Category Archives: Thoughtful Essays

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2022)

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. With a chance to speak to the academic community at Cambridge and the listening world on the BBC, Lewis used … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Abigail Santamaria, anthropology, autoethnography, BBC Talks, C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joy Davidman, literature, Mere Christianity, Narnia, OHEL, Reflections on the Psalms, Surprised by Joy, The Discarded Image, theology, WWI | 6 Comments

Nick Tosches’ Remarkable Introduction to William Lindsay Gresham’s Novel “Nightmare Alley” (Nightmare Alley Series)

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we are in the midst of the “Nightmare Alley Series,” inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s new film starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, and Toni Colette. Moving back from the star-filled screen … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Bill Gresham, Bradley Cooper, C.S. Lewis, Cate Blanchett, Ezra Pound, Freud, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joy Davidman, Nightmare Alley, Rooney Mara, That Hideous Strength, Toni Colette, Willem Dafoe, William Lindsay Gresham, William Wordsworth | 3 Comments

“From Communist to Christian”: William Lindsay Gresham’s Conversion Story (Nightmare Alley Series)

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we have been looking at Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed new film, Nightmare Alley, and its connections to the past. The 2021 film, is an adaptation of the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Bill Gresham, C.S. Lewis, Conversion Stories, film adaptation, Guillermo del Toro, Joy Davidman, Nightmare Alley, William Lindsay Gresham | 8 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2021)

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged anthropology, autoethnography, BBC Talks, C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Mere Christianity, Narnia, OHEL, Reflections on the Psalms, Surprised by Joy, The Discarded Image, theology, WWI | 6 Comments

“There Are No Cruel Narnians: What The Horse and His Boy Can Tell Us About Racism, Cultural Superiority, Beauty Standards, and Inclusiveness” by Daniel Whyte IV

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

There Are No Cruel Narnians: What The Horse and His Boy Can Tell Us About Racism, Cultural Superiority, Beauty Standards, and Inclusiveness by Daniel Whyte IV The Chronicles of Narnia has legions of fans around the world. According to journalist … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Lev Grossman, Narnia, Netflix, orientalism, Philip Pullman, racism, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy | 39 Comments

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Manifesto Against Genre Snobbery

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

One of our greatest speculative fiction writers, Ursula K. Le Guin, has never been one to turn down a fight. A genius in two of my favourite genres, science fiction and fantasy–especially planetary SciFi and magic-world fantasy–Le Guin has also … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Memorable Quotes, On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged fantasy, Frankenstein, genre, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Atwood, Science Fiction, SF, speculative fiction, The Birthday of the World, The Hainish Cycle, The Lord of the Rings, Ursula K. Le Guin | 17 Comments

“The Once and Forgotten T.H. White: Lessons from Obscurity” by G. Connor Salter

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Terence Hanbury White was one of the founding fathers of fantasy in the twentieth century, producing nearly twenty-five novels, including the beloved modern Arthurian retelling, The Once and Future King. Still, much of T.H. White’s life remains a mystery and … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Imaginary Worlds, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lev Grossman, Lin Carter, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, T.H. White, The Inklings, The Once and Future King | 46 Comments

The Thing about Riding Centaurs: A Note on Narnia, Harry Potter, Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, and the Black Stallion

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As a child reading in a bed surrounded by acres of horse-less fields, I was completely taken up by the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. Marooned survivors of a shipwreck, city kid Alec Ramsay befriends an untameable stallion, whom he … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Madeline Miller, Narnia, The Black Stallion, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Silver Chair, The Song of Achilles, Till We Have Faces, Walter Farley | 40 Comments

Three Myths Retold: Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad, and C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

While I love the Odyssey, I always dread returning to The Iliad. I just find all the war and posturing and characters to be ash and dust and thorn for me, just weariness and work and pain. The moments of greatness within … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, feminism, Hélène Cixous, Homer, Madeline Miller, Margaret Atwood, N.K. Jemisin, Nalo Hopkinson, Narnia, Nnedi Okorafor, Percy Jackson, Perelandra, The Four Loves, The Iliad, The Laugh of the Medusa, The Odyssey, The Penelopiad, The Song of Achilles, The Weight of Glory, Till We Have Faces | 34 Comments

“Just Enough Light: Some Thoughts on Fantasy and Literature,” the 2021 Tolkien Lecture by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I was pleased last week to watch the 8th annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, an annual lecture on fantasy literature held at Pembroke College, Oxford, this year broadcast online. The Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature was established in … Continue reading →