By Nastya Yablonska, Group 34-H, Naukova Zmina Lycee, Kyiv 2011

Clive Lewiss Biography

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast Ireland, on 29 November 1898. His father was Albert James Lewis (18631929), a solicitor whose father, Richard, had come to Ireland from Wales during the mid 19th century. Lewis was schooled by private tutors before being sent to the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1908, just after his mother's death from cancer. Lewis then attended Campbell College in the east of Belfast about a mile from his home, but he left after a few months due to respiratory problems. He was then sent to the healthresort town of Malvern, Worcestershire, where he attended the preparatory school Cherbourg House, which Lewis calls "Chartres" in his autobiography. In September 1913, Lewis enrolled at Malvern College, where he remained until the following June. He found the school socially competitive.

In 1917, Lewis left his studies to volunteer in the British Army. During World War I he was commissioned an officer in the Third Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Lewis arrived at the front line in the Somme Valley in France on his nineteenth birthday, and experienced trench warfare. He was discharged in December 1918, and soon returned to his studies. Lewis was raised in a church-going family in the Church of Ireland. He became an atheist at 15, though he later described his young self as being paradoxically "very angry with God for not existing". After his conversion to theism in 1929, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931, following a long discussion and late-night walk with his close friends Tolkien and Hugo Dyson. He records making a specific commitment to Christian belief while on his way to the zoo with his brother. He became a member of the Church of England somewhat to the disappointment of Tolkien, who had hoped that he would convert to Roman Catholicism.

In early June 1961, Lewis began experiencing medical problems and was diagnosed with inflammation of the kidneys which resulted in blood poisoning. His illness caused him to miss the autumn term at Cambridge, though his health gradually began improving in 1962 and he returned that April. However, on 15 July 1963 he fell ill and was admitted to hospital. After he was discharged from the hospital, Lewis returned to the Kilns, though he was too ill to return to work. As a result, he resigned from his post at Cambridge in August. Lewis's condition continued to decline, and in mid-November he was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. On 22 November 1963 Lewis collapsed in his bedroom and died a few minutes later, exactly one week before his 65th birthday.

Lewis began his academic career as an undergraduate student at Oxford, where he won a triple first, the highest honours in three areas of study. Lewis then taught as a fellow of Magdalena Collige, Oxford, for nearly thirty years, from 1925 to 1954, and later was the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Lewis wrote several prefaces to old works of literature and poetry, like Layamon's Brut. His book "A Preface to Paradise Lost" is still one of the most valuable criticisms of that work. His last academic work, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964), is a summary of the medieval world view, the "discarded image" of the cosmos in his title. Lewis was a prolific writer, and his circle of literary friends became an informal discussion society known as the "Inklings", including J. R. R. Tolkien, Nevill Coghill, Lord David Cecil, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and his brother Warren Lewis.

In addition to his scholarly work, Lewis wrote a number of popular novels, including his science fiction The Space Trilogy and his fantasy fiction Narnian books, most dealing implicitly with Christian themes such as sin, humanity's fall from grace, and redemption.

The Pilgrim's Regress

His first novel after becoming a Christian was The Pilgrim's Regress, which depicted his experience with Christianity in the style of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. The book was poorly received by critics at the time, although D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave him muchvalued encouragement.

"Space Trilogy" novels

His "Space Trilogy" or "Ransom Trilogy" novels (also called the "Cosmic Trilogy") dealt with what Lewis saw as the de-humanising trends in contemporary science fiction. In "Space Trilogy" enter three novels: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children and is considered a classic of children's literature. Written between 1949 and 1954 and illustrated by Pauline Baynes, the series is Lewis's most popular work, having sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages. It has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, stage and cinema. The books contain Christian ideas intended to be easily accessible to young readers. In addition to Christian themes, Lewis also borrows characters from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional British and Irish fairy tales.

The Chronicles of Narnia's seven books have been in continuous publication since 1956, selling over 100 million copies in 47 languages including non-Roman scripts and Braille. The books were first published in the United Kingdom by Geoffrey Bles, with the first edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe released in London on 16 October 1950. Although three more books, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Horse and His Boy, were already complete, they were not released at the time.

I. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, completed by the end of March 1949 and published by Geoffrey Bles in London on 16 October 1950, tells the story of four ordinary children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie. They discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke's house that leads to the magical land of Narnia. The Pevensie children help Aslan, a talking lion, save Narnia from the evil White Witch, who has reigned over the land of Narnia for a century of perpetual winter. The children become kings and queens of this new-found land and establish the Golden Age of Narnia, leaving a legacy to be rediscovered in later books.

II. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951)

Completed after Christmas, 1949 and published on 15 October 1951, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia tells the story of the Pevensie children's second trip to Narnia. They are drawn back by the power of Susan's horn, blown by Prince Caspian to summon help in his hour of need. Narnia as they knew it is no more. Their castle is in ruins and all the dryads have retreated so far within themselves that only Aslan's magic can wake them. Caspian has fled into the woods to escape his uncle, Miraz, who has usurped the throne. The children set out once again to save Narnia.

III. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)

Written between January and February 1950 and published on 15 September 1952, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader sees Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their priggish cousin, Eustace Scrubb, return to Narnia. Once there, they join Caspian's voyage on the ship Dawn Treader to find the seven lords who were banished when Miraz took over the throne. This perilous journey brings them face to face with many wonders and dangers as they sail toward Aslan's country at the end of the world.

IV. The Silver Chair (1953)

Completed at the beginning of March 1951 and published 7 September 1953, The Silver Chair is the first Narnia book without the Pevensie children. Instead, Aslan calls Eustace back to Narnia together with his classmate Jill Pole. There they are given four signs to aid in the search for Prince Rilian, Caspian's son, who disappeared after setting out ten years earlier to avenge his mother's death. Eustace and Jill, with the help of Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, face danger and betrayal on their quest to find Rilian.

V. The Horse and His Boy (1954)

Begun in March and completed at the end of July 1950, The Horse and His Boy was published on 6 September 1954. The story takes place during the reign of the Pevensies in Narnia, an era which begins and ends in the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A talking horse called Bree and a young boy named Shasta, both of whom are in bondage in the country of Calormen, are the protagonists. By chance, they meet and plan their return to Narnia and freedom. Along the way they meet Aravis and her talking horse Hwin who are also fleeing to Narnia.

VI. The Magician's Nephew (1955)

Completed in February 1954 and published by Bodley Head in London on 2 May 1955, the prequel The Magician's Nephew brings the reader back to the origins of Narnia where we learn how Aslan created the world and how evil first entered it. Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer stumble into different worlds by experimenting with magic rings made by Digory's uncle. They encounter Jadis (The White Witch) in the dying world of Charn, and witness the creation of Narnia. Many long-standing questions about the world are answered as a result.

VII. The Last Battle (1956)

Completed in March 1953 and published 4 September 1956, The Last Battle chronicles the end of the world of Narnia. Jill and Eustace return to save Narnia from Shift, an ape, who tricks Puzzle, a donkey, into impersonating the lion Aslan, precipitating a showdown between the Calormenes and King Tirian.

True or false?
1.Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 29 November 1898. 2. In 1917, Lewis didnt leave his studies. 3. Lewis began his academic career as an undergraduate student at Oxford. 4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia tells the story of the Pevensie children's second trip to Narnia. 5. On 4 September 1956 was published The Last Battle chronicles the end of the world of Narnia. 6. The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of five fantasy novels for children

Questions:
1) How did Lewis Ransom Trilogy also called? 2) How many children are the main characters in Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe? 3) How was the talking horse in The Horse and his Boy called?