The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Humphrey Carpenter (Author), Bernard Mayes (Narrator), Blackstone Audio, Inc. (Publisher)

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During the 1930s at Oxford, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams - remarkable friends, writers, and scholars - met regularly to discuss philosophy and literature and to read aloud from their own works in progress. Calling themselves the Inklings, their circle grew. It was in this company that such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first found an audience.

Author Humphrey Carpenter was born in Oxford and was acquainted with Tolkien, Hugo Dyson, and several other Inklings. In this remarkable reconstruction of their meetings and momentous friendships, Carpenter brings to life those warm and enchanting evenings in Lewis' rooms at Magdalen College, when their imaginations ran wild. His account offers exciting insights into the influence these brilliant individuals had on each other's developing ideas and writing.

Listening Length

12 hours and 40 minutes
Author

Humphrey Carpenter
Narrator

Bernard Mayes
Audible release date

1 November 2017
Language

English
Publisher

Blackstone Audio, Inc.
ASIN

B0771NZ5LR
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	12 hours and 40 minutes
Author	Humphrey Carpenter
Narrator	Bernard Mayes
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	01 November 2017
Publisher	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0771NZ5LR
Best Sellers Rank	89,795 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 277 in History & Criticism of British & Irish Literature 293 in Biographies of Authors (Audible Books & Originals) 306 in European Literature (Audible Books & Originals)

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Mr. J. Hastings

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2013

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Anyone who has enjoyed the books of CS Lewis or JRR Tolkien should read this book. It is an account of the group of friends who gathered around these two for many years in Oxford. They gathered weekly in a pub and in Lewis' rooms in Magdalen College to drink beer (a lot of beer - I am surprised they didn't all die of liver cirrhosis) and read to each other poems, stories and books that they were writing. Without the Inklings we might never have had the "Lord of the Rings", although we would probably have had the Chronicles of Narnia.

I found it a fascinating read and have only one or two quibbles. For example, Carpenter does not mention the Evacuees that Lewis and his brother hosted for several years during the Second World War and who provided at least one of the sparks that led on to the writing of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Then on pp 216/7 Carpenter describes the meeting of the Socratic Club in 1948 when Elizabeth Anscombe severely and effectively criticised one chapter of Lewis' latest book of Christian apologetics "Miracles". Carpenter says that Lewis was deeply disturbed and wrote no further books of Christian apologetics for ten years. This is somewhat misleading; Lewis revised the offending chapter in the light of Anscombe's critique and the book was republished (and is still in print).

5 people found this helpful

irishpropheticart

Good book but drawn out

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2019

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Good book but very drawn out.I really enjoyed understanding the backstories to Tolkien and Lewis's relationship/I could have skipped Charles Williams part,but he was in and out of their lives.

One person found this helpful

David Agnew's windowcleaner

Lewis, Tolkien, Williams and others.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2012

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Humphrey Carpenter's "The Inklings" charts the lives of the Inklings, and the lifetime of the group itself.

It begins with potted biographies of CS Lewis, and Charles Williams. Tolkien's life is alluded to throughout the book, but he doesn't get this level of attention, apparently because Carpenter wrote a more detailed biography of him. This is the one disappointment of the book.

We get to see Lewis in a different light. Less the dusty academic and more doing jobs around the house for the older woman he had a complex relationship with. We don't usually associate him with DIY.

For me, the potted biography of Williams was really informative. This Inkling is someone we all tend to know much less about. I am reading some of his "supernatural thrillers" and can't help feeling he's been unfairly forgotten.

The book then goes on to explain the Inkling meetings at the zenith of their activity, in Oxford in the 1940s. It even goes as far as to "reconstruct" a typical Inklings meeting - featuring reported conversations but fictionalised. This is very illuminating. This is how "Lord of the Rings", "All Hallow's Eve" and much of Lewis's output got developed.

Just one word of warning about the book itself - the print is very small and difficult on the eyes. Admittedly I read this book a little too late at night, but the print is still too small for very intense reading.

But on the whole, this is a fascinating read.

16 people found this helpful

Lindsey Clare Gee-Turner

Very interesting read...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2020

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I did know some of it already but very enjoyable. See elsewhere on my Profile page for J R R Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter.

One person found this helpful

Karen Hartley

A super gift

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2021

Verified Purchase

A gift for my daughter, she loves it. Exactly as described, good price, quick delivery - thank you.

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The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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