10 facts about C.S. Lewis you may not know

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October 24, 2019 - Becca Caughron

November is the birth month of author and theologian C.S. Lewis, and we plan to celebrate! To help get you in the mood, here are 10 facts you may not know about C.S. Lewis and his first book in the Narnia chronicles.

C.S. stands for Clive Staples.
Even though he is known as an English writer, he is actually Irish and was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
During World War I, Lewis was a popular BBC broadcaster.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was based on three girls that lived with Lewis during World War I.
C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were close friends.
Lewis thought he would never get married.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe took 10 years to write.
The first draft of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was destroyed because Lewis’ friends didn’t like it.
Lewis jumbles all different kinds of mythology into the book, including Irish and British fairytales, Germanic folklore, Roman, Norse and Greek mythologies and Arthurian romances.
Turkish delights are a real snack you can make.

Celebrate the life of C.S. Lewis with the Riley-Hickingbotham Library, the University Writing Program, the Oral Communication Program, Speer Writing Center and Sigma Tau Delta at Dr. Jack’s Coffeehouse on Nov. 1, from 6:30 p.m. to midnight! There will be snacks and drinks, and the entire first book of the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, will be read aloud.

Do you have a favorite part in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe? You (or a group of your friends) can sign up to read it out! So, practice your British accent, prepare your props, choose which chapter you’d like to read and sign up for a spot at the library’s circulation desk. If you’re interested but need more information, also stop by the library’s circulation desk, and we’ll answer your questions.

By Becca Caughron, a freshman communications & media major from Harrisburg, Ark.

Sources

Erickson, Angela. “14 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About C.S. Lewis.” BookBub, 28 Nov. 2016, www.bookbub.com/blog/facts-about-cs-lewis. Accessed 21 October 2019.

Lanzendorfer, Joy. “16 Facts About The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Mental Floss, 4 Sept. 2014, http://mentalfloss.com/article/58698/16-facts-about-lion-witch-and-wardrobe. Accessed 21 October 2019.