C. S. Lewis is universally recognized as one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century. A noted scholar, Lewis was able to reach a vast popular audience during his lifetime and continues to attract thousands of new readers every year. But how did Lewis first become a popular public figure? During the most desperate years of World War II, Lewis was asked by the British Broadcasting Corporation's recently created Home Service to give radio addresses on Christianity to a nation shaken by war. The choice was controversial. At first dismissed by critics as a layman who was unqualified to tackle such weighty issues, Lewis proved to be enormously persuasive. These radio talks were eventually published as Mere Christianity, which now ranks as one of the great classics of religious literature.
This rich chapter in Lewis's life, which deals with his love-hate relationship with the "new" medium of broadcasting, has received little attention from biographers and commentators. Yet it was Lewis's work on the radio that made him a household name. By combining narrative skill and adroitly quoting from correspondence, Phillips captures Lewis's reservations, vexations, achievements, and, finally, his enormous success.
C. S. Lewis in a Time of War is a fascinating look at how these talks were created and the enthusiastic response they generated at a time when bombing in London caused many radio stations to be evacuated. This book reveals a rich, previously untapped vein of Lewis's life and work that will intrigue his millions of fans.
C. S. Lewis is universally recognized as one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century. Lewis was able to reach a vast popular audience during his lifetime and continues to attract thousands of new readers every year. But when, during the most desperate years of World War II he was asked by the BBC’s Home Service to give a series of radio addresses about Christianity, he was dismissed by critics as a layman who was unqualified to tackle such weighty issues. The broadcasts proved to be enormously successful, and his talks were eventually published as Mere Christianity, one of the great classics of religious literature.
BBC journalist Justin Phillips’s C.S. Lewis in a Time of War is a fascinating look at a how these talks were created and the enthusiastic response they generated at a time when bombing in London caused many radio stations to be evacuated. This book reveals a relatively unknown period of Lewis’s life and work that will intrigue his millions of fans.
Justin Phillips was a radio journalist for the BBC for over twenty years. He worked in the World Service and was deputy editor of “The World Tonight.” Phillips was an elder at his local church and a frequent speaker and preacher about Christianity, the media, and the relationship between the two. In 2000, soon after submitting this finished manuscript, Phillips died just before his fiftieth birthday. His oldest daughter, Laura Treneer, acted as his editor and brought the manuscript to publication.
“Offering a behind the scenes look at a critical time in Lewis’ development as a writer, Phillips catches some of Lewis’ personality.”
– Christianity Today
Justin Phillips was a radio journalist for the BBC for over twenty years. He worked in the World Service and was deputy editor of The World Tonight. He was an elder at his local church and a frequent speaker and preacher about Christianity, the media, and the relationship between the two. Phillips died in 2000, just before his fiftieth birthday, soon after submitting this finished manuscript. His oldest daughter, Laura Treneer, acted as his editor and brought the manuscript forward to publication.
