C.S. LEWIS Biography - Writers

 
 

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C.S. LEWIS

Name: Clive Staples Lewis                                                                 
Born: 29 November 1898                                                                     
Died: 22 November 1963                                                                     
                                                                                           
Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis (29 November 1898 - 22 November 1963), commonly                 
referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish writer and scholar. Lewis is known for           
his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics, literary criticism, and           
fiction. He is best known today for his series The Chronicles of Narnia.                   
                                                                                           
Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the               
Rings. Both authors were leading figures in the English faculty at Oxford                 
University and in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings".             
According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptised in the Church           
of Ireland at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Owing           
to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at about the age of 30, Lewis re-converted 
to Christianity, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England" (Lewis         
1952, p. 6). His conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime             
radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Later           
in his life he married the American writer Joy Gresham, who died of bone cancer           
four years later at the age of 45.                                                         
                                                                                           
Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and sell more               
than a million copies a year. The books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia             
have sold more than 100 million copies. Many stage and screen adaptations of               
Lewis's works have also been produced, the most notable of which is the 2005               
Disney film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.