Lewis Resources

The Abolition of Man

Written after a 5 month collaborative study of the book.

1/15/2023

Introduction to the Chronicles of Narnia

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

Prince Caspian

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Silver Chair

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Horse and His Boy

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Magician's Nephew

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Last Battle

Part of the Chronicles of Narnia series

The Liberal Arts, Antidote for Atheism

The New Look

Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism in Context

The Shocking Alternative

The Ransom Trilogy

The War Writings of C.S. Lewis

Covers the writings of C. S. Lewis during World War II

The Letters of C.S. Lewis

The Making of a Rhetorician

Miracles

Provides an outline of Lewis' 1947 book, Miracles: A Preliminary study, with some discussion questions included.

Mere Christianity

I call Lewis' 1952 publication, Mere Christianity,  "Uncommon Truth in Common Language."

Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters were published in book form in 1942 after being serialized weekly in The Guardian.

An Experiment in Criticism

An Experiment in Criticism with summary and discussion questions.

De Descriptione Temporum

Lewis' inaugural address at Cambridge University, 1954, "De Descriptione Temporum."

The Personal Heresy

Lewis and Tillyard debate the topic of whether a poem is a reflection of the poet's personality or about something outside of the poet, and it takes place over the years during the decade of the 1930s in their point-counterpoint series of six essays. 

2008

The World's Last Night

"The Weight of Glory" and "The World's Last Night" are summarized, with discussion questions, in this PowerPoint.

The Weight of Glory

This is a separate PowerPoint on "The Weight of Glory" only. 

The Great Divorce

Notes and discussion guide for The Great Divorce. 

Learning in War Time

The Pilgrim's Regress

Chronologically Lewis

The story of how the database known as "Chronologically Lewis" came to be.

From Atheism to Christianity for CSL Talk

My 2017 book,From Atheism to Christianity.

2017

The Life of C. S. Lewis

This is my outline (below) on the life of Lewis, as presented on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, at Luther-Tyndale Lutheran Church, London, England.

7/9/2019

Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism

Notes and discussion questions on the 1959 essay, "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism."

Perelandra

Brief notes on Perelandra (1943).

Shadowlands

Notes on the three versions of Shadowlands. 

Jack, Joy, and Shadowlands

Details the specific dates and events, documented in Lewis's letters especially, of interaction between C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. This, of course, is the story of Shadowlands, but it gives a fuller perspective on the decade of their interaction between the first letter from Joy to Jack in 1950 and Joy's death in 1960.

2/15/2013

Reflections on the Psalms

Lewis' only full-length book about a book of the Bible, published in 1958, Reflections on the Psalms. 

1/29/2012

Meditation in a Toolshed

Lewis' short 1945 essay entitled "Meditation in a Toolshed." 

The Medieval Mind and the Trilogy

Introduction to the Ransom Trilogy. 

J.R.R. Tolkien

Lewis' friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. 

Haldane, Joad, and Warren Lewis

This PowerPoint surveys three of C. S. Lewis' contemporaries, the atheist and scientist J.B.S. Haldane, who served as the model for Weston in the Ransom Trilogy, philosopher C.E.M. Joad, who returned to the Christian faith in part because of the influence of Lewis, and Warren Hamilton Lewis, the older brother of C. S. Lewis. 

A Grief Observed

A Grief Observed (1961). Lewis's response to the loss of his wife Joy Davidman.

Collect for C.S. Lewis

The Episcopal Church has adopted a Collect (Prayer) for C. S. Lewis. 

Irrigating Deserts

C. S. Lewis on Education.

2005

Stella Aldwinckle, Atheists, and Agnostics

My article published spring 2022 by CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society:

2022

C. S. Lewis Serendipities: Things You Never Knew about Jack and Warren

2016

C.S. Lewis and the Westcott House Governing Board

My article for The Journal of Inklings Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, April 2012, "C. S. Lewis and the Westcott House Governing Board":

2012

McGrath Biography of C.S. Lewis

My review of Alister McGrath's excellent new biography of Lewis appears below. I recommend it highly. It has new insights in every chapter and on almost every page.

2013

Life of Lewis in Seven Pages

To read a summary of the life of C. S. Lewis, rather than a lengthy biography, download the "Life of Lewis in seven pages,"

The Middle War-Years in the Writings of C. S. Lewis: 1942 and 1943 

Published in CSL: The Bulletin of The New York C. S. Lewis Society (Mar/Apr 2012) Vol. 43, No. 2, pages 1-13.

2012

The Year of Narnia: 1950

An article about what Lewis wrote in 1950. The Chronicle of the Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society. Vol. 7, Issue 2, April 2010.

2010

Warren Hamilton Lewis: His Brother's Brother

Published in October 2009 by The Chronicle of the Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society.

2009

JBS: The Life and Work of J. B. S. Haldane

Published in Nov/Dec 2007 by CSL: The Bulletin of The New York C.S. Lewis Society. 

2007

Learning in War Time

Published on the HarperCollins website in 2008

2008

From Vocal Agnostic to Reluctant Convert: The Influence of C.S. Lewis on the Conversion C.E.M. Joad

My article on C.E.M. Joad has been published by Sehnsucht.

2009

The Personal Heresy: Scholars Can Be Gentlemen

My article, "The Personal Heresy: Scholars Can Be Gentlemen," appeared in the November/December 2008 issue of CSL: The Bulletin of The New York C.S. Lewis Society.

2008

Mere Christianity: Uncommon Truth in Common Language

My chapter on Mere Christianity in the four-volume series of books on Lewis, edited by Bruce Edwards and published in 2007 by Praeger Publishers, and entitled C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. My chapter in Volume 3 (Chapter 3, pages 51-73) is entitled "Mere Christianity: Uncommon Truth in Common Language."

2007

Eugenics and Other Evils

The Life of Lewis

The New York C. S. Lewis Society is the oldest Lewis Society in existence, having been founded in 1969.

The Abolition of Man Summary

Abolition of Man according to Angus Menuge

Some years ago I was working on a book manuscript that ended up too technical for publication. It contains some valuable information, which I style as "The Intellectual History of Oxford and Cambridge during the Lewis Years." It deals with what was going on in those two cities and universities while Lewis was alive, explaining some of the reasons for what and why he wrote. Download it as a Word file, search for what you need, and document it in your footnotes. The manuscript is divided by academic discipline: history, religion, English, social sciences, education, the arts, etc.

This is my review of The Magician's Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society, a book published in 2012 from the Discovery Institute.

2012

A written transcript of the 90-minute BBC version of Shadowlands, with Joss Ackland as C. S. Lewis and Claire Bloom as Joy Davidman. Print a copy and follow along as you watch this movie, made for television. This September 2013 version supersedes a previous version, which was of the 73-minute version of the movie.

2013

The military record of Warren Hamilton Lewis, Jack's older brother, appears below. I used it to write my article on Warren for "The Chronicle of the Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society." I have transcribed the documents that the Army Personnel Centre sent at my request, and they appear in a pdf document. If you wish, I can scan the documents to assure their authenticity and upload them, upon request.

This downloadable syllabus is the basic syllabus for my introductory Lewis course. 

This downloadable syllabus is the basic syllabus for my second Lewis course. The course is now entitled "Narnia meets Middle Earth."

This document contains a collection of discussion questions about The Screwtape Letters. A leader's guide is also available if you request it at joelheck2@gmail.com. The leader's guide contains my proposed answers to my questions.