This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. The first study of C. S. Lewis to offer a detailed examination of Till We Have Faces, Peter J. Schakel's new book is also the first to explore the tension between reason and imagination that significantly shaped Lewis's thinking and writing. Schakel begins with a close analysis of Till We Have Faces which leads the reader through the plot, clarifying its themes as it discusses structure, symbols, and allusions. The second part of the book surveys Lewis's works, tracing the tension between reason and imagination. In the works of the thirties and forties reason is in the ascendant; from the early fifties on, in works such as the Chronicles of Narnia, there is an increased emphasis on imagination -- which culminates in the fine "myth retold," Till We Have Faces. Imagination and reason are reconciled, finally, in works of the early sixties such as A Grief Observed and Letters to Malcolm.

There can be many obstacles to faith, as C. S. Lewis discovered. But he overcame them to become one of Christianity's most ardent warriors of the faith. Art Lindsley provides a readable introduction to C. S. Lewis's reflections on objections to belief in Jesus Christ and the compelling reasons why Lewis came to affirm the truth of Christianity.

For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganised Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery. Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets - - Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - - planets which Lewis described as "spiritual symbols of permanent value" and "especially worthwhile in our own generation". Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality. The cosmological theme of each Chronicle is what Lewis called 'the kappa element in romance', the atmospheric essence of a story, everywhere present but nowhere explicit. The reader inhabits this atmosphere and thus imaginatively gains connaître knowledge of the spiritual character which the tale was created to embody. Planet Narnia is a ground-breaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook. Ward uncovers a much subtler writer and thinker than has previously been recognized, whose central interests were hiddenness, immanence, and knowledge by acquaintance.

A fresh look at this Christian champion and master storyteller through his varied uses of imagination.

C. S. Lewis is one of the best-loved and most engaging Christian writers of recent times, and he continues to be a powerful defender of the faith. It is in his imaginative fiction that his genius finds its fullest expression and makes its most lasting theological contribution. Famously, Lewis had friends who, like him, employed powerfully creative imaginations to explore the profundities of Christian thought and their struggles with their faith. These illuminating essays on C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, Rose Macaulay, and Austin Farrer are written by an international team of Lewis scholars.

Imagination has long been regarded as central to C. S. Lewis's life and to his creative and critical works, but this is the first study to provide a thorough analysis of his theory of imagination, including the different ways he used the word and how those uses relate to each other. Peter Schakel begins by concentrating on the way reading or engaging with the other arts is an imaginative activity. He focuses on three books in which imagination is the central theme--Surprised by Joy, An Experiment in Criticism, and The Discarded Image--and shows the important role of imagination in Lewis's theory of education. He then examines imagination and reading in Lewis's fiction, concentrating specifically on the Chronicles of Narnia, the most imaginative of his works. He looks at how the imaginative experience of reading the Chronicles is affected by the physical texture of the books, the illustrations, revisions of the texts, the order in which the books are read, and their narrative "voice," the "storyteller" who becomes almost a character in the stories. Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis also explores Lewis's ideas about imagination in the nonliterary arts. Although Lewis regarded engagement with the arts as essential to a well- rounded and satisfying life, critics of his work and even biographers have given little attention to this aspect of his life. Schakel reviews the place of music, dance, art, and architecture in Lewis's life, the ways in which he uses them as content in his poems and stories, and how he develops some of the deepest, most significant themes of his stories through them. Schakel concludes by analyzing the uses and abuses of imagination. He looks first at "moral imagination." Although Lewis did not use this term, Schakel shows how Lewis developed the concept in That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man long before it became popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. While readers often concentrate on the Christian dimension of Lewis's works, equally or more important to him was their moral dimension. Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis will appeal to students and teachers of both children's literature and twentieth-century British writers. It will also be of value to readers who wish to compare Lewis's creations with more recent imaginative works such as the Harry Potter series.

Apologetics, the rational defense of the Christian faith in a public context, using the language of philosophy, is traditionally associated with either Roman Catholic theology or Evangelicalism. The contributors to this book seek to (re-)claim Christian apologetics in an Anglican Catholic context. The book originated in a number of successful Apologetics summer schools at St Stephen's College Oxford which generated interest in the rediscovery of apologetics in the context of today's Church. A star cast of authors from a variety of backgrounds offer constructive reflections on subjects such as what is Apologetics?; common objections to the Christian Faith; atheism; apologetics and contemporary culture and apologetics in the parish. Contributors include: Graham Ward (Manchester, Alister McGrath (King's College London), Alison Milbank (Nottingham) and Robin Ward (Oxford).