CS Lewis
About Author
CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS was born in Ireland, in the outskirts of Belfast, on 29 November 1898. He had one older brother, Warren, who was three years his senior. When C. S. Lewis (or 'Jack', as he was called), was 9 years old his mother died of cancer and soon after her death, in 1908, he was sent to join his brother at Wynyard Boarding School. Jack was only there for a year before returning to Northern Ireland where he attended Campbell College, Belfast. A few years later he travelled back to England and spent his last school years at Malvern College in Worcestershire and with private tutor, Mr Kirkpatrick.
Jack then started at University College, Oxford but his studies were interrupted by the First World War where he served with the Somerset Light Infantry. In 1919 he returned to Oxford and gained a triple first. In 1925 he was elected Fellow of English Language and Literature at Magdalen College. In 1954 he became Professor of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge. An outstanding and popular lecturer, C. S. Lewis had a lasting influence on all his students.
For many years C.S. Lewis was an atheist, and described his conversion to Christianity in Surprised By Joy. It was this experience that helped him to understand not only apathy but active unwillingness to accept religion, and as a Christian writer, gifted with an exceptionally brilliant and logical mind and a lucid, lively writing style, C.S. Lewis was without peer.
C. S. Lewis began writing THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA in 1949 and completed the seven books in the series in 1956. The books are glorious adventures with a predominant theme of good triumphing over evil. Narnia is a place where miracles frequently occur, a magical land of talking beasts, valiant kings and princes, terrifying battles, and the great lion Aslan, the most important, unifying figure. The compelling blend of humour, fantasy and allegory has elevated Lewis's stories to the status of classics.
In 1998, CollinsChildren'sBooks celebrate the centenary and birth of C.S. Lewis. In January a nationwide children's competition was launched to design greeting cards for the NSPCC representing each of The Chronicles of Narnia, in association with the C S Lewis Centenary Office, NSPCC and Microsoft. In October 1998 Collins Children's Books are launching a new range of The Chronicles of Narnia books, a picture book and deluxe versions and activity books. The new range of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Complete Illustrated Chronicles Of Narnia contain, for the first time, colour illustrations by Pauline Baynes. Pauline Baynes was first commissioned to illustrate THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE in 1949 and went on to produce hundreds of wonderful illustrations for the seven Chronicles of Narnia. The new picture book is an abridged version of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE illustrated with full colour plates and black and white drawings by Christian Birmingham.
C.S. Lewis also wrote some science fiction, besides many works of literary criticism. His works are known to millions of people all over the world, and have been translated across the globe. C. S Lewis married Joy Davidman Gresham, an American poet from New York and admirer of Lewis, in 1956. Soon after the marriage Joy was diagnosed as having cancer and she died in 1960.
C.S. Lewis died on 22 November 1963 at his home in Oxford.
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