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The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and their circle Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 89 ratings

The Oxford Inklings tells the story of the friendships, mutual influence, and common purpose of the Inklings - the literary circle which congregated around C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Meeting in pubs or Lewis's college rooms, they included an influential array of literary figures. They were, claimed poet and novelist John Wain, bent on 'the task of redirecting the whole current of contemporary art and life'.

Tolkien and Lewis expert Colin Duriez unpacks the Inklings' origins, relationships, and the nature of their collaboration. He shows how they influenced, encouraged, and moulded each other. Duriez also covers the less celebrated Inklings, neglected, he claims, for too long.




What did they owe - and offer - to the more acknowledged names? What brought them together? And what, eventually, drove them apart from their initial focus upon each other's writings?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Colin Duriez is an expert on C.S. Lewis, his writings and also his wider circle. He is also the author of the popular biography C.S. Lewis: A biography of friendship and J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Legend (both published by Lion Hudson). He has also written widely on other aspects of Lewis, Tolkien and the other members of the Inklings, and has contributed to conferences, lectures, DVDs and documentaries on these subjects.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00T4ALHTK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lion Books; 1st edition (November 19, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3578 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 89 ratings

About the author

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Colin Duriez
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Colin Duriez is based in Keswick in north-west England and writes books, edits and lectures. He has appeared as a commentator on extended version film DVDs of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, the 'Royal' 4 DVD set of Walden/Disney's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Sony DVD Ringers about Tolkien fandom and the impact of Tolkien on popular culture. He has also participated in documentaries on PBS and the BBC. He is also a part-time tutor at Lancaster University.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
89 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable and interesting, providing them with fresh insights and a deeper understanding of the Inklings and their collaboration. They appreciate the author's skill in making their interactions vivid and portraying an appropriate mix of loyalty to one another. The book helps readers understand the history and era.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

11 customers mention "Enjoyment"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and well-researched. They describe it as a good read for both fans and scholars alike. The author is knowledgeable about his subjects and presents that knowledge in an engaging way.

"...Because of Duriez's excellent research and rich writing, I closed the book feeling that I, too, had experienced the fun and fellowship of their..." Read more

"This is a very competently researched and well-written book. I would highly recommend it...." Read more

"Gave as a gift and they loved the book." Read more

"I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. The author is very familiar with his subjects and brings that knowledge to you in a warm, enjoyable way." Read more

6 customers mention "Information quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They appreciate the author's ability to capture the spirit and significance of the Inklings. The book provides a framework and new insights for understanding the threads that connect them. Overall, readers find it satisfying and enjoyable to read.

"...I found Duriez's analysis of this and many other issues to be informative and satisfying, because his writing style is so accessible...." Read more

"...I am very indebted to Mr. Duriez however. He does a tremendous job of explaining the threads that bound the Inklings together...." Read more

"...primary source material and is a master with dates as well, providing a framework and new linkages that provide even the seasoned reader with fresh..." Read more

"...The author is very familiar with his subjects and brings that knowledge to you in a warm, enjoyable way." Read more

3 customers mention "Collaboration"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the collaboration between the writers. They appreciate the intimacy and loyalty between them that led to literary success. The author does a great job making their interactions vivid in their minds.

"...of their integrity as writers, they maintained an appropriate mix of loyalty to one another, and the sort of intimacy in sharing their work that led..." Read more

"...The author did a great job making their interactions and the entire storyline vivid in my imagination so that as I read, I could feel myself..." Read more

"...one time and place Academics could be muses to each other and nurture collaboration...." Read more

3 customers mention "History"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's history. They find it interesting and helpful for understanding the era.

"...It's a work of art as much as one of wonderful history." Read more

"...They then seem to rebuild their lives. This book helped me under stand the era...." Read more

"Good read, Interesting story." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2015
    Readers of The Oxford Inklings, Lewis, Tolkien and their Circle, are fortunate to have an author of the caliber of Colin Duriez to take them deeper into the extraordinary lives of writers known as The Inklings. Duriez writes on details of their discussions and the backgrounds of each "member." (Note that this fascinating group really didn't require membership, but, because of their integrity as writers, they maintained an appropriate mix of loyalty to one another, and the sort of intimacy in sharing their work that led to literary success and deep pleasure among one another as friends.) Because of Duriez's excellent research and rich writing, I closed the book feeling that I, too, had experienced the fun and fellowship of their times together. I also learned details I'd never known before, such as how the Socratic Club operated and how C.S. Lewis's debate with Elizabeth Anscombe affected him in ways I'd never realized. I found Duriez's analysis of this and many other issues to be informative and satisfying, because his writing style is so accessible. This is a wonderful read for both fans and scholars alike. I highly recommend The Oxford Inklings.
    33 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2016
    I had little cash to spare when I ordered this book. As a budding writer and one who loves to read, I looked through all the potential books on the Inklings and settled to get this because the reviews at the time were all five-star — and it still has a 5-star rating!

    Took me three weeks to wade through this book, but I got to the end not only glad that I'd completed it but that I was wholly satisfied with the lessons and inspiration I gained from it. The author did a great job making their interactions and the entire storyline vivid in my imagination so that as I read, I could feel myself partaking in all the events with them; and what a great feeling it was.

    Didn't take much to add this to my list of all-time greats. It's a work of art as much as one of wonderful history.
    17 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018
    This is a very competently researched and well-written book. I would highly recommend it. Perhaps I don't understand the Amazon rating system but I'd reserve a five-star rating for "The Fellowship of the Ring" or "Perelandra"! I am very indebted to Mr. Duriez however. He does a tremendous job of explaining the threads that bound the Inklings together. Especially helpful was his explanation of Tolkien and Lewis's disdain for the "age of the machine". It gave me a much richer appreciation for the struggle depicted in the LOTR trilogy and quotes like "he has a mind of metal and wheels and doesn't care for growing things"!
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024
    Gave as a gift and they loved the book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2015
    I have read numerous books on Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings, as I teach a course on C.S. Lewis, and I can confidently say that this new book by Colin Duriez is one of the very best in capturing the spirit and significance of the Inklings. Duriez has combed through much primary source material and is a master with dates as well, providing a framework and new linkages that provide even the seasoned reader with fresh insights and a deeper understanding not only of the Inklings as individuals, but as a movement whose importance both in literature and theology has often been underestimated outside the circle of "true believers" who have always been enamored of their work. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
    15 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2017
    I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. The author is very familiar with his subjects and brings that knowledge to you in a warm, enjoyable way.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020
    Contained within this group biography are a host of references to fictional and non-fictional works by the Inklings, that others and I will find worth pursuing. What can happen when the introspective speak?
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018
    Very interesting, like multiple biographies in one.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gli Inklings: creatori di mondi.
    Reviewed in Italy on July 17, 2019
    Gli Inklings non possono non catturare l'attenzione del lettore. Questa piccola compagnia raccolta tra le stanze del Magdalen College di Oxford ha regalato al mondo un altro mondo sul quale camminare è un piacere e una avventura continua.
  • S. Lowe Watson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, insightful and readable.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2015
    A fascinating, insightful and readable description of the Inklings, the informal literary circle around C. S. Lewis (Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (Hobbit, Lord of the Rings) that flourished in Oxford before, during and after WW2. The book provides biographical details of the main members, all men, mostly academics, who had a number of things in common: Christian belief, an interest in mythology, a taste for fantasy and, it seems, an endless ability to consume tea, beer and pipe tobacco. They wanted to write "the kind of stories they liked to read". Eventually some of the works of this apparently obscure little group of apparently backward looking Oxford pals, meeting in pub snugs and college rooms, turned out to be runaway best sellers for decade after decade and in due course gave rise to 21st century cinema blockbusters.

    The book describes how, when and where the Inklings met, and how they influenced, encouraged and sometimes discouraged each other. It has a few photos, a detailed chronology, notes and a bibliography including other books about the Inklings, and their own works. It would have been nice if the latter had included brief descriptions of the Inkling's less well known books - as this book has left me with a desire to explore some of these other works.
  • frances
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2016
    Excellent in-depth book on this famous group and well written.
  • chris brown
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2019
    A good read and excellent service.
  • Deborah Harris
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2016
    A great book....very interesting indeed

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