C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)

Born on November 29th, 1898, Clive Staples Lewis insisted on being called Jack from the age of two. Brought up in Belfast he was an avid reader of novels like Black Beauty and Paradise Lost along with books by E. Nesbit. His nursemaid also told him and his older brother, Warren, magical stories feeding Jack's imagination. Sir Peter Mouse and Sir Ben, a frog were some of Jack's first stories.Everything changed when his mother died in 1908. Sent to various schools Jack couldn't understand why the boys only thought about cricket, food and work. Why didn't they enjoy books? Jack's father finally sent him to study under the tutelage of Professor Kirk. Here Jack lost the remains of his Christian beliefs, concluding that God and Jesus were just myths. By the time Jack got to Oxford in 1917, it wasn't long before he found himself in the trenches of the French Somme Valley. Injured by shrapnel, Germany had surrendered before he was well enough to consider going back. Returning to Oxford College, he was now looking after Janie and Martha Moore, family of his comrade Paddy who had died in the war.Obtaining a job lecturing at Oxford College he then gained a teaching position at Magdelen College. It was during this time that he met another professor, J.R.R.Tolkien!What date did Jack get saved! When did he begin his book, The Problem of Pain? What gave Jack the inspiration for the book, Screwtape Letters? Mere Christianity came about after a series of popular talk by Jack for the BBC. Who thought that if The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was ever published it would be a great embarrassment? Thankfully Jack's other friend, Roger Green, thought it was great as did Dr. Havard's daughter, Mary Clare. The book was released in 1950 and each December, for the next six years, a sequel came out. Big changes began to happen to Jack at the age of 55 and beyond. Not only did he start a new job, he also met Joy Gresham. Why did they have two weddings?! Did you know that C.S. Lewis died on November 22nd, 1963, the same day that JFK was assassinated.This was a great read for the whole family. A wonderful insight into C.S. Lewis' life. My hubby, a big fan of C.S. Lewis' books, said there were even a couple things in this book that he had not known before!

What an unconventional and interesting life C.S. Lewis had. Many details of his life I had not heard before. It is good to see a hero's humanity: strengths and weaknesses.

Lots of information about books the author wrote in addition to his life. We read from and enjoy this series each year in our school group, but this one wasn’t as well liked as the others.

I've only read some of C.S. Lewis's books and have loved each of them! It was interesting to learn more about him and his life, starting with the fact that from the age of two, he insisted on going by the name of Jack. I was fascinated to learn that, at one point, he was an atheist and later became one of the greatest Christian authors of all time.I read The Chronicles of Narnia with my children a few years ago and we found the parts that talked about that to be especially interesting. There was also background given on some of his other books, which we enjoyed learning about as well. This is an excellent book for younger readers. I'm glad I read it with them since it sparked some interesting discussions and I learned quite a bit from it, too.

The authors so an amazing job of telling the story of C.S. Lewis!! Great read!

Who knew he died the same day as JFK?!? Fantastic testimony to the Lord’s work in his life! Thank you.

Loved this book! My girls and I did this as a read aloud. There are so many things we did not know about CS Lewis. We will be purchasing more YWAM Christian Hero books in the future.

The Benges are master biographers blending the facts with intriguing story. You feel like you really have a window into the personality of the person that they are writing about, not just their glorious traits but their weaknesses as well.

Very good

We preferred the closer narrative of the other books as they allowed us more to connect with the person. Overall though a good read and a wonderful introduction to the life of cs Lewis

I really enjoyed reading this book, as i learnt a lot about C.S Lewis's life, family, friends and how he became a Christian. I recommend that you get it.