C. S. Lewis at the BBC: Messages of Hope in the Darkness of War

by Justin Phillips

A behind-the-scenes look at religious radio broadcasting during World War II in which such revered figures as C.S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayers came into the public eye. This fascinating book explores the tensions behind the greatest era in BBC radio broadcasting – the Home Service. Despite evacuation, air-raids and the closure of the fledgling TV service, the BBC rose magnificently to the challenge of informing, entertaining and inspiring a nation at war. The war years were to transform religious broadcasting beyond recognition. Under the persistent and innovative James Welch, the BBC began to invent new formats and take large risks in trying to communicate Christian truth to a generation whose faith was on the rack of war. Out of this came the broadcast talks of CS Lewis and the first ever dramatic portrayal of Christ in Dorothy L Sayers’ Man Born to be King. The response to C S Lewis’ first broadcast was so overwhelming that a second programme had to be arranged to answer listeners’ questions. Lewis’ hugely popular BBC talks were published as Mere Christianity and have been a classic ever since, selling over 11 million copies worldwide. As a layman, Lewis’ critics initially claimed that he was not qualified to talk on Christian matters. For Lewis this was all part of the challenge of reaching a new audience. But his initial enthusiasm for broadcasting waned as it began to interfere with his work at Oxford, and he turned down many of the BBC’s invitations to appear on the radio, including a chance to be on The Brains Trust, the Any Questions of its day. This is a chapter in Lewis’ life which has received very little attention from biographers and commentators, who have focussed on his achievements as a writer and academic. Yet C S Lewis’ work on the radio made him a household name.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Christianity, History, Faith, Religion

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2002

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad to find a book on the history of the Mere Christianity broadcast talks. The book jumps around a lot, with full chapters that seemingly stand as one-offs, devoted to topics like the history of the BBC, Dorothy Sayers, a biography of Lewis, other speakers at the BBC, and Lewis's larger legacy in the twentieth century. You have to stick with it until he gets to the point, but he does eventually get there. Contains lots of correspondence between Lewis and staff at the BBC, which was another interesting viewpoint--Lewis could have done many more talks if he'd wanted. Would only recommend this book for those curious about the larger context surrounding the BBC talks, not just the content of Mere Christianity itself.

See also from Phillips: C.S. Lewis In A Time Of War: the World War II broadcasts that riveted a nation and became the classic Mere Christianity.

[Hannah Penwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting mixture of wartime broadcasting and Christian theology, which has made me want to go back and read Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters (and more of C.S. Lewis's works) again.

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 until last few chapters (dropped to 3.5) definitely recommend. Very interesting.
And lengthy history of BBC necessary for proper context.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned on page 30 of 300. Jumps around randomly. Had mentioned Lewis once in that time with his view on evacuees, the evacuation of which was worth 2 pages despite having nothing to do with the book’s subject. Had covered religious broadcasting before the war and the BBC’s boring output at the very start of the war. It felt like I needed more background knowledge than I had for the pre-war part and it was unclear as to who was to blame for the boring output. It then jumped from war being declared in the previous chapter to a discussion of why the BBC didn’t cover the Holocaust during the war. While a worthwhile question it again had nothing to do with the subject and felt completely out of place in the book.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have read Mere Christianity a number of times and have read numerous books about C.S. Lewis. But this book focuses on the BBC context of the talks that would become one of Lewis's most beloved books. This gave me a totally new perspective, looking at broadcasting during wartime and how Lewis fit with that.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book!! Very heavy on the social history of the BBC in WW2 in regards to their religious broadcasting.. Specifically the broadcast talks of CS Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers' 'Man Born to be King.' A great read for anyone interested in the history of the BBC and any admirer of CS Lewis.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Really well written, easy to read. Insightful story about the BBC religious broadcasting during WWII and the role CS Lewis played. Read it!

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's deep sympathy to read of author Justin Philip's death shortly after the completion of the final manuscript of this book. Kudos must be given to his daughter, family, friends and colleagues for bringing this work forward for publication and distribution.

I found this book to be meticulously researched, referenced and indexed with detailed word by word copies of letters and corespondence. The author has included everything with alot that didn't really need be. Admittedly I think it should been culled from 320 pages at 150. It would of flowed without repetition. The strength lies in its written historical presentation of the importance of the radio medium itself to the British public during WW2. I was fascinated with the facts that were given and reality that it was this setting that really sharpen C.S Lewis is make his case for christianity as brief, as clear and easily understood as possible. Mere Christianity isn't one of the easiest books to read as having its initial beginnings in a radio format.

Overall I have enjoyed the historical account given but found it a bit laboriously to finish. It took me about a week to complete

[Relstuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this book was/is the historian for the BBC. He found that all or most of the correspondence between the BBC and Lewis had been preserved and this book is the story of how the relationship between the BBC came to be and how they worked together during WWII to produce the talks about the basics of Christianity that became Lewis' book Mere Christianity.

He relates the history of the BBC and how they fit into the war effort in the early days of the war. By itself an interesting story and one I had not read much about.

Contains some interesting analysis about how broadcasting and the editing with the BCC helped shape Lewis' expressions of explanations in Mere Christianity. It also discusses his relationships with people at the BBC including popular writer Dorothy Sayers.

I've read several books on Lewis and this was a fresh perspective with some info and analysis not found in other books.