C. S. Lewis in America: Readings and Reception, 1935–1947 (Hansen Lectureship Series)

by Mark Noll

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2023

Overview

Perhaps no other literary figure has transformed the American religious landscape in recent history as much as C. S. Lewis. Even before the international publication and incredible success of his fictional works such as The Chronicles of Narnia or apologetic works like Mere Christianity, Lewis was already being read “across the pond” in America. But who exactly was reading his work? And how was he received?

With fresh research and shrewd analysis, this volume by noted historian Mark A. Noll considers the surprising reception of Lewis among Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and evangelical readers to see how early readings of the Oxford don shaped his later influence.

Based on the annual lecture series hosted at Wheaton College’s Marion E. Wade Center, volumes in the Hansen Lectureship Series reflect on the imaginative work and lasting influence of seven British authors: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.

Key Features

• Based on the annual lecture series hosted at Wheaton College’s Marion E. Wade Center
• Considers the surprising reception of Lewis among Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and evangelical readers

Contents

• Preface by G. Walter Hansen
• Introduction

1. Surprise

• Roman Catholics as Lewis’s First and Most Appreciative Readers
• Response: Karen J. Johnson

2. “Like a Fresh Wind”

• Reception in Secular and Mainstream Media
• Response: Kirk D. Farney

3. Protestants Also Approve (But Evangelicals, Only Slowly)

• Response: Amy E. Black

Praise for the Print Edition

This is a deeply informed, fascinating account of the varying fortunes of C. S. Lewis’s writings in America. Initial misunderstanding and mistrust give way to respect, and then to reverence, and ultimately to something not far from idolatry. Noll tells the tale vividly, and the responses from Johnson, Farney, and Black point out some vital implications of this history for Christians today. A welcome addition both to Lewis scholarship and contemporary Christian self-reflection.

—Alan Jacobs, distinguished professor of humanities at the Honors College, Baylor University

From elite, secular newspapers to denominational magazines, C. S. Lewis’s writings commending the Christian faith had an enthusiastic reception in America. In this prophetic and timely book, preeminent historian Mark A. Noll has uncovered the secret of Lewis’s success: he was deeply learned, theologically focused, and unusually creative. Noll himself brilliantly models how to embody these traits today.

—Timothy Larsen, McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College and author of George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles

Mark Noll offers the definitive account of Lewis’s reception in mid-twentieth-century America. He skillfully uses that story as a window on the overall state of Christianity in America during an era.

—George Marsden, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame and author of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity: A Biography

Product Details

• Title: C. S. Lewis in America: Readings and Reception, 1935–1947
• Author: Mark Noll
• Series: Hansen Lectureship Series
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 156
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963 › Appreciation--America; Religious literature › History and criticism; United States › Religion--1901-1945
• ISBNs: 9781514007006, 9781514007013, 1514007002, 1514007010
• Resource ID: LLS:LEWISAMERICARDRCPT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-11-08T17:21:09Z

About Mark Noll

Mark A. Noll (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is Francis McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Noll’s main academic interests concern the interaction of Christianity and culture in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Anglo-American societies. He has published articles and reviews on a wide variety of subjects involving Christianity in modern history. Some of his many books include The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, Is the Reformation Over?, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys, and The Old Religion in a New World.