Transcript follows.
Transcript
MAGDALENE COLLEGE,
CAMBRIDGE.
12/2/58
Dear Janet
I am very glad you liked The Lion etc and it was nice of you to write and tell me. The idea in my mind was, "supposing there were other worlds, and if one of them was like Narnia - and if it needed saving - and if Christ went to save it as He came to save us - let’s imagine what shape and name He might have taken there". And the answer was Aslan.
yours sincerely
C. S. Lewis
6 comments:
Great letter-- he's a really interesting man. I was just thinking this morning that it's about time for another reading of the Dawn Treader... Thanks for posting this. :)
I have a book composed entirely of letters and correspondence between CS Lewis and children. It sure was nice for him to make that effort.
I recall reading that he answered every letter he received, devoting a huge chunk of his evenings to the process.
Wow. Heartwarming.
Really very nice!!! Huge fan of Aslan...
Chuck - He certainly made attempts, though he did not get to every single one. He would spend a good part of his days answering letters, but often they were between himself and other authors, his publisher/editors, and his friends. Frequently, though, he would write to fans - indeed, that is basically how he found his wife, Joy Gresham.
The collection of his letters (three volumes, edited by the man who was Lewis' secretary/assistant during the 2 or 3 years before Lewis' death [Walter Hooper, who, by the by, is still alive and living in Oxford, England], published by HarperOne) is well worth the retail price. The third volume contains a vast amount of his letters to children, and some of his own insights on his novels (such as this letter here), are remarkable for research or just plain insight into his sense of humor, worldview, etc. He wrote frequently about how he saw his own work, often in an effort to guide a fan away from a misinterpretation (several notable instances of this occur with his lesser known works - the Space Trilogy and Till We Have Faces, for example). In these collected volumes, Hooper often gives context for the letter as well, which is very helpful.
Lewis was a fascinating man, and almost all his work is worth reading, including the letters.
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Thanks!