C. S. Lewis

Imagination has long been regarded as central to C. S. Lewis's life and to his creative and critical works, but this is the first study to provide a thorough analysis of his theory of imagination, including the different ways he used the word and how those uses relate to each other. Peter Schakel begins by concentrating on the way reading or engaging with the other arts is an imaginative activity. He focuses on three books in which imagination is the central theme: Surprised by Joy, An Experiment in Criticism, and The Discarded Image.

He then examines imagination and reading in Lewis's fiction, concentrating specifically on the Chronicles of Narnia, the most imaginative of his works. He looks at how the imaginative experience of reading the Chronicles is affected by the physical texture of the books, the illustrations, revisions of the texts, the order in which the books are read, and their narrative "voice, " the "storyteller" who becomes almost a character in the stories.

Imagination and the Arts in C. S. Lewis also explores Lewis's ideas about imagination in the nonliterary arts. Although Lewis regarded engagement with the arts as essential to a well-rounded and satisfying life, critics of his works and even his biographers have given little attention to this aspect of his life. Schakel reviews the place of music, dance, art, and architecture in Lewis's life, the ways in which he uses them as content in his poems and stories, and how he develops some of the deepest, most significant themes of his stories through them.

Schakel concludes by analyzing the uses and abuses of imagination. He looks first at "moral imagination." Although Lewis did not use this term, Schakel shows howLewis developed the concept in That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man long before it became popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. While readers often concentrate on the Christian dimension of Lewis's works, equally or

C. S. Lewis wanted to name his last novel "Bareface." Now Doris T. Myers's Bareface provides a welcome study of Lewis's last, most profound, and most skillfully written novel, Till We Have Faces. Although many claim it is his best novel, Till We Have Faces is a radical departure from the fantasy genre of Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters and has been less popular than Lewis's earlier works. In Bareface, Myers supplies background information on this difficult work and suggests reading techniques designed to make it more accessible. She also presents a fresh approach to Lewis criticism. Previous studies have usually emphasized the novel's basis in the myth of Cupid and Psyche and ignored Lewis's effort to present the story as something that could have happened. Myers emphasizes the historical background, the grounding of the characterizations in modern psychology, and the use of modernist techniques of fiction. She identifies key books in ancient and medieval literature, history, and philosophy that influenced Lewis's thinking as well as important books in early-twentieth-century psychology that interested him. From this context, a clearer understanding of Till We Have Faces can emerge. Approached in this way, the work can be seen as a realistic twentieth-century novel using modernist techniques such as the unreliable narrator and the manipulation of time. The major characters fit neatly into William James's typology of religious experience, and Orual, the narrator-heroine, also develops the kind of personal maturity described by Carl Jung. At the same time, both setting and plot provide insights into the ancient world and pre-Christian modes of thought. Organized tofacilitate browsing according to each reader's interests and needs, this study helps readers explore this complex and subtle novel in their own way.

Although the exploration of space has long preoccupied authors and filmmakers, the development of an actual space program, discoveries about the true nature of space, and critical reconsiderations of America's frontier experiences have challenged and complicated conventional portrayals of humans in space. This volume reexamines the themes of space and the frontier in science fiction in light of recent scientific and literary developments. Included are the observations of noted science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Gregory Benford, James Gunn, and Jack Williamson, along with contributions from leading scholars in the field.

Penned by a leading ethicist, this book is about "first things"--the bond of a man and a woman in marriage, sexuality, parents and children, politics and its limits, the place of suffering in our lives, friendship, God, and the beauties of everyday life.