DELIGHTFUL SATURDAYS WITH MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AND POETS (35)

C. s. LEWIS

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Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He was born on 29 November 1898Belfast, Ireland to Albert James Lewis (1863–1929), a solicitor by profession and Florence Augusta Lewis née Hamilton (1862–1908) who was the daughter of Thomas Hamilton, a Church of Ireland priest, and the great-granddaughter of both Bishop Hugh Hamilton and John Staples.

He lost his dog, Jacksie, when he was four, as it was hit by a car. This affected young Lewis so much that he started calling himself Jacksie and wouldn’t respond to any other name. His family and friends called him Jack for the rest of his life. His family moved to the family home of his childhood, in the Strandtown area of East Belfast when he was 7. As a child, he took a keen interest in Beatrix Potter’s stories and started writing animal tales with illustration.

He had private tutors homeschooling him until the age of 9, until his mother’s death in 1908 from cancer. He attended Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire where his elder brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, was a student for three years. He joined Campbell College in the east of Belfast after the school ( Wynyard school) closed down due to lack of pupils. Unfortunately, his health problems forced him to quit the college. He went back to England to enroll at the preparatory school,  Cherbourg House, in the health-resort town of Malvern, Worcestershire. He became an atheist, abandoning his faith in Christianity during this period. He joined Malvern College in September 1913 until June, the following year. Later on, William T. Kirkpatrick, his father’s old tutor and former headmaster of Lurgan College, taught him privately. The songs and legends of the ancient literature of Scandinavia impressed him so much that he eventually became a nature lover. Lewis got a scholarship at University College, Oxford in 1916.

He got an academic position in English literature in both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge University (Magdalene College, 1954–1963) where he became friends with J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien and other friends convinced him to return to Christianity when he was 32. He married American writer Joy Davidman in 1956, who died of cancer after 4 years.

Lewis passed away on 22 November 1963 (aged 64) at Oxford, England due to kidney failure. He’s best remembered for one of the most popular books in English literature, ” The Chronicles of Narnia ” that was later adapted into a blockbuster movie in 2005. He was a creative genius and a legend whose books were translated into more than 30 languages and sold millions of copies. Hats off to the great, C. S. Lewis for his significant contribution to the world of English literature.

His most popular books:

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