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The Fellowship

the Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams
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May 29, 2019lukasevansherman rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The Inklings were a group of writers and thinkers who shared their work, shared ideas, and debated in Oxford, often meeting at the pub The Eagle and Child (aka the Bird and Babe). Like Bloomsbury, which in many ways is the modernist, secular double of the group, their members are somewhat nebulous, but for the purposes of this large survey of their lives and work, it's C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the lesser known members, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams. All were religious and all were interested in fantasy, but they were a far more eclectic group than is sometimes assumed. I went to Wheaton College, where Lewis is basically a saint, so I was familiar with his life, but was interested to learn about Barfield and Williams, who dabbled in mysticism and was certainly the strangest of the group. It's also a book about intellectual currents and literary trends and virtually every important writer in England at the time makes an appearance: T.S. Eliot, Dorothy Sayers, F.R. Leavis, Orwell, Kingsley Amis, and many more. It runs a bit long (over 500 pages), but sweeps the reader up and should appeal to anyone interested in the period, regardless of their views on religion and fantasy fiction. Also check out "The Magician's Book," about Lewis, and the biography "Tolkien: Author of the Century."