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Very Short Introductions #591
C.S. Lewis: A Very Short Introduction
Beloved by children and adults worldwide, the writings of C. S. Lewis have a broad and enduring appeal. Although he is best known for the iconic Chronicles of Narnia series, C. S. Lewis was actually a man of many literary parts. Already well-known as a scholar in the 1930's, he became a famous broadcaster during World War Two and wrote in many genres, including satire ( The Screwtape Letters ), science fiction ( Perelandra ), a novel ( Till We Have Faces ), and many other books on Christian belief, such as Mere Christianity and Miracles . His few sermons remain touchstones of their type. In addition to these, Lewis wrote hundreds of poems and articles on social and cultural issues, many books and articles in his field of literary criticism and history, and thousands of letters.
At Oxford University he became a charismatic lecturer and conversationalist. Taken together, his writings have engaged and influenced, often very deeply, millions of readers. Now Lewis societies, television documentaries, movies, radio plays, and theatrical treatments of his work and life have become common, and he is frequently quoted by journalists, critics, and public thinkers.
This Very Short Introduction delves into the vast corpus of C. S. Lewis's work, discussing its core themes and lasting appeal. As James Como shows, C. S. Lewis's life is just as interesting as his work. A complex man, he came to his knowledge, beliefs, and wisdom only after much tortuous soul-searching and many painful events. Moving chronologically through Lewis's life, Como provides throughout a picture of the whole man, his work, and his enduring legacy.
ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
At Oxford University he became a charismatic lecturer and conversationalist. Taken together, his writings have engaged and influenced, often very deeply, millions of readers. Now Lewis societies, television documentaries, movies, radio plays, and theatrical treatments of his work and life have become common, and he is frequently quoted by journalists, critics, and public thinkers.
This Very Short Introduction delves into the vast corpus of C. S. Lewis's work, discussing its core themes and lasting appeal. As James Como shows, C. S. Lewis's life is just as interesting as his work. A complex man, he came to his knowledge, beliefs, and wisdom only after much tortuous soul-searching and many painful events. Moving chronologically through Lewis's life, Como provides throughout a picture of the whole man, his work, and his enduring legacy.
ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
160 pages, Paperback
Published March 24, 2019
37 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 15, 2019
Honestly, I was surprised this little volume was as good as it is. Not because of James Como, who has invested 50 years into reading C.S. Lewis well. But I have read about 20 of these Very Short introductions, and have looked at another dozen or so. Though it typically balances brevity and thoroughness, this one is peculiar for the voice of the text. Como writes in a lively style within a very understated series (the introduction to Feminism also has some life). Though it cannot have the lively writing of the figure it studies, it does pretty well. Effectively, you have a 100-page summary of Lewis' life organized as a study of his texts. It works pretty well and thus can be used as a good reference text. There are even a few surprises and refreshing moments, particularly in his treatment of Till We Have Faces and Letters to Malcolm.
June 7, 2019
Really excellent short intro. Como jams an astonishing amount of biographical information, summary, and commentary into a brisk and winsomely written 116 pages. Como does a good job relating Lewis’s life; explaining the origins, context, purpose, and content of his many works; and capturing something of the man himself through succinct accounts of his personality and personal and professional relationships. If you’re looking for a good overview of Lewis’s life and work but are daunted by one of the full-length treatments of his life (e.g. The Narnian, by Alan Jacobs or Alister McGrath’s more recent C.S. Lewis), this is the one.
September 29, 2024
Fun fact: Lewis published "a grief observed" under a pseudonym. Some of his friends sent him a copy thinking it would be great for him.
I describe this as "all the blurbs for cs Lewis's books in one spot, with some biography thrown in"
But he kept flitting from book to book and didn't really connect his life with his works.
Maybe I was expecting more of a biography, or a summary of his themes, rather than a weird in between.
Again, shows how hard it is to write biographies!
I describe this as "all the blurbs for cs Lewis's books in one spot, with some biography thrown in"
But he kept flitting from book to book and didn't really connect his life with his works.
Maybe I was expecting more of a biography, or a summary of his themes, rather than a weird in between.
Again, shows how hard it is to write biographies!
October 3, 2019
Very concise, comprehensive, excellent guide.
October 29, 2024
solid 4 stars; great primer on the man, his society and times; you really get a good grip on his philosophy, poetry, and his christian apologetic works and of course his output in high fantasy, undoubtedly helped and/or inspired by his buddy JRR Tolkien; The Chronicles of Narnia; on a side note, be sure to check out the The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends.
April 10, 2024
Great introduction to C. S. Lewis!
February 4, 2020
It is a brave charge to take any author's life and work and condense it so. Kudos to Como!
If I was reading Lewis for the first time, though, I think it would be too much to take in. Plus, small things like his dislike of Joy Davidman were a detraction.
If I was reading Lewis for the first time, though, I think it would be too much to take in. Plus, small things like his dislike of Joy Davidman were a detraction.
June 20, 2019
I've seen racks of VSI books at several bookstores and always find myself skimming them. This was the first one I've actually bought and read. That may have something to do with C.S. Lewis being a favorite author.
Which begs the question . . . why would I need an "introduction" to my favorite author?
When it comes down to it, you can never really have too many perspectives on a favorite author. And James Como seems to have a more informed perspective than most, given that he was one of the New York C.S. Lewis Society's founding members . . . 50 years ago.
That's a lifetime of reading and learning about Lewis. Plenty of time to digest his work and express those insights to others.
Even as a longtime reader of Lewis (if not as long a time as Dr. Como has been reading him), I found anecdotes, secondary sources, and a smattering of facts in this that I hadn't come across before or had forgotten in some distant corner of my mind. For instance, I'm now determined to track down and skim David Holbrook's article on Lewis from the '70s, which Como claims is "easily the most hostile attack on The Chronicles and Lewis." Yikes!
Occasionally, there are references thrown around that a legitimate newcomer to Lewis won't get. On p.5, Owen Barfield is referred to as Lewis's "second friend," a passing but unexplained reference to a very specific term Lewis defines in Surprised By Joy (the second friend is essentially a person who shares all of your interests but also disagrees with you about pretty much everything).
But that's a minor caveat in what is an impressively concise summary of Lewis and his work. Any reader, regardless of their previous experience of Lewis, should get a great deal out of this. And I am now intent on collecting a few more of these VSI books, starting (perhaps) with one that Lewis would surely have approved of: medieval literature!
Full disclosure: I've corresponded with Dr. Como a time or two--not about this book--in the past, and many of my friends are friends of his (the field of Inklings studies is one of those fields where everybody knows everybody, eventually, even if they've never met in person). But in all honesty, I think Oxford UP would have had a hard time finding another individual whose history with Lewis runs this deep to write this book for their series.
Which begs the question . . . why would I need an "introduction" to my favorite author?
When it comes down to it, you can never really have too many perspectives on a favorite author. And James Como seems to have a more informed perspective than most, given that he was one of the New York C.S. Lewis Society's founding members . . . 50 years ago.
That's a lifetime of reading and learning about Lewis. Plenty of time to digest his work and express those insights to others.
Even as a longtime reader of Lewis (if not as long a time as Dr. Como has been reading him), I found anecdotes, secondary sources, and a smattering of facts in this that I hadn't come across before or had forgotten in some distant corner of my mind. For instance, I'm now determined to track down and skim David Holbrook's article on Lewis from the '70s, which Como claims is "easily the most hostile attack on The Chronicles and Lewis." Yikes!
Occasionally, there are references thrown around that a legitimate newcomer to Lewis won't get. On p.5, Owen Barfield is referred to as Lewis's "second friend," a passing but unexplained reference to a very specific term Lewis defines in Surprised By Joy (the second friend is essentially a person who shares all of your interests but also disagrees with you about pretty much everything).
But that's a minor caveat in what is an impressively concise summary of Lewis and his work. Any reader, regardless of their previous experience of Lewis, should get a great deal out of this. And I am now intent on collecting a few more of these VSI books, starting (perhaps) with one that Lewis would surely have approved of: medieval literature!
Full disclosure: I've corresponded with Dr. Como a time or two--not about this book--in the past, and many of my friends are friends of his (the field of Inklings studies is one of those fields where everybody knows everybody, eventually, even if they've never met in person). But in all honesty, I think Oxford UP would have had a hard time finding another individual whose history with Lewis runs this deep to write this book for their series.
September 20, 2025
Puddleglum: “I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian even if there isn't any Narnia.”
Probably the best book I have read in the VSI series so far, and I have read a good number. One of my most favorite biographies I’ve ever read is McGrath’s biography on Lewis. This is a wonderful supplementary read to that, and it’s a much more concise summary of Lewis’s life, thought, and work. Indeed, this short biography is very uniquely structured as the sections of each chapter go chronologically through Lewis’s publications and writings. Como summarizes well each work that Lewis wrote. Como’s 50 years of scholarship on Lewis is evident.
This is a rather introspective at the “many faces” of Lewis, or the “many Lewises.” Como explores Lewis’s poetic, medieval, apologetic, and literary critic faces. Lewis was a renaissance man in many ways. Como also points out the quirks and eccentricities of Lewis. An underlying theme in much of Lewis’s work is that of joy, and two motifs that work their way into his writings are supposal and reversal. Lewis also had a great knack for making fair and accurate generalizations—a word that is often times a negative one in academics.
Lewis: "We are to defend Christianity itself—the faith preached by the Apostles, attested by the Martyrs, embodied in the Creeds, expounded by the Fathers.”
Probably the best book I have read in the VSI series so far, and I have read a good number. One of my most favorite biographies I’ve ever read is McGrath’s biography on Lewis. This is a wonderful supplementary read to that, and it’s a much more concise summary of Lewis’s life, thought, and work. Indeed, this short biography is very uniquely structured as the sections of each chapter go chronologically through Lewis’s publications and writings. Como summarizes well each work that Lewis wrote. Como’s 50 years of scholarship on Lewis is evident.
This is a rather introspective at the “many faces” of Lewis, or the “many Lewises.” Como explores Lewis’s poetic, medieval, apologetic, and literary critic faces. Lewis was a renaissance man in many ways. Como also points out the quirks and eccentricities of Lewis. An underlying theme in much of Lewis’s work is that of joy, and two motifs that work their way into his writings are supposal and reversal. Lewis also had a great knack for making fair and accurate generalizations—a word that is often times a negative one in academics.
Lewis: "We are to defend Christianity itself—the faith preached by the Apostles, attested by the Martyrs, embodied in the Creeds, expounded by the Fathers.”
May 24, 2025
4.5
Did exactly what it was supposed to do. Short introduction to the events of C.S. Lewis life, his thought, and his relationships. The book also provides summaries of his works that are so helpful. From what I have read of Lewis, this book is very true to him. The author clearly admires Lewis and rarely critiques him--but I believe his admiration is well warranted. C.S. Lewis was truly a great man. Highly recommend.
Did exactly what it was supposed to do. Short introduction to the events of C.S. Lewis life, his thought, and his relationships. The book also provides summaries of his works that are so helpful. From what I have read of Lewis, this book is very true to him. The author clearly admires Lewis and rarely critiques him--but I believe his admiration is well warranted. C.S. Lewis was truly a great man. Highly recommend.
March 12, 2019
The best biographical survey of C.S. Lewis available
A fast and fetching read by one of the greats of C.S. Lewis scholarship. Certainly, my favorite life of Lewis, and I’ve read most of them.
A fast and fetching read by one of the greats of C.S. Lewis scholarship. Certainly, my favorite life of Lewis, and I’ve read most of them.
February 13, 2020
The kind of book I really like because it opens the door to a whole new trove of books that I was not aware of before I read it. If you enjoy the writings of C.S. Lewis or just would like to know more about him, then this is the book for you.
March 2, 2020
This book provides a summary of all or most of Lewis' writing in chronological order, providing biographical details to give insight that may have influenced his work.
It's provides helpful context to Lewis enthusiasts.
It's provides helpful context to Lewis enthusiasts.
April 23, 2020
Part of Oxford’s series of introductory books, this one published in 2019 is good at touching on all of Lewis’s books (and even some key essays like “The Inner Ring”) and in providing a summary of his life.
May 15, 2024
A good but rather dry survey of Lewis' writings. Not particularly helpful as criticism of his thought and writing, nor as pertaining to biographical interests, but impressive as to the breadth of Lewis' writings considered. A few interesting anecdotes and quotations throughout.
January 31, 2020
I learned where he got the nickname Jack. And that there was hanky–panky going on with Paddy’s mom and maybe Joy before the marriage. So Lewis was human. Good book to recommend to others.
February 17, 2020
If you love reading CS Lewis, you will enjoy this book - no matter how much you have read about this author, you will probably find something new.
December 31, 2020
Good review of all C.S Lewis books. Will go back for reference
November 6, 2021
Thorough
October 14, 2024
A good way to begin understanding the man who was C. S. Lewis. This briefly covers the books and his personal life from growing up to his marriage. Overall, a good read.
October 23, 2024
Very good.
October 20, 2025
While "very short," as the subtitle promises, the content is surprisingly thorough and insightful. If one wants a quick overview of Lewis and his works, this would be an excellent choice.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews