Critical insights: C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis (1898–1963) wrote scores of books in many different genres, notably children’s books (the “Chronicles of Narnia” series), fiction (Till We Have Faces), and science fiction (the “Space Trilogy” series). He also wrote poetry, an autobiography, books on theology, cosmology, Christian apologetics, literary criticism and theory. Much has been written about him and his work as well. In this reference title, Evans (English, Auburn Univ.) presents 15 penetrating and insightful essays by 11 mostly literary scholars, including himself, with titles like “‘Iron Will Eat the World’s Old Beauty Up’: C.S. Lewis’s Environmental Poems.” There’s also a substantive biographical essay about Lewis and a historical approach to Lewis’s thinking and writing, but the book’s vast assortment of critical perspectives ranks as the biggest highlight.