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The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community
C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were members of a writing group known as the Inklings, a group that also included novelist Charles Williams, historian Warren Lewis, and philosopher Owen Barfield. In this groundbreaking book, Diana Glyer invites readers into the heart of their meetings, showing how encouragement, criticism, and collaboration changed The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other important works. While this book is a must for those who read Lewis or Tolkien, it will also appeal to those who are interested in the writing process, small-group interaction, the nature of creativity, and the various ways that artists challenge, correct, and encourage one another as they work together in community.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2006
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1107 people want to read
About the author
Diana Pavlac Glyer
21 books191 followersDiana Pavlac Glyer thinks that studying faded pencil marks on dusty manuscripts is more fun than going to Disneyland. That's why she has spent more than 40 years combing through archives and lurking in libraries. She is a leading expert on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings. Her book "The Company They Keep" changed the way we talk about these writers. Read more of her work on the Inklings in "BANDERSNATCH: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings." Bandersnatch is practical and really inspiring. Her scholarship, her teaching, and her work as an artist all circle back to one common theme: creativity thrives in community.
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November 8, 2015Until I read this book, Humphrey Carpenter's Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends, published nearly thirty years ago, was the most comprehensive treatment of the group that I had ever encountered. It wasn't all that comprehensive, being focused mainly on C.S. Lewis as the central figure. Though the book was an engaging read, Carpenter tended to summarize and judge the Inklings' subsidiary writings for the reader, skipping mention of others altogether. Carpenter's main thesis appeared to be that these extremely intelligent, highly idiosyncratic scholars and writers had little influence on one another; as proof he quoted from some of their letters, reported statements, and even essays in which they made similar claims. Yet in the middle of the book he gives us a fictionalized chapter of a "typical" Inklings meeting, in which it's clear that they did indeed participate in a lively and vigorous way in following one another's work.
Perhaps the sticking point was the word "influence" -- as if a writer's work is somehow diminished if he or she is not perceived to have completed creative work in total isolation. Beginning with the conviction, as Diana Pavlac Glyer says, "That each author's work is embedded in the work of others, and each author's life is intertwined with the lives of others," she proceeds, without the slightest hint of poisonous academic innuendo, to thoroughly dismantle Carpenter's argument.
The level of scholarship in this book is the first thing that impressed me. Glyer has read everything by, and about, the Inklings. Not just that, she's up on the latest thinking about the process of writing and collaboration -- not just from a literary view, but from a psychological and sociological perspective. The authorities upon which she draws range from Harold Bloom's hothouse-fervid The Anxiety of Influence to Karen Burke LeFevre's Invention as a Social Act.
Against this wider discussion of the process of creation, specifically how writers interact with other writers, whether in formal groups or informally, Glyer gives us a careful picture of the Inklings' history as a group, then breaks out for discussion of each member.
As one would expect, she pays the closest attention to Tolkien and Lewis, but each gets a considered look at his place in the Inklings, and his work overall. She then focuses on the Inklings within the context of LeFevre's four roles of writers in interaction: as resonators, opponents, editors, and collaborators.
Each chapter is followed by superlative notes. I learned things about the Inklings that I had never known in forty years of familiarity with them, for example the playful mock-legal battle that Owen Barfield and C.S. Lewis wrote and published (126 copies!) called "Mark vs. Tristram." This sparked by the academic firestorm caused by the appearance of Eugene Vinaver's three volume The Works of Sir Thomas Malory, specifically the debates about whether or not Malory's rather unsavory biographical details besmirched his stories about valor and virtue.
Glyer's well-chosen quotes bring these men alive. One gains a sense of their mutual appreciation, the agreeable vigor of their debate, the passion they brought to the subjects they loved -- and the glee they took in spoofing one another, as well as literary and philosophical shibboleths of the day. She not only discusses well-known works, and critiques thereof, but describes projects abandoned, both collaborative and single.
Given the level of scholarship here, the second impressive thing about this book is the clarity and charm of the prose. A young scholar new to the Inklings' work could enjoy this book and follow the arguments with as much enthusiasm as those of us long acquainted with the writers. It would have been so easy to produce an impenetrable tome, given the vastness of the research -- works cited alone requires twenty pages of tiny print. But Glyer achieves that rarity: an academically rigorous work that is fun to read.
And that brings me to the third impressive thing, which is the supporting material. Each chapter contains full notes at the end, every single one shedding extra light on the referenced text or interchange. Then there is a superb Appendix, beginning with "The Inklings: Their Lives and Works," by David Bratman, the aforementioned "Works Cited," and an Index that serves as a model of precision and lucidity.
This book is a must for libraries, and for anyone interested in the Inklings and their works.
Perhaps the sticking point was the word "influence" -- as if a writer's work is somehow diminished if he or she is not perceived to have completed creative work in total isolation. Beginning with the conviction, as Diana Pavlac Glyer says, "That each author's work is embedded in the work of others, and each author's life is intertwined with the lives of others," she proceeds, without the slightest hint of poisonous academic innuendo, to thoroughly dismantle Carpenter's argument.
The level of scholarship in this book is the first thing that impressed me. Glyer has read everything by, and about, the Inklings. Not just that, she's up on the latest thinking about the process of writing and collaboration -- not just from a literary view, but from a psychological and sociological perspective. The authorities upon which she draws range from Harold Bloom's hothouse-fervid The Anxiety of Influence to Karen Burke LeFevre's Invention as a Social Act.
Against this wider discussion of the process of creation, specifically how writers interact with other writers, whether in formal groups or informally, Glyer gives us a careful picture of the Inklings' history as a group, then breaks out for discussion of each member.
As one would expect, she pays the closest attention to Tolkien and Lewis, but each gets a considered look at his place in the Inklings, and his work overall. She then focuses on the Inklings within the context of LeFevre's four roles of writers in interaction: as resonators, opponents, editors, and collaborators.
Each chapter is followed by superlative notes. I learned things about the Inklings that I had never known in forty years of familiarity with them, for example the playful mock-legal battle that Owen Barfield and C.S. Lewis wrote and published (126 copies!) called "Mark vs. Tristram." This sparked by the academic firestorm caused by the appearance of Eugene Vinaver's three volume The Works of Sir Thomas Malory, specifically the debates about whether or not Malory's rather unsavory biographical details besmirched his stories about valor and virtue.
Glyer's well-chosen quotes bring these men alive. One gains a sense of their mutual appreciation, the agreeable vigor of their debate, the passion they brought to the subjects they loved -- and the glee they took in spoofing one another, as well as literary and philosophical shibboleths of the day. She not only discusses well-known works, and critiques thereof, but describes projects abandoned, both collaborative and single.
Given the level of scholarship here, the second impressive thing about this book is the clarity and charm of the prose. A young scholar new to the Inklings' work could enjoy this book and follow the arguments with as much enthusiasm as those of us long acquainted with the writers. It would have been so easy to produce an impenetrable tome, given the vastness of the research -- works cited alone requires twenty pages of tiny print. But Glyer achieves that rarity: an academically rigorous work that is fun to read.
And that brings me to the third impressive thing, which is the supporting material. Each chapter contains full notes at the end, every single one shedding extra light on the referenced text or interchange. Then there is a superb Appendix, beginning with "The Inklings: Their Lives and Works," by David Bratman, the aforementioned "Works Cited," and an Index that serves as a model of precision and lucidity.
This book is a must for libraries, and for anyone interested in the Inklings and their works.
September 30, 2022
I've heard other Inklings scholars claim colloquially that over the course of the twenty-plus years of research Glyer put into writing this book, she read every available word that every Inkling ever wrote, published and unpublished.
It's a staggering claim, one very few could honestly make. But after reading this book, I believe it.
The Company They Keep is a work of scholarship par excellence, practically perfect, and an exemplar of the level of contribution a tenured humanities professor ought to make to the field. I read it through for fun; I reread bits of piecemeal in grad school; I look forward to reading it again.
It's a staggering claim, one very few could honestly make. But after reading this book, I believe it.
The Company They Keep is a work of scholarship par excellence, practically perfect, and an exemplar of the level of contribution a tenured humanities professor ought to make to the field. I read it through for fun; I reread bits of piecemeal in grad school; I look forward to reading it again.
February 4, 2023
A superbly well-researched and meticulously-cited study by a Lewis scholar I don’t know well. She organizes the book chapters conceptually based on the kinds of interactions Inklings had: influences, resonators, opponents, editors, collaborators, referents, and she concludes with creativity. At the back are small biographies of the main members. In a few places it felt like she threw in stuff she didn’t know what else to do with, and I think the writing could have been streamlined a little more. Glyer is often on the defensive, having to push for her case that the Inklings did influence one another (apparently in response to other scholars who argue they didn't?). Rather than saying the Inklings were collectively the same, or all different, Glyer says, “these cooperative relationships thrive because of the ways in which opposites attract and then enhance one another” (pg 32). The very differences themselves were the foundation. Overall, a very good piece of scholarship.
I next want to read Glyer’s condensed version of this book: Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings.
I next want to read Glyer’s condensed version of this book: Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings.
October 12, 2022
In my mind, this is one of the most important books in Inklings Studies, with a transformative view of the ways that C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield and other Oxford-connected Christian poets and scholars worked in a variety of forms of collaboration to produce some of the more important and astounding works of literature and critical thought in the 20th-century.
Although Diana Pavlac Glyer is the most quoted and referenced scholar among the nearly 1,300 pieces at A Pilgrim in Narnia, I've not written a review of this book specifically. To understand what this book does, check out:
-"Bandersnatch and Creative Collaboration by Diana Pavlac Glyer" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2016/09/...
-This piece shows the importance of Glyer's argument: "The Doom and Destiny of Tolkien’s Chaucer Research: A Note on John M. Bowers, Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer (2019)" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2021/11/...
-I have a brief note here: "7 New Audiobooks on C.S. Lewis" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2019/07/...
-And a brief note about Bandersnatch here: https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2021/09/...
Although Diana Pavlac Glyer is the most quoted and referenced scholar among the nearly 1,300 pieces at A Pilgrim in Narnia, I've not written a review of this book specifically. To understand what this book does, check out:
-"Bandersnatch and Creative Collaboration by Diana Pavlac Glyer" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2016/09/...
-This piece shows the importance of Glyer's argument: "The Doom and Destiny of Tolkien’s Chaucer Research: A Note on John M. Bowers, Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer (2019)" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2021/11/...
-I have a brief note here: "7 New Audiobooks on C.S. Lewis" https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2019/07/...
-And a brief note about Bandersnatch here: https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2021/09/...
May 19, 2008
It is a wonderfully thought provoking book. Easy to read, very clear writing, and incredibly well referenced. The extensive footnotes at the end of each chapter were just as rewarding as the chapter itself.
The book is a study of literary influence, using the Inklings as a case study. There has (evidentially) been a great deal of denial over the mutual influence of the Inklings on any particular member’s particular work. First, the author goes through the four previously defined types of literary influence (Someone else’s seminal work defined these 4 types, our author uses that as a frame, and then adds a fifth type) and shows how the Inklings provided that particular role for each other; second, she puzzles out why literary influence should be such an inflammatory topic. Following that is an appendix giving a brief biographical sketch of each Inkling, and even the Appendix is excellent.
It was clear, well organized, well written, thought provoking, extraordinarily well referenced .. my only complaint is that her second section was so short.
For anyone fascinated by literary influence theory or Inkling studies. I'll be re-reading this book.
The book is a study of literary influence, using the Inklings as a case study. There has (evidentially) been a great deal of denial over the mutual influence of the Inklings on any particular member’s particular work. First, the author goes through the four previously defined types of literary influence (Someone else’s seminal work defined these 4 types, our author uses that as a frame, and then adds a fifth type) and shows how the Inklings provided that particular role for each other; second, she puzzles out why literary influence should be such an inflammatory topic. Following that is an appendix giving a brief biographical sketch of each Inkling, and even the Appendix is excellent.
It was clear, well organized, well written, thought provoking, extraordinarily well referenced .. my only complaint is that her second section was so short.
For anyone fascinated by literary influence theory or Inkling studies. I'll be re-reading this book.
October 18, 2011
This is one of the most important Inklings studies in the last few years (the others are Planet Narnia, C.S. Lewis on the Final Frontier, The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams & His Contemporaries, and C.S. Lewis & the Church). If you had to pick just two, I would recommend this one and Planet Narnia. This is a lovely, lively, fascinating study of the many ways that the Inklings influenced one another. As a writer in community myself, I found it very encouraging.
April 2, 2020
Earlier this year I read Diana Pavlac Glyer's Bandersnatch and absolutely adored it. That reading led me to this earlier, more scholarly look at The Inklings and their influence over each other. The Company They Keep is simply full of tiny tidbits of delightful information about The Inklings. It is dense and scholarly but don't skip the notes if you do read it. I think I may have underlined as many of them as I did the regular text. I used Chapter 8 as a basis for my recent talk on creativity and collaboration. It has also provided more fodder for my continuing quest to find out just where CS Lewis and his friends did walk.
In addition, it is also a great 'writers' book. It gives you a peak into the lives of all The Inklings and their habits of writing.
#2020f0r20reads #theliterarylifepodcast
In addition, it is also a great 'writers' book. It gives you a peak into the lives of all The Inklings and their habits of writing.
#2020f0r20reads #theliterarylifepodcast
October 2, 2009
Several books and articles have been written about the literary group known as the Inklings, but this is one of the best and most informative.
The Inklings were a group of friends who met in Oxford to read to each other, and criticise each other's work. There were 19 members of the group, though they were not all present at every gathering, and joined and left at various times. At the core of the group was C.S. Lewis, and most of the other members were his friends. Among the most active members were C.S. Lewis's brother Warren Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. The book has an appendix listing all 19, with a potted biography of each.
Glyer shows how the members of the group influenced one another, and challenges the view of many scholars that there was no such influence. She notes that an entire generation of scholars was discouraged from studying or asserting mutual influence among the Inklings when C.S. Lewis warned a correspondent who asked about influence among the Inklings that he should not "waste time" on a "barren field". Glyer argues that there was a tendency to confuse influence with imitation. "In claiming that Tolkien was not influenced by Lewis, for example, scholars typically mean that his sub-created world does not resemble Malacandra and his creative aesthetic is different from that which envisioned Narnia."
The Inklings were not a literary school with a common point of view, and they sometimes disagreed vehemently over the merits of each other's works. Tolkien disliked Lewis's Narnia stories, Hugo Dyson poured scorn on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, they did influence one another, not merely in the comments on the work that was read, but in joint literary endeavours, in dedicating their work to each other, reviewing each other's work, and occasionally recommending it to publishers.
The negative attitude towards influence is a relatively recent phenomenon, and is a result of post-Enlightenment individualism, where there is an excessive concern for originality and "genius". Barfield explained that the concept of independent creativity emerged well after the Renaissance. Before the Renaissance "genius" is a spirit-being other than the poet himself, and they would say "he has a genius". After the Renaissance the inspiration is seen as part of the poet himself and we say "he is a genius".
Lewis and Tolkien agreed that if they wanted to see the kind of stories they liked, they would have to write them themselves, and this influenced Lewis to write his space trilogy, though Tolkien never completed his contribution, which was to be based on time. To children who wrote to ask Lewis to write more Narnian stories, he replied that he had no more to say, but there was plenty of room for them to contribute their own.
Glyer concludes "I am persuaded that writers do not create text out of thin air in a fit of personal inspiration. I believe that the most common and natural expressions of creativity occur as part of an ongoing dialogue between writers, readers, texts, and contexts. This truth is exemplified by the weekly meetings of the Inklings. It is manifest in their relationships with family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. And it is expressed in many of their own statements about the creative process. As Williams reminds us, an emphasis on isolated individuals must give way to an interactive view of life, culture and creativity."
I think Glyer makes a very good case for this, and I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed reading anything written by the Inklings. It gives new insights into their lives and their works.
The Inklings were a group of friends who met in Oxford to read to each other, and criticise each other's work. There were 19 members of the group, though they were not all present at every gathering, and joined and left at various times. At the core of the group was C.S. Lewis, and most of the other members were his friends. Among the most active members were C.S. Lewis's brother Warren Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. The book has an appendix listing all 19, with a potted biography of each.
Glyer shows how the members of the group influenced one another, and challenges the view of many scholars that there was no such influence. She notes that an entire generation of scholars was discouraged from studying or asserting mutual influence among the Inklings when C.S. Lewis warned a correspondent who asked about influence among the Inklings that he should not "waste time" on a "barren field". Glyer argues that there was a tendency to confuse influence with imitation. "In claiming that Tolkien was not influenced by Lewis, for example, scholars typically mean that his sub-created world does not resemble Malacandra and his creative aesthetic is different from that which envisioned Narnia."
The Inklings were not a literary school with a common point of view, and they sometimes disagreed vehemently over the merits of each other's works. Tolkien disliked Lewis's Narnia stories, Hugo Dyson poured scorn on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, they did influence one another, not merely in the comments on the work that was read, but in joint literary endeavours, in dedicating their work to each other, reviewing each other's work, and occasionally recommending it to publishers.
The negative attitude towards influence is a relatively recent phenomenon, and is a result of post-Enlightenment individualism, where there is an excessive concern for originality and "genius". Barfield explained that the concept of independent creativity emerged well after the Renaissance. Before the Renaissance "genius" is a spirit-being other than the poet himself, and they would say "he has a genius". After the Renaissance the inspiration is seen as part of the poet himself and we say "he is a genius".
Lewis and Tolkien agreed that if they wanted to see the kind of stories they liked, they would have to write them themselves, and this influenced Lewis to write his space trilogy, though Tolkien never completed his contribution, which was to be based on time. To children who wrote to ask Lewis to write more Narnian stories, he replied that he had no more to say, but there was plenty of room for them to contribute their own.
Glyer concludes "I am persuaded that writers do not create text out of thin air in a fit of personal inspiration. I believe that the most common and natural expressions of creativity occur as part of an ongoing dialogue between writers, readers, texts, and contexts. This truth is exemplified by the weekly meetings of the Inklings. It is manifest in their relationships with family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. And it is expressed in many of their own statements about the creative process. As Williams reminds us, an emphasis on isolated individuals must give way to an interactive view of life, culture and creativity."
I think Glyer makes a very good case for this, and I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed reading anything written by the Inklings. It gives new insights into their lives and their works.
January 24, 2019
Astounding. Definitely in my top 20. Glyer's research is a great cathedral, her insight is the spires. She contradicts famous scholars (like Inklings biographer Humphrey Carpenter) who claim the Inklings had no influence on each other. Like a treasure hunter, Glyer dives into deep research and leaves no stone unturned to prove Carpenter flat wrong.
C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and other lesser known Inklings exerted deliberate, grateful, even gleeful influence on each other. Editing, combatting, encouraging, and borrowing from one another formed the to-do list of each meeting. They reveled in this mutual impact. Wisely, they scorned our modern, post-Enlightenment obsession with the "solitary genius" who must create something entirely new/original to be worth mentioning.
Lewis coincidentally summarized the Inklings' own views of the glory of influence when he defended the medieval scholar's love for hat tips galore: "Spin something out of one’s own head when the world teems with so many noble deeds, wholesome examples, pitiful tragedies, strange adventures, and merry jests which have never yet been set forth quite so well as they deserve? The originality which we regard as a sign of wealth might have seemed to them a confession of poverty."
Chapter 8 (especially pp. 215-26) gets the gold star. Simply magnificent.
C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and other lesser known Inklings exerted deliberate, grateful, even gleeful influence on each other. Editing, combatting, encouraging, and borrowing from one another formed the to-do list of each meeting. They reveled in this mutual impact. Wisely, they scorned our modern, post-Enlightenment obsession with the "solitary genius" who must create something entirely new/original to be worth mentioning.
Lewis coincidentally summarized the Inklings' own views of the glory of influence when he defended the medieval scholar's love for hat tips galore: "Spin something out of one’s own head when the world teems with so many noble deeds, wholesome examples, pitiful tragedies, strange adventures, and merry jests which have never yet been set forth quite so well as they deserve? The originality which we regard as a sign of wealth might have seemed to them a confession of poverty."
Chapter 8 (especially pp. 215-26) gets the gold star. Simply magnificent.
March 29, 2019
I started this reluctantly, thinking there was nothing more to tell about the Inklings, and Glyer proved me wrong. With much research behind her she deftly shows how “Creativity thrives in community.” very enlightening read!
September 12, 2017
I cannot say enough to recommend Glyer's book to anyone interested in Inklings studies. Thoroughly researched, carefully constructed, and engagingly written, it is an achievement which justly deserves the praise and respect it has received.
The Company They Keep takes a deep dive into the question of precisely how Tolkien, Lewis, and the others in their circle did (or did not) influence each other. Glyer identifies a trend in Inklings studies which seemed to deny great influence between the writers. While this trend was itself trying to correct some false notions, Glyer shows that downplaying influence too much is unhelpful, and indeed untrue. To demonstrate this, she not only analyzes a bevy of examples of collaboration amongst the Inklings, but she also looks critically at our greater cultural notions about influence and creativity.
Glyer shows that, in many ways, the modern view of influence is too narrow. We tend to place great emphasis on the idea of solitary genius, failing to comprehend just how much each creator depends on a supporting community to produce any great achievement. As a visual artist who has always loved working with other creatives, I greatly appreciated this aspect of the book. Not only did Glyer help me think more deeply about the Inklings and their nature as a group, but she also expanded my thinking on the nature of influence itself. I know the analysis of collaboration and community I encountered here will benefit me greatly in both academic and artistic endeavors in the future.
On a final note, I want to say again what an example of academic achievement this book is. In a rather serendipitous alignment of events, I happened to read this work while at the same time entering (rather gingerly) the world of research and research writing. In this area, The Company They Keep is an excellent example of technique to observe, learn from, and emulate. Glyer presents her arguments meticulously and is very considerate of her readers. The level of scholarship and skill evident in every page may be a bit daunting, but ultimately I found it extremely inspiring. I don't really plan to ever write a book, but I have other personal artistic and academic goals. I came away from this book encouraged that I may one day achieve those goals, if I go at them with a similar passion, patience, and persistence (and stay connected to my own creative communities).
The Company They Keep takes a deep dive into the question of precisely how Tolkien, Lewis, and the others in their circle did (or did not) influence each other. Glyer identifies a trend in Inklings studies which seemed to deny great influence between the writers. While this trend was itself trying to correct some false notions, Glyer shows that downplaying influence too much is unhelpful, and indeed untrue. To demonstrate this, she not only analyzes a bevy of examples of collaboration amongst the Inklings, but she also looks critically at our greater cultural notions about influence and creativity.
Glyer shows that, in many ways, the modern view of influence is too narrow. We tend to place great emphasis on the idea of solitary genius, failing to comprehend just how much each creator depends on a supporting community to produce any great achievement. As a visual artist who has always loved working with other creatives, I greatly appreciated this aspect of the book. Not only did Glyer help me think more deeply about the Inklings and their nature as a group, but she also expanded my thinking on the nature of influence itself. I know the analysis of collaboration and community I encountered here will benefit me greatly in both academic and artistic endeavors in the future.
On a final note, I want to say again what an example of academic achievement this book is. In a rather serendipitous alignment of events, I happened to read this work while at the same time entering (rather gingerly) the world of research and research writing. In this area, The Company They Keep is an excellent example of technique to observe, learn from, and emulate. Glyer presents her arguments meticulously and is very considerate of her readers. The level of scholarship and skill evident in every page may be a bit daunting, but ultimately I found it extremely inspiring. I don't really plan to ever write a book, but I have other personal artistic and academic goals. I came away from this book encouraged that I may one day achieve those goals, if I go at them with a similar passion, patience, and persistence (and stay connected to my own creative communities).
October 2, 2022
Terrifically in-depth, this study on the influence of the Inklings on each other will satisfy the thirst brought on anyone who has read Dr. Glyer's shorter book "Bandersnatch". There is so much encouragement in this for not only the subcreators but Christians living the Christian life. We all need a close circle in accomplishing our goals; we cannot go at it alone.
April 29, 2025
A friend of mine and I took our time making our way through this, interacting through notes as we went along. It was a great way to really dive into it and we both pulled a lot from it. Glyer's writing flows clearly, and her telling of the Inklings' story is fascinating. Her research is so well done.
Want to read
January 15, 2018Popularized version is Bandersnatch.
August 10, 2014
Synopsis:
It has been widely and vehemently put forth that the Inklings, a group comprised mainly of writers (including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams) who met regularly to read their works to each other over the course of more than fifteen years, was simply and solely a social club. Biographers, scholars, and in some cases the Inklings themselves have denied that the members of the group either exerted influence over or were influenced by the others. Ms. Glyer, however, presents a convincing argument that it is a gross error to take such statements at face value.
In The Company They Keep, Ms. Glyer defines and delineates a number of areas in which the various Inklings did indeed have an impact not only on each other’s personal lives as friends, but also on their professional lives and works as colleagues. Exhaustive evidence is provided to support these claims, demonstrating how these men acted and reacted upon each other as resonators, encouragers, sometime opponents, editors, collaborators, and referents.
Comments:
In the course of proving the influence of the Inklings on one another, Ms. Glyer makes a strong case for the importance of community in the life of every writer.
It has been widely and vehemently put forth that the Inklings, a group comprised mainly of writers (including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams) who met regularly to read their works to each other over the course of more than fifteen years, was simply and solely a social club. Biographers, scholars, and in some cases the Inklings themselves have denied that the members of the group either exerted influence over or were influenced by the others. Ms. Glyer, however, presents a convincing argument that it is a gross error to take such statements at face value.
In The Company They Keep, Ms. Glyer defines and delineates a number of areas in which the various Inklings did indeed have an impact not only on each other’s personal lives as friends, but also on their professional lives and works as colleagues. Exhaustive evidence is provided to support these claims, demonstrating how these men acted and reacted upon each other as resonators, encouragers, sometime opponents, editors, collaborators, and referents.
Comments:
In the course of proving the influence of the Inklings on one another, Ms. Glyer makes a strong case for the importance of community in the life of every writer.
January 21, 2016
I am a fringe Inkling follower. I was fascinated to discover that the creators of such famous literary works as The Chronicles and Lord of the Rings were such close personal friends and influenced each other through very common means.
This book strikes a good balance of being completely academic yet approachable for the common reader who is interested in the Inklings. Glyer sets out the bigger picture by defining common methods of influence in community, and then proceeds to show how those played out amongst the inklings.
It was interesting to learn how such brilliant minds lived such simple lives, and it was that simple living that allowed them to meet regularly and influence each other.
Glyer also emphasizes that their friendship was rooted in their common Christian belief.
In 2015, we had the opportunity to meet Diana Glyer at a conference of the Inklings Society held at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Glyer was the keynote speaker and spoke on the Inklings and writing in community. She was very approachable and showed a true passion for her work... and we learned she has a new book in the works which will be even more accessible for those non-academics like myself.
This book strikes a good balance of being completely academic yet approachable for the common reader who is interested in the Inklings. Glyer sets out the bigger picture by defining common methods of influence in community, and then proceeds to show how those played out amongst the inklings.
It was interesting to learn how such brilliant minds lived such simple lives, and it was that simple living that allowed them to meet regularly and influence each other.
Glyer also emphasizes that their friendship was rooted in their common Christian belief.
In 2015, we had the opportunity to meet Diana Glyer at a conference of the Inklings Society held at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Glyer was the keynote speaker and spoke on the Inklings and writing in community. She was very approachable and showed a true passion for her work... and we learned she has a new book in the works which will be even more accessible for those non-academics like myself.
slow-digestion
December 29, 2010I heard about this book in 2008, and ordered it off Amazon, not realizing I'd get a chance to meet author Diana Pavlac Glyer that very month! I haven't finished the book yet, since it keeps getting borrowed by insistent friends (and I'm still prioritizing going through my list of Lewis-authored books), but it is certainly a good take on the creative exchanges that took place between CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and the rest of the Oxford coterie known as the Inklings.
May 7, 2009
Excellent study, not only of the Inklings and how they added and abetted one another, but also how many writers--all artists of all ilks--may profit from connecting to a similar community. Well done.
February 13, 2012
A joy to re-read - one of the most revealing portraits of the Inklings I have read. Highly recommnend.
August 10, 2014
Best scholarship on Lewis to come out in 20 years
March 13, 2021
It's been almost exactly a year since my desk was absolutely buried in books on Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings, so it was obviously time to revisit some of my favorite people, though a scholarly work!
One note: this books is the much more academic look by Diana Pavlac Glyer at the influences of the Inklings on one another; she does have a book, Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings, that is a more approachable look at this topic, for people who don't necessarily want to be caught up in footnotes and scholarly debates for 200-some pages. :)
I absolutely adored this! Glyer capably dismantles the harmful myth that has sprouted in the Inkling-scholar community that they didn't influence each other, talking about the copious amounts of influence that were actually present, and even discussion different types of influence and how they were present. Each chapter is on a different type of influence, which was a lovely way of organizing it.
At the same time, it is also full of ridiculous and delightful anecdotes about the Inklings, like the time Lewis and Barfield had a mock legal battle over Tristram and King Mark I of Cornwall, and the fake "Society of Cretaceous Perambulators" exam that Barfield and Havard made Lewis take.
My only critique of this is that the footnotes were at the back of each chapter (better than at the back of the book, for sure), but it would have been nice to have them at the bottom of each page. But that is SUCH a minor consideration!
Four stars! Definitely going to revisit this! (And for those of you who follow my blog...you'll definitely be seeing some posts inspired by this work in the near future!)
One note: this books is the much more academic look by Diana Pavlac Glyer at the influences of the Inklings on one another; she does have a book, Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings, that is a more approachable look at this topic, for people who don't necessarily want to be caught up in footnotes and scholarly debates for 200-some pages. :)
I absolutely adored this! Glyer capably dismantles the harmful myth that has sprouted in the Inkling-scholar community that they didn't influence each other, talking about the copious amounts of influence that were actually present, and even discussion different types of influence and how they were present. Each chapter is on a different type of influence, which was a lovely way of organizing it.
At the same time, it is also full of ridiculous and delightful anecdotes about the Inklings, like the time Lewis and Barfield had a mock legal battle over Tristram and King Mark I of Cornwall, and the fake "Society of Cretaceous Perambulators" exam that Barfield and Havard made Lewis take.
My only critique of this is that the footnotes were at the back of each chapter (better than at the back of the book, for sure), but it would have been nice to have them at the bottom of each page. But that is SUCH a minor consideration!
Four stars! Definitely going to revisit this! (And for those of you who follow my blog...you'll definitely be seeing some posts inspired by this work in the near future!)
November 13, 2022
This was quite enjoyable: closely researched, smoothly and clearly written, not without humour, and at its centre a compelling argument for the necessity of community in the creative process, using one particularly compelling community as its example and focus. I quite appreciated the last chapter as the ''so what'' of the book . It was the cherry on top that elevated the book from an eloquent nerd-out session to something heftier.
Other things I enjoyed: the insistence that context determines meaning. The lovely tidbits you could find in the chapter endnotes (I have never seen chapter endnotes in a book before, although perhaps I do not read the right sort of books; I kind of like it better than endnotes. Less intimidating! More readable!) The practical common sense. The respect Glyer extended, like her subjects, to those she disagreed with even as she was strongly disagreeing with them. The vividness with which the Inklings' healthy group culture was portrayed.
The only thing that I didn't appreciate was the highly structured format, with a ''conclusions'' subtitle at the end of each chapter; but this is a minor quibble because heavens, I would far rather an overly-structured piece of academic writing than a muddy and foggy one.
Very nicely done, Glyer.
Other things I enjoyed: the insistence that context determines meaning. The lovely tidbits you could find in the chapter endnotes (I have never seen chapter endnotes in a book before, although perhaps I do not read the right sort of books; I kind of like it better than endnotes. Less intimidating! More readable!) The practical common sense. The respect Glyer extended, like her subjects, to those she disagreed with even as she was strongly disagreeing with them. The vividness with which the Inklings' healthy group culture was portrayed.
The only thing that I didn't appreciate was the highly structured format, with a ''conclusions'' subtitle at the end of each chapter; but this is a minor quibble because heavens, I would far rather an overly-structured piece of academic writing than a muddy and foggy one.
Very nicely done, Glyer.
February 1, 2019
This book was one of my favorites because it had some of my favorite authors in it such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In this book written by a fan of the Inklings writers club it explains the history of the Inklings starting with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. When they were young they looked at each other and instantly hated each other, but as they got older they saw they had similarities and became very good friends. The Inklings was created from a high school writing club that was quickly demolished because the lack of members. C.S. Lewis was one of the only members, but after a little while made a new group and named it after the original group. The rest of the book explains the creation of some of the greatest authors and books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2023
This book looks at CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and the other Inkling writers. The author looks at the various ways that these authors influenced each other (both positive and negative). Much of the information is available elsewhere, but the author does a nice job of consolidating it, and augmenting it with information from private letters and other similar sources. The book is very comprehensive. I was particularly interested in the fact that the other Inkling writers thought Charles Williams was the smartest and best writer of all of them.
February 3, 2019
This was a delight to read. Basically, Glyer argues against the (for some reason) common perception that the Inklings had little to no influence on each other and makes her point rather convincingly. Glyer has really done her research and the insight provided into the friendships, rivalries, and collaborations of her subjects is enlightening and delightful. Recommended for anyone interested in the Inklings.
July 14, 2017
Extraordinarily thorough and clear chronicle of the Inklings' influence on each other. Where the book really shines is the author's apologia for collaboration and influence as an inherent and beneficial part of creativity, not a weakness or distraction.
August 4, 2019
A wonderfully well-done book on the writings and scholarship of the Inklings and how the group influenced each other. I enjoyed this book immensely and will definitely keep it on my shelf.
April 2, 2020
DNF. It's an okay biography, just not the one for me.
September 21, 2024
Glyer is one of the very best researchers in the Inklings world.
April 23, 2025
dry and academic
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