Nesbit, Mark Twain, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Īfter brother Warnie was sent off to boarding school in England, Jack became somewhat reclusive. On rainy days-and there were many in northern Ireland-he pulled volumes off the shelves and entered into worlds created by authors such as Conan Doyle, E. Lewis recalled early memories of “endless books.” “There were books in the study, books in the dining room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds,” he remembered, and none were off limits to him. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C.S. Jack and Warren (his only sibling, three years his senior) were not only read to aloud and taught to read, they were encouraged to use the large family library. Eclectic in their reading tastes, they purchased and read many books, and their love for the printed word was passed on to their children. His father, Albert, and his mother, Florence Augusta Hamilton, possessed first-rate minds, and they were members of the Church of Ireland. Lewis was born into a bookish family of Protestants in Belfast, Ireland, November 29, 1898. Nevertheless, the style and condition of personal attire was near the bottom of his list of concerns, whereas books and ideas were among his top priorities.

On the contrary, he was meticulous about the precise use of words, the quality of evidence presented in arguments, and the meter in verse. Lewis’s friends knew him, was not bothered by fashion.

If the famous author had been prone to notice clothing, he might have added that his trousers were usually in dire need of pressing, his jackets threadbare and blemished by snags and food spots, and his shoes scuffed and worn at the heels.īut Jack, as C.S.

“I’M TALL, FAT, RATHER BALD, red-faced, double-chinned, black-haired, have a deep voice, and wear glasses for reading,” C.S.

Cs lewis surprised by joy sparknotes