Bibliography and reading list
Bibliography and reading list
This is a select reading list of Lewis's works and books about his life.
Fiction
Space Trilogy:
- Out of the Silent Planet (1938)
- Perelandra (1943)
- That Hideous Strength (1946)
The Screwtape Letters (1942)
The Great Divorce (1945)
Chronicles of Narnia:
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (1950)
- Prince Caspian (1951)
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
- The Silver Chair (1953)
- The Horse and His Boy (1954)
- The Magician's Nephew (1955)
- The Last Battle (1956)
Till We Have Faces (1956)
* Note: The Chronicles are listed in the order in which they were published, which may not be the order in which Lewis wrote them.
Many of their fans prefer to read the books in chronological order (The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle).
Lewis himself did not mind. It may be best to read them in publication order the first time, and in chronological order after that.
Apologetics (theological books)
The Problem of Pain (1940)
Miracles (1947, revised 1960)
Mere Christianity (1952), the collection of his radio talks given 1941-1944
Autobiographical
Surprised by Joy (1955)
A Grief Observed (1961)
Poetry
Spirits in Bondage* (1919), an example of Lewis's pre-Christian thoughts
Narrative Poems (1969), a collection including Dymer, an early narrative poem from 1926
* Note: Spirits in Bondage and Dymer were first published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton (Lewis's mother's maiden name).
Academic and other
A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942), a highly-regarded study of the poem
The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition (1936)
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama (1954), a textbook forming part of the Oxford History of English Literature series. (Lewis took such pains researching this book that he referred to it as O-HEL.)
Reflections on the Psalms (1958)
Of This and Other Worlds (1982), essay collection edited by Walter Hooper
Books about Lewis
Jack: A Life of C S Lewis, George Sayer (1988), originally published as Jack: C. S. Lewis and His Times
C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide, Walter Hooper (1996)