biography, but the book is not about C.S. Lewis. It is about Wilson's relationship with Lewis, and is therefore a very engaging read. There is a lot of bosh in the Lewis bio bits, but I still very much enjoyed reading (by audio) this companion volume to a documentary of 2013.

[Nicholas Maulucci]

2 1/2. the author is a born-again "atheist", self-proclaimed. it is a unique perspective as the author seems to be in a love/hate opinion of Lewis. I have been intrigued with j.r.r.Tolkien and c.s. Lewis's relationship since I was a teenager. I have read . multiple biographies on both men. I have been a closet scoffer of Lewis' lion, witch and wardrobe series for years, while literarily I have loved Tolkien's Lord of the rings. I could never elocute exactly why that was - I had theorized that Tolkien's books, because they were simply outgrowths of stories he told his children and nothing more while Lewis wrote allegorically was the reason. well, the author put into words precisely my feelings when she said it was tantamount to sacrilege the whole death of aslan scene, turkish delight, white witch, resurrection, etc. as a simple fairy tale - well, that's one thing - but an allegory of the atonement, something else. Tolkien had a stable home life, his son Christopher following in his steps and finished his father's work. Lewis lived with a woman and her daughter for 30 years (no marriage involved and not technically lovers). he then pulled off the civil marriage to the American joy davidman so she could remain in England legally. she was divorced. Lewis eventually truly married her to the behest of Tolkien who was a staunch Catholic and considered this a form of adultery (which I do also, by the way). she died a few years later. SHADOWLANDS is an excellent, if somewhat skewed "historical" film version of Lewis and joy's relationship. worth watching, but sad. I have read other works of Lewis but it was a long time ago. I look forward to reading him again. I know many Christians have been encouraged by his writings over the years.

[Bridget]

This book is more about A.N. Wilson than C.S. Lewis which is fine if I had known that. His insights are helpful but patronizing to me since I never hero-worshipped Lewis or thought he was perfect. I like Lewis’ books and Wilson seems to imply readers like them because they’re vulgar. Obviously, I disagree. Also, I wasn’t interested in Wilson’s path to atheism. I found it interesting that Christians who don’t allow for doubt in their beliefs are foolish, but as an intellectual Wilson may have spoken to the dead, but he’s not foolish like Christians because he has applied a healthy dose of doubt to his experience. Wilson claims to value differing thoughts with an implicit understanding that those who believe in absolute truth are ignorant. Again, I disagree.

[John]

I have been struggling with CS Lewis for awhile. He leaves me cold. This short work by a biographer of Lewis explains why his writing is hard to like: it is very either/or in its positions and sometimes a bit crude. This work, however, is in large part about the author himself (including a humorous recap of how he declaired his atheism in the reader's pulpit of a church) and a discussion of how Lewis has become a sort of evangelical saint in the US. I listened to this on Audble and it was very entertaining.

The biographical tidbits about Lewis, though, make me want to read Wilson's biography of Lewis. I also want to read Wilson's own recent memoir, Confessions: A Life of Failed Promises.

[David Highton]

This Kindle Single was not what I was expecting - it is as much about Wilson as it is about Lewis. This ebook was published in 2013 and I had not realised Wilson had written a biography of Lewis 25 years earlier. It was the making of a TV programme which prompted Wilson to reflect on his views of Lewis in connection with his own period of atheism and return to Christianity. There is some autobiographical sections in this book, but if you are looking for an autobiography this is not it.

[Matthew Howard]

A.N Wilson would seem to be an agnostic yet he had previously written a biography on C. S. Lewis who by all accounts was a Christian apologist. His agnosticism comes through very clearly in this short work in which he recounts the experience of making a BBC television documentary on the life of Lewis.

I thought this book was readable and at times very interesting with quite a few anecdotes that explain A. N. Wilson's position on matters that unavoidably arise when re-visiting the works of Lewis.

[Daniel]

I hung in more than half way. But this miserable fellow doesn’t even like his subject. Doesn’t even like the Narnia stories., tho he read them to his children and they loved them. He imagines Lewis writing them, “smelly”.

Was contracted to write his first bio of CS Lewis, and had to come back fro one more bite at the apple with this book.

But why?

He is utterly miserable. His transparency is the only thing good. But if one has a window, maybe one wishes to look at the sea, and not a butcher.

With regard to CSL, I had our my own ideas, good and critical both, and I wonder how anyone would have been such a misanthrope to write this?

I seem to recall Lewis had a private secretary named Wilson or some such. I wonder if Wilson was some bizarre mixup on that seeming connection. Tho of course that can’t be it.

Whatever the reason, he has looked on the whole project as “cursed”, his words, culminating in even the death of his contractor at the publishers (whom seems a loss, to a violent car wreck). And his recognition of his own atheism (tho he is careful not to credit CS with that, tho it developed in the reading of his book he says).

Oh. And he despises, but then says he came to like, Tolkien’s son Christopher, who is simply derivative in his father and Lewis, and taught the author at Oxford. And writer says CT cannot offer a thought without invoking these other men.

Well, that is one too many hits on one too many men. Without a redeeming feature in the offing at 60pct or so of the way.

Then we go farther up and farther in to his marriage and disappointments. Yes, youth’s hopes are not repaid kindly in old age, but he does try to impart some of this to us. Too much.

Perhaps someone will tell me that I quit just a moment too soon. But I have begun to take some joy in leaving misanthrope’s company.

[Josiah Richardson]

Wilson writes here both a short biography about Lewis, but also a memoir of sorts on how the author approached the task of writing on a man who he respected but didn't like. He didn't like many of Lewis' writings, he didn't like the vigilante tactics of Lewis' on fields he didn't have proper training in, and he didn't want to ensconce himself any further into the man than he already had done so. Still yet, even Wilson couldn't deny the objective brilliance of Lewis and he could not keep himself from being moved by his words. As far as biographies go, this one isn't that good. But as far as recognizing the greatness of Lewis' life, it does well.

[Yvonne]

A short interesting read but, as I had already seen the BBC4 documentary on which this essay was clearly based, there was little material about C.S. Lewis here that I had not already heard before. However, the sections of the essay in which A.N. Wilson discussed his own standpoint on matters dear to Lewis's heart were interesting to read.
This Kindle Single did contain many typos. A.N. Wilson strikes me as a rather pedantic chap. I had to wonder what he made of this poor editing and formatting of his writing.

[Roberta Westwood]

Surprised me

I have not read The Narnia Chronicles, nor C S Lewis at all, so was unsure about reading this. But it was an Audible Plus free title about to expire, so I thought I would give it a try. It was absolutely fascinating, although it was much about the author’s thoughts on C S Lewis than a biography. Wilson has written an official Lewis biography, so this was a look back at his own life, eventually as an agnostic, in relation to Lewis’ views, with Narnia as the context. It was a short but engaging listen.

I listened to the Audible audiobook.

[Nat]

This is the short memoir of Wilson's relationship with C.S.Lewis as a reader and biographer. Some of his accounts are fascinating especially earlier on with Wilson's conversion to atheism partly he recalls as a result of reading Lewis. Wilson provides a very different lens through which to view Lewis rather than simply that of the devoted fan seen in Downing or McGrath. However, there is often cynicism and negativity that is very unwarranted.

[Alexander Amatosi]

This is a great book of one person's experience of the great CS Lewis. I would highly recommend it if you have read Wilson's balanced biography as a supplement to what he REALLY thought about the man; or you could read it as a standalone work to find out more about the chap who wrote the Narnia novels. All in all, an excellent book!

[Andy]

A short, fizzing, polemic, this extended essay is, if anything, as much about the author as his subject. But this is no bad thing. A useful analysis of the life, loves and faith of two very different men united by a passion for words.

[Mark Gibbs]

A great corrective to Wilson's earlier biography - a much more personal memoir of how Lewis touched on the life of Wilson. Very good indeed but far too short!

[Brenda Rae]

The author is an ass. If he finds Narnia nauseating, well, I’ve no use for his opinion.