
The Inklings
C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends
Humphrey Carpenter(Author)
HarperCollins (Publisher)
Published on 2. January 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-00-774869-3 (ISBN)
Description
Critically acclaimed, award-winning biography of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and the brilliant group of writers to come out of Oxford during the Second World War.
C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and their friends were a regular feature of the Oxford scenery in the years during and after the Second World War. They drank beer on Tuesdays at the 'Bird and Baby', and on Thursday nights they met in Lewis' Magdalen College rooms to read aloud from the books they were writing; jokingly they called themselves 'The Inklings'.
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien first introduced The Screwtape Letters and The Lord of the Rings to an audience in this company and Charles Williams, poet and writer of supernatural thrillers, was another prominent member of the group.
Humphrey Carpenter, who wrote the acclaimed biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, draws upon unpublished letters and diaries, to which he was given special access, in this engrossing story.
C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and their friends were a regular feature of the Oxford scenery in the years during and after the Second World War. They drank beer on Tuesdays at the 'Bird and Baby', and on Thursday nights they met in Lewis' Magdalen College rooms to read aloud from the books they were writing; jokingly they called themselves 'The Inklings'.
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien first introduced The Screwtape Letters and The Lord of the Rings to an audience in this company and Charles Williams, poet and writer of supernatural thrillers, was another prominent member of the group.
Humphrey Carpenter, who wrote the acclaimed biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, draws upon unpublished letters and diaries, to which he was given special access, in this engrossing story.
Reviews / Votes
'A constantly enjoyable volume' John Carey, Sunday Times 'A triumph of skill and tact... not one dull or slack sentence' Kingsley Amis, New Statesman 'It must be technically very difficult to write a biography of more than one person at a time: it is still more difficult to capture the atmosphere of a group... Mr Carpenter has managed both things admirably' Mary Warnock, Sunday TelegraphMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
Index
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
213 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-774869-3 (9780007748693)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2017
1st Edition
HarperCollins
€7.79
Available for download
Previous edition

Person
Humphrey Carpenter was born in Oxford in 1946 and has spent most of his life in that city. He read English Language and Literature at Keble College, Oxford, and met Professor J.R.R. Tolkien on a number of occasions. For some years he worked for the BBC as a radio producer and broadcaster and has won acclaim as a top biographer, including the recent and controversial biography of Robert Runcie.