The Personal Heresy: A Controversy - Softcover

Lewis, C S

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062565621 ISBN 13: 9780062565624

Publisher: HarperOne, 2017

Synopsis

A repackaged edition of the revered author's set of dueling critical essays with fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard in which they debate the role of an author's biography in the critical appraisal of literature.

C. S. Lewis--the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics--challenges fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard on one of the most intriguing questions involving writers and writing. Is a work of imaginative literature primarily influenced by the author or by the subject matter?

Lewis argues that the author's own personality and biography has little to no impact on the writing, while Tillyard contends the opposite: that the author's own imagination and story have an indelible influence on a piece of work. Clever, erudite, and enlightening, their debate may not definitively settle the issue, but it does offer invaluable insight and intellectual delight for all dedicated readers.

About this title

About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.

From the Back Cover

In The Personal Heresy, C. S. Lewis challenges fellow scholar E. M. W. Tillyard on one of the most intriguing questions involving writers and writing. Is a work of imaginative literature primarily influenced by the author or by the subject matter?

Lewis argues that the author's own personality and biography have little to no impact on the writing, while Tillyard contends the opposite: that the author's own imagination and story have an indelible influence on a piece of work. A rare glimpse into the thinking process of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, The Personal Heresy offers invaluable insight and intellectual delight for all dedicated readers.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062565621
• ISBN 13: 9780062565624
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192