Shadows of Imagination: The Fantasies of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams

by Mark Robert Hillegas (Editor)

The twelve original essays in this volume are joined by a common interest in the forms the shadows of an author’ s imagination can take and in analyzing the shapes that can cast such shadows. This collection will be of interest to a wide the general reader, the science-fiction devotee, and students of twentieth-century literature. Taken together, the essays provide a comprehensive view and critical evaluation of the fantasy fiction of Lewis, Tolkien, and Williams.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1969

Reviews

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag. Some essays are dumber than dirt, written by minds shallower than a wet streak on the pavement.

J.B.S. Haldane is shrill and so offended by C.S. Lewis's Christianity; Robert Plank understands Lewis as well as a haystack understands a stallion; and a naked mole rat has more hair than Charles Moorman has logic as he tries to analyze Lewis's and Tolkien's various styles and ambitions.

But W.R. Irwin's analysis on Charles Williams's abilities and choice themes is fantastic. Makes me want to reread the few Williams novels I've read—and to read more.

The real crown, however, is Peter Kreeft's afterward, "The Wonder of The Silmarillion." Kreeft calls “Wonder” what Lewis called Joy or Sehnsucht. It is the same Joy stirred up by Tolkien’s eucatastrophe; it is stirred by all the great tales, because all the great tales are actually the same tale—the best story ever told—and we are still in it: the Story spoken by and born into and bled for by the Author.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literary criticism was so readable in the 60s! My God!

Though I guess it helps that this was a book devoted to literary criticism of genre fiction that was written in the 1960s, which probably causes some selective pressure in terms of what the contributors would be like.

Of course my favorite paper is the one by the Romantic poetry expert, but I did feel as though most of them, even the ones about Williams, whom I've never read, had something inspiring in them. Even the Epilogue was good where it quoted from Lewis on Joy.

The rest of the Epilogue. . .

I mean, I have reason to believe that the 70s was when literary criticism stopped being so readable, anyway, even if that wasn't quite the way I was expecting it to become less readable.

[Sue Bridgwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the earliest collections of papers ever published about the works of these three major mythopoeic writers. It still has great value for anyone interested in looking more deeply into these works.

[Matthew Richey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh... skip it

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of academic essays that explore the fantasy writings of the Inklings. Since l love these authors l enjoyed reading the academic essays. I particularly liked the fact that Charles Williams is included with his more famous friends Lewis and Tolkien. Sadly his books are hard to find. I have read his novels and love the combination of fantasy, horror and underlying theology they contain. We need to read more about Williams- and l wish his books were more easy to find.