C. S. Lewis

In my childhood, I had read and greatly enjoyed the Narnia Chronicles. However, it was not until I played the part of 'Jack' Lewis in an amateur production of 'Shadowlands', that I really began to understand the man. The most astonishing realisation was that he was a household name, both here and in the United States, even before the first of the Narnia chronicles, 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe,' was published.

In this talk I explore:-

• his early childhood and the traumatic loss of his mother

• the close relationship with his brother Warnie, and the imaginary worlds that they created together

• his involvement in the Great War, and the lasting consequences of his friendship with a fellow Irish officer

• the journey back to Christianity, and his Christian writings

• his involvement with the 'Inklings', and especially JRR Tolkein

• his decision towards the end of his career to write children's stories

• his meeting late in life with Joy Gresham

I intersperse the talk with selected readings from 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe'.