C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis 29 November 1898 22 November 1963 was a British author literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College Oxford 19251954 and Magdalene College Cambridge 19541963 He is best known as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia but he is also noted for his other works of fiction such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy and for his nonfiction Christian apologetics including Mere Christianity Miracles and The Problem of Pain Lewis was a close friend of J R R Tolkien the author of The Lord of the Rings Both men served on the English faculty at the University of Oxford and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings According to Lewiss 1955 memoir Surprised by Joy he was baptized in the Church of Ireland but fell away from his faith during adolescence Lewis returned to Anglicanism at the age of 32 owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends and he became an ordinary layman of the Church of England Lewiss faith profoundly affected his work and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim Lewis wrote more than 30 books which have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold millions of copies The seven books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia have sold the most and have been popularized on stage television radio and cinema His philosophical writings are widely cited by Christian scholars from many denominations In 1956 Lewis married the American writer Joy Davidman she died of cancer four years later at the age of 45 Lewis died on 22 November 1963 of kidney failure at age 64 In 2013 on the 50th anniversary of his death Lewis was honoured with a memorial in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey Description above from the Wikipedia article C S Lewis licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia