Author Spotlight: C.S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis) was one of the most influential writers of his time, most well-known for the series The Chronicles of Narnia. He was born on November 29th, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland to Albert James Lewis and Florence Augusta Lewis. In 1908 C.S. Lewis' mother died and he was sent to England to school. In 1910 he enrolled at Campbell College in Belfast, but respiratory problems caused him to leave the school. He later joined the army was discharged after being wounded in the Battle of Arras. His writing career began in 1919 and continued until his death in 1963.

C.S. Lewis' first book was published in 1919, titled Spirits in Bondage. He published the book under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.
In 1921 C.S. Lewis met W.B. Yeats.
C.S. Lewis graduated from Oxford University and was offered a teaching position at Magdalen College at Oxford in 1925.
While teaching at Magdalen C.S. Lewis joined a group of writers and intellectuals including J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis' own brother Warren Lewis. They called themselves The Inklings.
In 1926 C.S. Lewis published Dymer, another book under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton.
C.S. Lewis won the Hawthornden Prize for his book The Allegory of Love, released in 1936.
C.S. Lewis wrote his first science fiction book titled Out of the Silent Planet which was published in 1938. It was the first book in a trilogy.
During World War II C.S. Lewis broadcast popular radio shows on the subject of Christianity. The speeches were published in the book Mere Christianity.
C.S. Lewis began publishing the series The Chronicles of Narnia in the 1950s. The first book The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950.
The rest of the books in the Narnia series include Prince Caspian (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician's Nephew (1955), and The Last Battle (1956).
C.S. Lewis began teaching at Cambridge University in 1954 as a literature professor.
C.S. Lewis married Joy Gresham in 1956. She was an American English teacher.
C.S. Lewis' wife died in 1960 of cancer. His grief was shared in the book A Grief Observed, published under a pen name NW Clark.
Theologians and scholars have held C.S. Lewis' books Miracles and The Great Divorce in high regard.
C.S. Lewis became ill in 1961 with blood poisoning from inflamed kidneys. In 1962 his health began to improve.
On July 15th, 1963 C.S. Lewis fell ill and went to the hospital. He had a heart attack the next day.
After release from the hospital he resigned from his teaching position at Cambridge. On November 22, 1963 he passed away at the age of 64.
C.S. Lewis' death was overshadowed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Aldous Huxley, another famous author, died on the same day.
In 1979 The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was released in cartoon format and in 1989 the BBC released a film series.