Plagiarizing Screwtape

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

As we continue through our series on Screwtape, I wanted to reblog Rob’s post here. Partly because of the sheer cleverness of his having written of it, but partly because he beat me to it. Recently I got this book out of the library and went through it, ready to write a super amazing blog on it. Then I googled it, and discovered that the Mere Inkling got here first. So, here it is!

About Brenton Dickieson

“A Pilgrim in Narnia” is a blog project in reading and talking about the work of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, L.M. Montgomery, and the worlds they created. As a "Faith, Fantasy, and Fiction" blog, we cover topics like children’s literature, myths and mythology, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, poetry, theology, cultural criticism, art and writing. This blog includes my thoughts as I read through my favourite writings and reflect on my own life and culture. In this sense, I am a Pilgrim in Narnia--or Middle Earth, or Fairyland, or Avonlea. I am often peeking inside of wardrobes, looking for magic bricks in urban alleys, or rooting through yard sale boxes for old rings. If something here captures your imagination, leave a comment, “like” a post, share with your friends, or sign up to receive Narnian Pilgrim posts in your email box. Brenton Dickieson (PhD, Chester) is a father, husband, friend, university lecturer, and freelance writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. You can follow him: www.aPilgrimInNarnia.com Twitter (X) @BrentonDana Instagram @bdickieson Facebook @aPilgrimInNarnia
This entry was posted in Reflections. Bookmark the permalink.

6 Responses to Plagiarizing Screwtape

  1. hannaheag says:
    November 13, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    Hi Brenton,

    I’ve been enjoying this series!

    I also wanted to mention a Screwtape homage that you might like to know about it. I don’t think I saw it mentioned, but I’ve been in skimming mode a bit lately with preparing for ESN’s role at the Urbana conference and adding a new nonprofit to my writing clients list, so apologies if you already wrote about it.

    Randy Alcorn, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Foulgrins-Letters-Randy-Alcorn/dp/1576738612

    Honestly, it’s not my favorite Screwtape homage, but I thought you’d like to know about it. I do think Alcorn has considerable writing talent and is a person with deep commitment to Christ, but I also feel like this work is more prone to equate certain American political causes with Christian practice than I’m personally comfortable with. But it’s a contribution to the genre, so I thought as a scholar of the genre you’d be interested in it.

    By the way, I note on the Mysterion blog that Donald and Kristin are looking for more fantasy, having received a lot of sci fi. So I imagine they’d welcome some fantasy from you if you have time. 🙂 Hope you’re well!

    Hannah

    Reply
    • Brenton Dickieson says:
      November 13, 2015 at 3:23 pm

      Alcorn is an interesting fellow. I read his Edge of Eternity, and knowing what it was thought it quite good. This was before I read “The Great Divorce.” He is also an environmentally sensitive evangelical.
      I knew about his Screwtape work, but did not read it. There are a lot to read! I also wonder if he would write the political stuff the same way 15 years later.
      And thanks for the tip on Mysterion. I should get my rear in gear, but am swamped with may projects. If I can get a submission together, I may drop your name 😉

      Reply
  2. David Llewellyn Dodds says:
    November 13, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    Thanks for acquainting us with this!

    I expect somebody out there has a(n on-going) Screwtape-imitation bibliography…

    I wonder, historically, how common the combination of epistolary form and ‘unreliable narrator’ is?

    Reply
    • Brenton Dickieson says:
      November 15, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      I don’t know that there is a Screwtape imitation biblio. Is there? Does anyone know?
      Good question on unreliable narrator and epistolarity. I don’t know the answer. The cool new Potato Pie Literary Society book has some unreliable narrators, and all are imperfect. But there is somehow a story that gets told. Most of the early epistolary tales came out of morality pieces, so it was presumed the narrator knew.

      Reply
      • David Llewellyn Dodds says:
        November 16, 2015 at 5:18 pm

        Rather tangentially, have you happened to have caught up with Harry Blamires’s trilogy, The Devil’s Hunting Grounds (1954), Cold War in Hell (1955), and Blessing Unbounded: A Vision (1955: reprinted as Highway to Heaven in 1984/5)? – and/or New Town: A Fable…Unless You Believe (2005: with an ebook version, 2012)? I haven’t, yet…

        (Looking him up, I see he just turned 99 ten days ago, if Wikipedia’s right!)

        Reply
        • Brenton Dickieson says:
          November 16, 2015 at 9:59 pm

          I don’t know the trilogy by heart, but just read the letters where Lewis read the manuscripts (for 2 of them, I think). I hope he had a good birthday!
          I do know his man book on the Christian Mind, and have read it multiple times.

          Reply

Leave a Reply