Becoming C.S. Lewis

Although C.S. Lewis’s writings and adult life are well-known, his childhood, adolescence, and the influences that shaped him are less so. Harry Lee Poe’s Becoming C.S. Lewis, the first of a three-volume biography, reveals the thinking and education of Lewis, the boy, and his transition to adulthood.

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As a boy, C.S. Lewis became deeply interested in stories about journeys or quests–the pursuit of something valuable. Stories like the Odyssey, the Arthurian legends, and The Faerie Queen shaped his thinking and imagination and eventually helped him understand what he was searching for. His childhood was marked by his mother’s death, books, music, long walks, difficult school experiences, and W.T. Kirkpatrick’s tutelage in Surrey, England.

The book does an excellent job of tracing his thinking (through his correspondence), intellectual and spiritual development, and his likes and dislikes. The author, deeply versed in the great books, helps the reader understand the great stories of Western Civilization and why they mattered to him.

I recommend this book for high school students and parents alike. It enables readers to think about and experience what made Lewis one of the greatest minds of Western Civilization.