C.S.Lewis: Brief Biography

HYPERTABLE OF CONTENTS:

Childhood, 1898 - 1908
School, 1908 - 1917
Undergraduate at Oxford, 1917 - 1923
From Undergraduate to Oxford Fellow, 1923 - 1929

Childhood, 1898 - 1908

On 29 November 1898 Clive Staples Lewis was born to Albert and Florence Lewis in Dundella Villas Belfast, Northern Ireland. Three years earlier on the 16 June his brother Warren Hamilton Lewis had been born and they were destined to become great friends.

At an early age C. S. Lewis demonstrated a dislike for the name Clive and renamed himself Jack. The name stuck and he was called Jack by his brother and close friends for the rest of his life.

By his own account C. S. Lewis had a happy childhood. In 1905 the Lewis family moved from Dundella Villas to Little Lea and it was here C. S. Lewis' imagination blossomed. Masses of books littered the entire house and he loved reading them.

His happiness was not destined to last for on 23 August 1908 his mother died of cancer. Less than a month later C. S. Lewis was sent to an English boarding school.

School, 1908 - 1917

C. S. Lewis was sent as a boarder to Wynyard School. He stayed there for 2 years and was desperately unhappy. In September 1910 he moved to Campbell College, Belfast but only stayed there for four months. Stints at Cherbourg House and Malvern College followed but he failed to settle.

In September 1914 C. S. Lewis was sent to Great Bookham, Surrey to be tutored by W. T. Kirkpatrick. It was under Kirkpatrick's educational influence that Lewis began to make rapid progress. And it was Kirkpatrick who suggested to Albert Lewis that C. S. Lewis should be sent to Oxford.

Undergraduate at Oxford, 1917 - 1923

Lewis began his undergraduate career at University College, reading Classical Honour Moderations (the study of Latin and Greek authors such as Homer and Virgil), Literae Humaniores (the study of the Classics, Philosophy and Ancient History) and English Language and Literature between 1917 and 1923. Normally this degree would have taken 4 years to complete however World War 1 intervened.

As an Irishman C.S.Lewis was exempt from conscription into the British Army, yet he volunteered anyway. After training he was placed in the Somerset Light Infantry and arrived in France during November 1917. Lewis was destined to spend five months in the trenches before being wounded during the Battle of Arras (April 1918).

He returned to Oxford to complete his degree. He gained a first in Classical Honour Moderations (March 1920), a first in Literae Humaniores (August 1922) and a first in English Language and Literature (July 1923).

From Undergraduate to Oxford Fellow, 1923 - 1929

Having gained such high qualifications one might have assumed Lewis would easily acquire an Oxford fellowship (a fellowship is a teaching and research post at an Oxford University college). This was not to be the case. During 1923 and into 1924 he was passed over many times for different fellowships.

His first break came when he was asked to deputize for a Philosophy tutor on a temporary basis for the 1924 - 25 academic year. This opportunity arose at University College, Lewis' old college.

When a more permanent position arrived in May 1925 it was not a fellowship in Philosophy, but in English at Magdalen College. And here he stayed for the next 29 years; teaching, lecturing and tutoring undergraduates and all the time researching his subject further and publishing his findings in books and articles.

Conversion, 1929 - 1931

The three years between 1929 and 1931 were truly a turning point in C. S. Lewis' life. His father died in 1929 and although their relationship had not been strong, Lewis grieved deeply for him.

Ever since he had abandoned Christianity in early adolesence, Lewis had been an athiest; however he did have many Christian friends (such as Owen Barfield, J.R.R.Tolkien and Hugo Dyson) and read books written by Christian authors (G. K. Chesterton and George MacDonald). Two events challenged and changed his athieism.

On 28 September 1931 C. S. Lewis and his brother, Warren, visited Whipsnade Zoo. In his own words he described his conversion. 'When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.'

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