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All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis, 1922-1927
A repackaged edition of the revered author’s diary from his early twenties—a thought-provoking work that reveals his earliest thinking about war, atheism, religion, and humanity.
While serving his country in the Great War, C. S. Lewis’ the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, and Christian apologist—made a pact with a close friend and fellow soldier. If one of them died, the survivor would take care of his family—a promise Lewis honored. Developing a deep friendship with his fallen friend’s mother, Jane King Moore, Lewis moved into the Moore household after the war. Returning to Oxford, the twenty-three-year old Lewis—then a staunch atheist—struggled to adapt to life in post-war England. Eager to help the tormented young man, Jane encouraged him keep a diary of his day-to-day life. Those reflections are collected in this illuminating journal.
Covering five remarkable years in Lewis's life, All My Road Before Me charts the inspirations and intellectual and spiritual development of a man whose theology and writing—including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—has had immense influence on the Christian world.
While serving his country in the Great War, C. S. Lewis’ the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, and Christian apologist—made a pact with a close friend and fellow soldier. If one of them died, the survivor would take care of his family—a promise Lewis honored. Developing a deep friendship with his fallen friend’s mother, Jane King Moore, Lewis moved into the Moore household after the war. Returning to Oxford, the twenty-three-year old Lewis—then a staunch atheist—struggled to adapt to life in post-war England. Eager to help the tormented young man, Jane encouraged him keep a diary of his day-to-day life. Those reflections are collected in this illuminating journal.
Covering five remarkable years in Lewis's life, All My Road Before Me charts the inspirations and intellectual and spiritual development of a man whose theology and writing—including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—has had immense influence on the Christian world.
672 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 1991
214 people are currently reading
2131 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,030 books47.8k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 53 reviews
November 12, 2025
I re-read especially the prose sketches at the back of this book, amazed again at the pointed descriptions and apt character assessments that Lewis makes. What skill in writing!!
***** 2011 review ******
These diary entries made fascinating reading for me. Written before C.S. Lewis came to faith as a Christian, they shed light on the Christian-who-is-to-be in Lewis. A non-Lewis-ite probably would find them tedious and a bit odd, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I also read the diary entries of Lewis' brother, Warnie, from the book "Brothers and Friends". Reading about the same event from both brother's differing perspective was really enjoyable!
At the back of the diary are prose sketches of men that Lewis worked with and for and around while an undergraduate at Oxford. These are delightfully written and show both the righteous and the wicked. When you read "That Hideous Strength" you will see some of the characters in that book were pulled from these prose sketches.
***** 2011 review ******
These diary entries made fascinating reading for me. Written before C.S. Lewis came to faith as a Christian, they shed light on the Christian-who-is-to-be in Lewis. A non-Lewis-ite probably would find them tedious and a bit odd, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I also read the diary entries of Lewis' brother, Warnie, from the book "Brothers and Friends". Reading about the same event from both brother's differing perspective was really enjoyable!
At the back of the diary are prose sketches of men that Lewis worked with and for and around while an undergraduate at Oxford. These are delightfully written and show both the righteous and the wicked. When you read "That Hideous Strength" you will see some of the characters in that book were pulled from these prose sketches.
March 28, 2015
C.S. Lewis always aimed to write enjoyable reading, and of course often succeeded. Certainly, this diary is enjoyable; there are no tedious portions to it that I can think of. It is also instructive.
One thing you will learn from it is how to lead the scholarly life, because that's what he chronicles. In fact, his account includes a portion of his life when he was under enormous strain at home with daily life, moving, being poor, having a madman to care for for two weeks and to cap that all off, difficult examinations. Warren Lewis comments on the result of that examination as perhaps his brother's greatest academic achievement. You can read in this book about the experiences and events leading up to it. There are sometimes mythical overstatements of the intellectual powers of C.S. Lewis. Here you get in his own words how he studied, how much he got done in a day, the sorts of setbacks and frustrations he faced.
Another thing that can be learned here and studied is his maturing attitude toward Romanticism. He had to struggle with it not only because it shaped all his moments of pleasure in nature--which delight was a constant thing for him--but also because the episode of a fortnight in close proximity with a raving demented man shook him up and made him approach Romanticism much more responsibly than he would have.
It is interesting to know that he read Richard Hooker--from whom he derives his ideas of church polity, which is important in shaping his Christian writing later on--before he returned to Christianity and for the sake of understanding the period, rather than the Anglican Church.
Much also about his friends in this book, Barfield, Greeves, Harwood, Baker. Not, alas, so much about Tolkien. It does make you wish he'd kept up the practice, but then what eventually he had to do was write letters, of which we have a good remaining amount.
I can't help thinking, reading what is available in this journal, that I wish the biographies to date had made better use of this material.
One thing you will learn from it is how to lead the scholarly life, because that's what he chronicles. In fact, his account includes a portion of his life when he was under enormous strain at home with daily life, moving, being poor, having a madman to care for for two weeks and to cap that all off, difficult examinations. Warren Lewis comments on the result of that examination as perhaps his brother's greatest academic achievement. You can read in this book about the experiences and events leading up to it. There are sometimes mythical overstatements of the intellectual powers of C.S. Lewis. Here you get in his own words how he studied, how much he got done in a day, the sorts of setbacks and frustrations he faced.
Another thing that can be learned here and studied is his maturing attitude toward Romanticism. He had to struggle with it not only because it shaped all his moments of pleasure in nature--which delight was a constant thing for him--but also because the episode of a fortnight in close proximity with a raving demented man shook him up and made him approach Romanticism much more responsibly than he would have.
It is interesting to know that he read Richard Hooker--from whom he derives his ideas of church polity, which is important in shaping his Christian writing later on--before he returned to Christianity and for the sake of understanding the period, rather than the Anglican Church.
Much also about his friends in this book, Barfield, Greeves, Harwood, Baker. Not, alas, so much about Tolkien. It does make you wish he'd kept up the practice, but then what eventually he had to do was write letters, of which we have a good remaining amount.
I can't help thinking, reading what is available in this journal, that I wish the biographies to date had made better use of this material.
March 9, 2016
A fascinating read for any C.S. Lewis enthusiast. This compilation of journal entries provides valuable insight into Lewis's life and studies in his early 20s before becoming a Christian, while also demonstrating how he struggled with many of the very same issues 20-somethings struggle with today - monetary problems, job searching, managing relationships, etc. These journal entries are refreshing to read, for while they do portray Lewis's genius and incredible work ethic, they also show how we was still entirely human.
January 9, 2009
These are C. S. Lewis’ diaries from 1922 - 1927. Nothing tremendously exciting here, just the slow steady ruminations of one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century in it’s youth. C. S. Lewis was an agnostic during these years, living in rural Oxford in a very strange domestic situation. His diaries are full of the books he is reading (and sometimes writing), drinks in pubs with friends and family, his dreams, arguments and conversations with friends like Owen Barfield, Arthur Greaves, and his brother Warren Lewis, forays into the surrounding countryside, as well as holidays in Cornwall and Ireland; a meandering, literary, semi-rustic life which seems very appealing. In a perfect world, the BBC would have made these diaries into a short television series in the late 1970s / early 1980s (they weren’t actually published until the early 1990s). Geoffrey Burgon would have written the music, and it would have been filmed on location in Oxfordshire (you know that idiosyncrasy of British TV from that period where interior scenes are shot in video, and outdoor scenes are shot on film? Perfect.) I think maybe Judi Dench could have played Mrs Moore, Simon Jones would be Warnie; I’m not sure who to cast as Jack, maybe Michael Jayston? But I digress
June 11, 2017
This is a wonderful insight into the young mind of one of the more popular Christian authors before he became a believer. The brilliant mind of C.S. Lewis, the university student, is laid before the reader as the author struggles through the ups and downs of juggling his studies and caring for a fallen comrade's family simultaneously. The diary showcases his thought processes and glimpses into his philosophies, and how they began to be radically changed in the beginning of 1927, when he questions many of the presuppositions he'd assumed. Not even the humdrum of ordinary life and chronicles of seasonal jam-making cause this to be a slow read; Lewis can call a poetic theme out of anything!
February 13, 2020
Great insight into the young pagan Jack Lewis. How encouraging to know that this cruelly critical and unbearably snobby scholar got collared by the Gospel and transformed into the kind, generous man full of grace whom the whole world loves today.
December 30, 2017
While I recommend this diary of five years early in the adulthood of C.S. Lewis, it should be read under two preconditions: 1., the reader has already read much of Lewis' works, especially those dealing with Christian apologetics, philosophy, and literature; 2. read this book by the index, reading those passages that relate to subjects and people one is interested in. This diary is a good insight into the mind of the young Lewis, the atheistic and somewhat embittered soldier from the First World War. As one would expect, he is scrupulously honest in his views and perceptions of the people and their lives that surround him; also, not too surprisingly, he is largely naive regarding himself and those views. If read day-by-day (as I started out doing), it becomes pedestrian, even desperate. But if read by interest, the psychological and philosophical insights arise out of the banal comings-and-goings of a young Oxonian wannabe, and one gains great insights into the intellectual giant, and the redeemed man, he was shortly to become.
September 1, 2025
It is fascinating to read Lewis’s thoughts both before his conversion to Christianity and while he was still struggling to achieve financial and professional stability. It is too easy to think of him as a more complete man, full of wisdom. But his struggles give greater authority to the wisdom he later imparts. And own can see the seeds of much of his wisdom in his daily musings, with a surprising amount centered on Christian texts he would later help illuminate such as Paradise Lost, though his output at the time seems to have been marginal poetry and grumpy feedback to his students. Grumpiness certainly seems to have been a strong character trait in these days, showing how much his conversion must have made not only himself happier, but those who interacted with him daily. He is funny from the start, but some of the humor is cruelly At others’ expense, and he often skips the humor. So one is very thankful he didn’t stay like this, but also very glad to get to know what he was like, and get the indirect correction that comes with self-recognition similar internal trials.
March 7, 2020
How would I feel if someone had taken my Livejournal and Blogger posts as a young adult and compiled them into a large book in which insight was drawn about the way I discussed what was going on in my life? The bigger question is, would anyone bother either to do that sort of thing or to read it? This book only exists because C.S. Lewis later became a world-famous writer of several genres of literature. At the time this diary takes place, Lewis was an undergraduate and then a graduate student at Oxford and the published author of two reasonably well-reviewed but seldom read books of poetry. Obviously afterward a great deal happened, but as of these diary entries little hint of what is to come can be revealed, although the author's general approach to peacemaking, his hard work, his broad base of knowledge, and his immensely wide reading are all in evidence. The root causes of his later excellence as a writer are easy enough to recognize, and Lewis already shows himself to be friends with Owen Barfield and J.R.R. Tolkien (who starts appearing in 1926), which should also increase the interest in this book.
This book is more than 450 pages long and deals with the period of Lewis' life between 1922 and 1927. There is quite a difference in the beginning and the end of this book. At the beginning of the book, the author is a young man who had experienced war but was still an undergraduate being supported by his father while also lying about his living situation (which his father would have strongly disapproved of, considering his son the sort to be taken advantage of by artful women) and beginning work on his poem Dymer. Most of the book is made up of his more voluminous diary entries as an undergraduate in 1922 and 1923. By later years he was more busy and wrote less often, with large gaps between entries. But by the end of these entries, Lewis has a good job that earns him at last 500 pounds a year and that allows him to support his household without problems, and his father has died and Dymer has been published (if not widely read), and Lewis is well on his way to becoming the author that he would be known to be. We can see as well that some of his blind spots (his lack of understanding of women, his general lack of experience with the world as a whole) came from his experiences as a poor young adult who missed out on the chance to study and travel abroad and learn more modern languages and see life in other places than English male-dominated academic spaces. If you are a student of Lewis' writings, this book gives a good look at Lewis the man.
It should be admitted that Lewis does not always come off in a good light here. He has a bit of a waspish sense of humor sometimes, and a lot of the book consists of fretting about money, casual dishonesty towards his father regarding his living situation, or dealing with school drama in the competition over limited positions in academia. Likewise, the author is always looking for reviews for his books and wanting his writing to be published. I'm not saying I can't identify with the author--quite the contrary--I'm just saying that if the author had not wound up to be a world famous theologian, literary scholar, speculative fiction author, and children's author, this book would neither be published nor read. But fortunately for us Lewis did become much more famous and this book is still very interesting and worthwhile, even if much of it is relentlessly quotidian and focused on Lewis' home life and what plays and concerns he goes to and what books he reads and who he talked to at some Oxford pub and how he felt about his essays in class, and so on. I cared about these things enough as a student to write about them as well, but it is always hard to know how much others care about such things.
This book is more than 450 pages long and deals with the period of Lewis' life between 1922 and 1927. There is quite a difference in the beginning and the end of this book. At the beginning of the book, the author is a young man who had experienced war but was still an undergraduate being supported by his father while also lying about his living situation (which his father would have strongly disapproved of, considering his son the sort to be taken advantage of by artful women) and beginning work on his poem Dymer. Most of the book is made up of his more voluminous diary entries as an undergraduate in 1922 and 1923. By later years he was more busy and wrote less often, with large gaps between entries. But by the end of these entries, Lewis has a good job that earns him at last 500 pounds a year and that allows him to support his household without problems, and his father has died and Dymer has been published (if not widely read), and Lewis is well on his way to becoming the author that he would be known to be. We can see as well that some of his blind spots (his lack of understanding of women, his general lack of experience with the world as a whole) came from his experiences as a poor young adult who missed out on the chance to study and travel abroad and learn more modern languages and see life in other places than English male-dominated academic spaces. If you are a student of Lewis' writings, this book gives a good look at Lewis the man.
It should be admitted that Lewis does not always come off in a good light here. He has a bit of a waspish sense of humor sometimes, and a lot of the book consists of fretting about money, casual dishonesty towards his father regarding his living situation, or dealing with school drama in the competition over limited positions in academia. Likewise, the author is always looking for reviews for his books and wanting his writing to be published. I'm not saying I can't identify with the author--quite the contrary--I'm just saying that if the author had not wound up to be a world famous theologian, literary scholar, speculative fiction author, and children's author, this book would neither be published nor read. But fortunately for us Lewis did become much more famous and this book is still very interesting and worthwhile, even if much of it is relentlessly quotidian and focused on Lewis' home life and what plays and concerns he goes to and what books he reads and who he talked to at some Oxford pub and how he felt about his essays in class, and so on. I cared about these things enough as a student to write about them as well, but it is always hard to know how much others care about such things.
October 30, 2018
All My Road Before Me is CS Lewis's journal for the years before his conversion. The book is filled with off-hand insights about life and literature, but my favorite part was learning more about the role that Maureen Moore played in Lewis's life. Lewis essentially adopted Maureen as a daughter/ sister. Maureen wanted to be a musician, and she had a fairly good music teacher in Oxford. After finishing his 3(!) degrees, Lewis was unemployed for months, but he didn't want to accept a position away from Oxford partially because moving would disrupt her potential music career. Lewis eventually got a fellowship in Oxford. If he'd left and accepted a position elsewhere, he would have probably never met JRR Tolkien. Tolkien would have never converted Lewis, Lewis would have never written his apologetics cannon, and Lewis would have never convinced Tolkien to try to publish The Hobbit. Arguably, the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings would never have existed if it weren't for Maureen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2019
This has been an excellent introduction to my goal of reading the his works in the order in which they were published. The years of this diary are before any of his books were published, but he is in Oxford and I feel I have begun to enter into his world. I was sad when I was done, so I have decided to get more of his collection of letters to help keep me company.
For most of my life I have worked as an artist so my favorite reflection of his is in regards to this. From Thursday 20 May 1926 - "Are all our modern poets like this? Were the old ones so? It is almost enough to prove R. Graves' contention that an artist is like a medium: a neurotic with an inferiority complex who gets his own back by attributing to himself abnormal powers. And indeed I have noticed in myself a ridiculous tendency to indulge in poetical complacency as a consolation when I am ill at ease thro' managing ordinary life worse than usual..."
For most of my life I have worked as an artist so my favorite reflection of his is in regards to this. From Thursday 20 May 1926 - "Are all our modern poets like this? Were the old ones so? It is almost enough to prove R. Graves' contention that an artist is like a medium: a neurotic with an inferiority complex who gets his own back by attributing to himself abnormal powers. And indeed I have noticed in myself a ridiculous tendency to indulge in poetical complacency as a consolation when I am ill at ease thro' managing ordinary life worse than usual..."
April 8, 2013
This book is the journal, slightly edited, of C. S. Lewis. It is an intriguing book that introduces the reader to C.S. Lewis's life prior to his conversion to Christianity. C.S. Lewis introduces us, in a very descriptive manner, to many of the interesting scholars and other friends that he met during these years, including J.R.R. Tolkien. We also find many references to the "Real Joy" that Lewis wrote about in his autobiography "Surprised by Joy". Anyone who wants to seriously study Lewis's life needs to read this enjoyable and entertaining book.
April 29, 2020
A book for the C.S. enthusiast, I am one of his biggest fans, but I’m not brilliant so a lot of it went over my head, but I still enjoyed it immensely. What I enjoyed most was his nature walks. I love how the sights and smells affected him and his detailed description of them was reminiscent of the wonderful depiction of Perelandra. I usually give anything by him 5 stars, but again this was harder for me.
March 4, 2014
Perfect for any fan of Lewis the man; likely to be found tedious by those interested primarily in his thought and/or more Christian works.
It was long at times, but I loved seeing the way he drank in his world at such a young age. Also fun to see the early seeds of what would be his writings on joy and myth.
4.5 stars
It was long at times, but I loved seeing the way he drank in his world at such a young age. Also fun to see the early seeds of what would be his writings on joy and myth.
4.5 stars
June 6, 2017
Fascinating read. Lewis really was brilliant.
June 27, 2019
I love C.S. Lewis and almost all of his work, but his unedited journal is very tedious. Did not finish--will probably come back to it someday since I own it on kindle.
February 11, 2021
i loved spending these days with c.s. lewis...i will miss hearing about his daily life and learning.
August 26, 2024
2.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
C. S. Lewis' diary for the years 1922-1927 - after the war, while he was finishing his studies and struggling to find a paid position that could support him and his household.
Review
Feet of clay – that’s invariably what you find when you read an autobiographical document. At least that’s my experience, and it holds true here.
That said, I’m not a big reader of biographies, and this one, to quote Lewis himself on someone else’s diary, “consist[s] almost entirely of the most hum drum and ordinary events.” The diary, often completed in arrears, is largely a bibliography of Lewis’ reading, his daily chores, his interactions with his lifelong friend and co-resident Mrs. Moore (mother of a Lewis companion killed in WWI), and his social schedule. Nonetheless, it generally held my interest.
What we find, overall, is that Lewis is a voracious reader, a determined deep thinker, a dutiful man, a snob, and a prig. There’s a lot of the search for authority and sense of duty we see in Narnia, and the appreciation of beauty in the Silent Planet trilogy, but relatively little of the humor found in either. While Lewis here is not yet a Christian, it’s evident how his thinking will one day tend that way.
Lewis is both smart and intellectual. He translates Icelandic sagas from the original for fun, reads widely, and works hard. He rates each conversation he has by how elevated it was and whether he and others did good work in discussion. He’s also, often, and insufferable snob, often denigrating the folk he meets as vulgar and incapable. And that’s only counting people of ‘his class’; he complains constantly about poverty, and there’s no question his life is hard in many ways. However, ‘the servant class’ barely get a look in, except in noting how many children they have, and how they must be unused to solitude, living in such close quarters. Virtually every woman he meets is also rated in looks; most of them are plain, but some are nice anyway.
Lewis, in this period striving constantly to find a paying Fellowship that will allow him to support himself, Mrs. Moore and her daughter in security, is also keenly aware of how others are doing and how they’re perceived. He enlists others in what seems a very cruel scheme to mock T.S. Eliot’s poetry by submitting disguised parodies in the hopes some magazine will take them for the real thing. Whatever its true intent, it comes across as jealousy. I’m leaving aside commentary that perhaps could be partly excused by the timeframe – notes about women, blacks, Indians, Jews – e.g., that ‘women are bores until they are forty’.
While there’s a biographical appendix with information about some of Lewis friends and colleagues, it’s often difficult to follow who all the people are, aggravated by abbreviations and nicknames. For example, Dotty (Dorothea Vaughan) appears heavily in the final years of the diary – apparently a friend of Mrs. Moore’s daughter Maureen, but also somehow a tremendous imposition that they cannot avoid. I just went with the flow, and tried not to worry that I often had little clear idea of who was being discussed.
Lewis is somewhat hyperbolic in the early years, often describing a book or passage or situation as the best he’s ever seen. I looked up some of the poems referenced, and was unimpressed. He also spends the bulk of the period working on his narrative poem, “Dymer”. I can’t say I’ve read it, but I’ve looked through it, and found it not to my taste. For a man whose prose clear and relatively simple, his poetry is (and feels) carefully, ponderously constructed.
The Foreword hints heavily that Mrs. Moore took great advantage of Lewis and that since she had access to the diary (and Lewis often read from it to her), we should take descriptions of her with several grains of salt. Perhaps seeded by that warning, it did seem to me that Mrs. Moore would have been hard to live with – demanding, whiny, and irritable. But we don’t have her side, and frankly Lewis himself seems like a man I wouldn’t enjoy spending much time with.
The diary doesn’t cover the periods most readers will be intrigued by – the writing of his classic SFF books or his conversion to Christianity – though it does mention his first meeting with J.R.R. Tolkien. It does, however, give insight into Lewis’ own view of himself during his long struggle to find a way for himself and to pay his own expenses rather than relying on an allowance from his father. I don’t know that I can recommend it to many, but for those seriously interested in Lewis formative academic years and literary outlook, this is worth reading. If you want to preserve your view of Lewis as the sensitive genius behind Narnia, you may want to skip it.
Summary
C. S. Lewis' diary for the years 1922-1927 - after the war, while he was finishing his studies and struggling to find a paid position that could support him and his household.
Review
Feet of clay – that’s invariably what you find when you read an autobiographical document. At least that’s my experience, and it holds true here.
That said, I’m not a big reader of biographies, and this one, to quote Lewis himself on someone else’s diary, “consist[s] almost entirely of the most hum drum and ordinary events.” The diary, often completed in arrears, is largely a bibliography of Lewis’ reading, his daily chores, his interactions with his lifelong friend and co-resident Mrs. Moore (mother of a Lewis companion killed in WWI), and his social schedule. Nonetheless, it generally held my interest.
What we find, overall, is that Lewis is a voracious reader, a determined deep thinker, a dutiful man, a snob, and a prig. There’s a lot of the search for authority and sense of duty we see in Narnia, and the appreciation of beauty in the Silent Planet trilogy, but relatively little of the humor found in either. While Lewis here is not yet a Christian, it’s evident how his thinking will one day tend that way.
Lewis is both smart and intellectual. He translates Icelandic sagas from the original for fun, reads widely, and works hard. He rates each conversation he has by how elevated it was and whether he and others did good work in discussion. He’s also, often, and insufferable snob, often denigrating the folk he meets as vulgar and incapable. And that’s only counting people of ‘his class’; he complains constantly about poverty, and there’s no question his life is hard in many ways. However, ‘the servant class’ barely get a look in, except in noting how many children they have, and how they must be unused to solitude, living in such close quarters. Virtually every woman he meets is also rated in looks; most of them are plain, but some are nice anyway.
Lewis, in this period striving constantly to find a paying Fellowship that will allow him to support himself, Mrs. Moore and her daughter in security, is also keenly aware of how others are doing and how they’re perceived. He enlists others in what seems a very cruel scheme to mock T.S. Eliot’s poetry by submitting disguised parodies in the hopes some magazine will take them for the real thing. Whatever its true intent, it comes across as jealousy. I’m leaving aside commentary that perhaps could be partly excused by the timeframe – notes about women, blacks, Indians, Jews – e.g., that ‘women are bores until they are forty’.
While there’s a biographical appendix with information about some of Lewis friends and colleagues, it’s often difficult to follow who all the people are, aggravated by abbreviations and nicknames. For example, Dotty (Dorothea Vaughan) appears heavily in the final years of the diary – apparently a friend of Mrs. Moore’s daughter Maureen, but also somehow a tremendous imposition that they cannot avoid. I just went with the flow, and tried not to worry that I often had little clear idea of who was being discussed.
Lewis is somewhat hyperbolic in the early years, often describing a book or passage or situation as the best he’s ever seen. I looked up some of the poems referenced, and was unimpressed. He also spends the bulk of the period working on his narrative poem, “Dymer”. I can’t say I’ve read it, but I’ve looked through it, and found it not to my taste. For a man whose prose clear and relatively simple, his poetry is (and feels) carefully, ponderously constructed.
The Foreword hints heavily that Mrs. Moore took great advantage of Lewis and that since she had access to the diary (and Lewis often read from it to her), we should take descriptions of her with several grains of salt. Perhaps seeded by that warning, it did seem to me that Mrs. Moore would have been hard to live with – demanding, whiny, and irritable. But we don’t have her side, and frankly Lewis himself seems like a man I wouldn’t enjoy spending much time with.
The diary doesn’t cover the periods most readers will be intrigued by – the writing of his classic SFF books or his conversion to Christianity – though it does mention his first meeting with J.R.R. Tolkien. It does, however, give insight into Lewis’ own view of himself during his long struggle to find a way for himself and to pay his own expenses rather than relying on an allowance from his father. I don’t know that I can recommend it to many, but for those seriously interested in Lewis formative academic years and literary outlook, this is worth reading. If you want to preserve your view of Lewis as the sensitive genius behind Narnia, you may want to skip it.
February 10, 2018
In order to enjoy this book, one has to possess two things: 1. a love for C. S. Lewis, and 2. at least a working knowledge of the events of Lewis's life. If one is not already a fan of Lewis or hasn't read any biographies about him (or his autobiography in Surprised by Joy), then his diary will likely come off as extremely boring. Aside from the fate of John Askins ("the Doc"), there aren't many events recorded in the diary that would make a big impact on the rest of his life and career (most of those events are summarized by the editor at the appropriate spots in the book). It at times feels like watching a television series on family drama (akin to The Waltons), but without an overarching plot or a moral at the end of every episode. Nevertheless, for those who are fans of Lewis and have read Surprised by Joy or any other good biography of him, there is much here to enjoy. Lewis's observations of people he comes across every day are generally insightful, humorous, and through-provoking. He went on long walks regularly, and his descriptions of the landscapes of England and Ireland are often deliciously colorful. And it is quite fascinating to see the world through his eyes, going through the routines of daily life from the perspective of a young, insightful atheist (though he definitely shows signs of struggling with his atheism towards the end of the diary) who is laboring to advance in his academic career while trying to preserve peace in his messy situation at "home" (with Mrs. Moore and her daughter). Bottom line: there are lots of interesting and enjoyable things to read in Lewis's diary. Just don't expect anything particularly dramatic or eye-opening, and certainly don't attempt to read unless you're familiar with the life and works of Lewis already.
April 16, 2020
Since C.S. Lewis is my favorite writer, I will immediately admit I am biased when it comes to his works. I not only have read most of his books (with a desire to read the rest), but have read many books on his life and his works. All My Road Before Me is a different book of Lewis even for those of Lewis fans. For those who know the life of Lewis, they know he does not become a theist until 1929 and then a believer in 1931 (for those who want to read Lewis own account on his conversion, they should turn to his spiritual autobiography, Surprised By Joy). He is most beloved for his Christian writings, both fiction and non, which he clearly wasn't during these years. In the journal, one will see a young Lewis going through some of his classes and trying to get his fellowship at Oxford. As Lewis often read his journal to Mrs. Moore, one does not get some of the thoughts he may have shared otherwise, about Mrs. Moore or other topics. Sometimes the entries can be repetitive. The reality is, if one is not a C.S. Lewis fan, one probably will not get a lot out of this book. Indeed, this book is going to be enjoyed by the more serious students of Lewis. If you are a Lewis fan, you will appreciate learning more about the man who would soon change the world after he eventually comes into faith with Jesus Christ. Unlike a lot of Lewis books, I am not sure if I am going to be rereading this one anytime soon, but I am glad it is in my collection.
May 8, 2020
A very enjoyable look into Mr. Lewis' day-to-day life (as a university student and as a university fellow). Nothing new or surprising, but a very nice glimpse into daily life. I quite enjoyed it!
(I enjoyed reading his letters, too, though they took a lot more time to read and covered many decades of his life.)
The greatest thing I got was a sense of just how much time and effort he put into the study of languages... hours and hours each day brute-forcing his way through passages with a dictionary, and then checking his work with a "cribb" or with a tutor. Very instructive. No wonder people like Lewis became fluent readers in 5+ languages!
(I enjoyed reading his letters, too, though they took a lot more time to read and covered many decades of his life.)
The greatest thing I got was a sense of just how much time and effort he put into the study of languages... hours and hours each day brute-forcing his way through passages with a dictionary, and then checking his work with a "cribb" or with a tutor. Very instructive. No wonder people like Lewis became fluent readers in 5+ languages!
November 7, 2025
An extremely dry read that required a good bit of perseverance to complete. It’s a rather long collection of Lewis’ journal entries throughout his 20s prior to his conversion to Christianity. As a bit Lewis enthusiast, it was a really helpful read to understand Lewis’ background better, both personally and academically. Unsurprisingly, his relationship with Mrs. Moore (“D”) chronicled throughout was a bit strange and rather unhealthy, but really insightful as it was a formative relationship that lasted for a good deal of his life.
Not for the faint of heart to complete this read, but it is a great stepping stone to further understand who CS Lewis was.
Not for the faint of heart to complete this read, but it is a great stepping stone to further understand who CS Lewis was.
March 26, 2018
“All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C.S. Lewis 1922-1927” by C.S. Lewis
Tedious throughout with the minutiae of his daily studies, there is - nevertheless - enough jewels to make it worth the read. This is especially true of the written portraits of colleagues from Oxford, in an appendix at the end.
This was the first time I’ve ever read anything of Lewis when he was still an atheist. It shows. His apathy and selfishness battle against each other and it becomes clear why he was a bachelor for so long.
Tedious throughout with the minutiae of his daily studies, there is - nevertheless - enough jewels to make it worth the read. This is especially true of the written portraits of colleagues from Oxford, in an appendix at the end.
This was the first time I’ve ever read anything of Lewis when he was still an atheist. It shows. His apathy and selfishness battle against each other and it becomes clear why he was a bachelor for so long.
July 7, 2018
Meh
This was an eye-opener if nothing else. Lewis lived off his father and others while reading books and pursuing degrees (at least during these years). I had an entirely different image of him, and I was appalled at his nastiness in poking fun at everyone for their appearance, intellect, financial straits, etc. I can only imagine that while writing these entries he was quite unhappy with himself. Sad, small man.
This was an eye-opener if nothing else. Lewis lived off his father and others while reading books and pursuing degrees (at least during these years). I had an entirely different image of him, and I was appalled at his nastiness in poking fun at everyone for their appearance, intellect, financial straits, etc. I can only imagine that while writing these entries he was quite unhappy with himself. Sad, small man.
September 2, 2019
I don't know why I never wrote a review for this. I enjoyed reading it, but more from the excitement of reading someone else's diary than from the actual contents. I expected it to be as full as insights and meaningful commentary as his books or his letters, but it wasn't so much. There wasn't nearly as much in there as I'd hoped about the Inklings or about his relationship with his wife. That's why I gave it only three stars instead of 4.
March 21, 2018
Made me feel closer to CS Lewis than ever. I am very like his mother, Jane Moore. This is scary because their relationship went very south, ... but he remained faithful to her until her death. That is because love has more to do with the lover than the beloved. I rely on that. He was quite different before he became a Christian. I loved getting to know his youthful self.
November 29, 2018
All My Road Before Me is a heavy read. Because it's in a diary format, the entries are quite direct and, at times, mundane; but for intent CS Lewis fans, it provides a deeper look into his mindset and daily activities pre-conversion, as well as a contrasting lifestyle and even writing voice to that of his Christian existence.
March 12, 2017
Fascinating for the Lewis enthusiast but not as interesting as his collected letters. In his diary Lewis largely focuses on things he does (e.g. "Dined with Barfield," "Read Plato," etc.) rather than expressing his thoughts. His letters, on the other hand, emphasize his thoughts.
June 28, 2019
It's emotionally impossible for me to rate any cslewis book less than five stars. However I recognize this one would be further down a csl recommended reading list and the style would not be for everyone. But that's part of what I loved about it: The glimpse into his daily life.
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