Overview

David C. Downing explores mysticism as a part of C. S. Lewis's faith and writing. He addresses both the influence on Lewis by mystical writers of his own day and the threads of mysticism evident in Lewis's works.

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9780830832842

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Reviews

Thought Provoking and fascinating, Christian literature and religion scholars will find this book an enjoyable read.--Amanda M. Flower for The Christian Librarian, volume 49.1, 2006

. . .a useful introduction for people who wish to explore the mystical side of Christianity. --Doris T. Myers, An Anglo-American Literary Review, Vol 24 Thought Provoking and fascinating, Christian literature and religion scholars will find this book an enjoyable read. --Amanda M. Flower for The Christian Librarian, volume 49.1, 2006

C. S. Lewis did not think of himself as a mystic, David Downing argues, but he was far more interested in mysticism and even the occult than many people imagine. Downing plumbs both Lewis's fiction and nonfiction and shows convincingly that the cast of Lewis's mind is not exhausted by his brilliant intellect and his fertile literary imagination. Deep within Lewis lies an appreciation for, and engagement with, the mystical way. Downing offers a wonderful corrective to a C. S. Lewis we are tempted to cut down to fit our own mental, spiritual and imaginative wardrobe. Beautifully written, a joy to read. --James Sire, author of The Universe Next Door

"""One does not commonly think of finding C. S. Lewis in the ranks of 'mystical' writers--Evelyn Underhill, Baron von Hügel, Meister Eckhart and company. But David Downing has probed, with great skill (and fidelity to Lewis's own vision) the works which we all know, and has opened up to us a fresh appreciation of this component in Lewis's writings. . . . Downing's prose style is worthy of his topic.""--Thomas Howard, author of C. S. Lewis: Man of Letters and Splendor in the Ordinary . . .a useful introduction for people who wish to explore the mystical side of Christianity.--Doris T. Myers, An Anglo-American Literary Review, Vol 24 Thought Provoking and fascinating, Christian literature and religion scholars will find this book an enjoyable read.--Amanda M. Flower for The Christian Librarian, volume 49.1, 2006 ""C. S. Lewis did not think of himself as a mystic, David Downing argues, but he was far more interested in mysticism and even the occult than many people imagine. Downing plumbs both Lewis's fiction and nonfiction and shows convincingly that the cast of Lewis's mind is not exhausted by his brilliant intellect and his fertile literary imagination. Deep within Lewis lies an appreciation for, and engagement with, the mystical way. Downing offers a wonderful corrective to a C. S. Lewis we are tempted to cut down to fit our own mental, spiritual and imaginative wardrobe. Beautifully written, a joy to read.""--James Sire, author of The Universe Next Door"

One does not commonly think of finding C. S. Lewis in the ranks of 'mystical' writers--Evelyn Underhill, Baron von Hugel, Meister Eckhart and company. But David Downing has probed, with great skill (and fidelity to Lewis's own vision) the works which we all know, and has opened up to us a fresh appreciation of this component in Lewis's writings. . . . Downing's prose style is worthy of his topic. --Thomas Howard, author of C. S. Lewis: Man of Letters and Splendor in the Ordinary

Author Information

"David C. Downing is the Ralph W. Schlosser Professor of English at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He has written numerous articles on C. S. Lewis, and his Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C. S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy (University of Massachusetts Press) is named one of the five best books yet published on Lewis by the ""C. S. Lewis and the Inklings Homepage."" His book on C. S. Lewis's journey to faith, The Most Reluctant Convert, was named one of Booklist's Best Religion Books of 2002. It was also a 2003 ECPA Gold Medallion Finalist."

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