A Well of Wonder: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and The Inklings

by Clyde S. Kilby, Loren Wilkinson (Editor), Keith Call (Editor)

Overview

Clyde S. Kilby is rare among the best expositors of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and their circle of friends in that he became personally acquainted not only with Lewis and Tolkien, but also Lewis’s brother Major Warren Lewis, Owen Barfield, Lord David Cecil, and others of the Inklings. He particularly captured the soul of C.S. Lewis in his lectures, articles and books, which guided his vision in creating and curating the prestigious Wade Collection at Wheaton College, Illinois. This delightful book makes available Dr. Kilby’s wide-ranging and inspiring take on Lewis, Tolkien and the affinities they shared with their circle, the Inklings, in their enchantment with profound thought vibrant with imaginative wonder which took them beyond “the walls of the world”. (Colin Duriez Inklings scholar, author of The Oxford Inklings)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612618623
Publisher:	Paraclete Press
Publication date:	12/01/2016
Series:	Mount Tabor Books , #1
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Clyde Samuel Kilby was an American author and English professor, best known for his scholarship on the Inklings, especially J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. A professor at Wheaton College, IL for most of his life, Dr. Kilby founded the Marion E. Wade Center there, making it a center for the study of the Inklings and their literary companions.

Table of Contents

A Tribute to Clyde S. Kilby Luci Shaw v

Introduction: Clyde S. Kilby: The Man Who Reopened the Doors to Wonder Loren Wilkinson vii

Section 1 C. S. Lewis on Theology and the Witness of Literature

Chapter 1 Logic and Fantasy: The World of C. S. Lewis 3

Chapter 2 My First (and Only) Visit with Mr. Lewis 16

Chapter 3 On Scripture, Myth, and Theology 20

Chapter 4 Everyman's Theologian 43

Chapter 5 His Fate Among Theological Critics 51

Chapter 6 On Imagination and Reason 58

Chapter 7 On Music, Worship, and the Spiritual Life 81

Chapter 8 Into the Land of the Imagination 105

Chapter 9 The joy-Minded Professor 112

Chapter 10 The Witness of Holiness 119

Chapter 11 Between Heaven and Hell 126

Chapter 12 Till We Have Faces 131

Section 2 J.R.R. Tolkien on Story and the Power of Myth

Chapter 13 Initial Encounters with J. R. R. Tolkien 149

Chapter 14 Mythic and Christian Elements in The Lord of the Rings 154

Chapter 15 The Evolution of a Friendship and the Writing of The Silmarillion 175

Chapter 16 A Brief Chronology of the Writings 209

Chapter 17 The Lost Myth and Literary Imagination 220

Chapter 18 Literary Form, Biblical Narrative, and Theological Themes 240

Chapter 19 Death and Afterlife 254

Section 3 The Inklings as Shapers of a New Christian Imagination

Chapter 20 Portraits of Damnation, Pictures of Glory: Introducing Charles Williams 259

Chapter 21 An Ardent Apologist for the Faith: Introducing Dorothy L. Sayers 267

Chapter 22 The Forming of a New Friendship 270

Chapter 23 Understanding the Oxford Group 285

Chapter 24 The Wade Collection and the Preservation of a Legacy 292

Chapter 25 A Conversation on the Importance of Literature 307

Chapter 26 On Reading an d Writing Fiction 315

Chapter 27 Myth: The Nostalgia for Eternity 328

Afterword Loren Wilkinson 336

Acknowledgments 338

Sources 339

Index to Persons 341

Index to Subjects 345

Index to Scriptures 348

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Clyde S. Kilby's personal and critical encounter with C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien expanded their influence and secured their legacy, especially among evanglicals in america. This marvelous treasury of reviews, essays, lectures and interviews brings Dr. Kilby's popular introductions and brillian interpretations back into print for a new generation of readers who love Lewis, Tolkien, and their literary friends." —Philip Ryken, President, Wheaton College, Illinois

“Many things could be said about Professor Clyde Kilby. Those of us who knew him well can recall a man Frodo-esque in both his size and his sense of adventure and wonder. He was Gandalf-like in his wisdom. This book makes readers aware that Kilby was a man of vision. These papers, by Kilby, reveal his passion for the authors he loved. This book will not only allow us to see what he saw, but it also gives a glimpse into the mind and heart of a man who truly embodied what it means to be a man of letters.” —Jerry Root, author of The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis, Professor of Evangelism, Wheaton College, Illinois