The Narnian by Alan Jacobs

"Without self-forgetfulness there can be no delight."

This is Alan Jacob's thesis for his biography of  C. S. Lewis, The Narnian.  He introduces the book by saying, Lewis's mind was above all characterized by a willingness to be enchanted and that it was this openness to enchantment that held together the various strands of his life - his delight in laughter, his willingness to accept a world made by a good and loving God, and his willingness to submit to the charms of a wonderful story... to the point of self-abandonment.

He goes on to show how this theme resonated in all of Lewis's writings, even his non-fiction (such as The Abolition of Man) where Lewis convincingly shows the failure of modern education to reach children's hearts and imaginations.  

Jacobs quotes a 1935 letter from Lewis to Arthur Greeves in which he describes a pampered little boy who nevertheless had been neglected: I often wonder what the present generation of children will grow up like. They have been treated with so much indulgence yet so little affection, with so much science and so little mother-wit. Not a fairy tale nor a nursery rhyme. 

I appreciated Jacobs' thorough overview of Lewis' life and his obvious love for the Lewis canon. I loved little tidbits of information like the fact that Warnie was at Dunkirk and that Jacob's thinks that Lewis's greatest book is English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (a book that hardly anyone has ever heard of.) And I enjoyed his careful explanation of Till We Have Faces, since that is a book that I find intimidating. Lastly, I got a kick out of his connection between the ending of The Last Battle and Dante's Paradiso because I hope to read both of those books this year.  

My biggest quibbles with the book came in chapter 11 where he chides Lewis for not being feminist enough and where he also looked down his nose at several previous biographers. He also assumes a lot about Lewis's relationships that Lewis (and those closest to him) never corroborated.

Still, it was a good book to read on the heels of Volume 2 of Lewis's letters because many of his correspondents came to life in the biography.

If you've read this, what did you think of it? Do you have a favorite C.S. Lewis biography to recommend?

Blessings