Tag Archives: Phantastes

Introducing C.S. Lewis’ Unfinished Teenage Novel “The Quest of Bleheris”

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

Hello friends! I want to share what I have been up to in the last few weeks. Some folks will know that I have been working for about nine years on C.S. Lewis’ unfinished teenage Arthurian novel, “The Quest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Arthur Greeves, C.S. Lewis, Creative Collaboration, Diana Pavlac Glyer, Don King, friendship, Inklings, intertextuality, J.R.R. Tolkien, literary friendship, Phantastes, The Company They Keep, The Quest of Bleheris, The Ransom Cycle, William Morris, writing | 17 Comments

Help Me Find the Accusation of Misogyny in the TIME Article on C.S. Lewis, Don v. Devil

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Two recent references have created a bit of a puzzle for me which I hope you can perhaps make clear for me. Both in Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen’s A Sword Between the Sexes: C.S. Lewis and the Gender Debates and the edited volume … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, feminism, George MacDonald, Miracles, Phantastes, sexism, T.S. Eliot, The Pilgrim's Regress, Time Magazine, W.H. Auden | 63 Comments

Leatherhead and Literary Coincidence, with C.S. Lewis and H.G. Wells

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I encountered the town of Leatherhead first in H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (1897). It is one of a dozen or so English place names that meant nothing to me as a young reader. As an adult, armed with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research | Tagged George MacDonald, George Tomkyns Chesney, H.G. Wells, intertextuality, Leatherhead, Phantastes, Science Fiction, SF, Surprised by Joy, Surrey, The Battle of Dorking, The Quest of Bleheris, The War of the Worlds | 26 Comments

Losing the Safety of the Real in That Hideous Strength

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Though at times hauntingly realistic, scattered throughout C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy are moments where reality slides away from us. In the midst of the mundane—a walk at night, a conversation in a parlor, a sleepy, sunny afternoon on a hillside, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Original Research | Tagged allegory, C.S. Lewis, dystopia, fantasy, Fictional Universes, George MacDonald, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lin Carter, literature, mimesis, Phantastes, Ransom Trilogy, Science Fiction, William Morris | 41 Comments

Why is Merlin in That Hideous Strength?

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

I am writing a paper on C.S. Lewis and the Arthurian tradition for Sørina Higgins’ collection, The Inklings and King Arthur. As I trawl through the materials one common theme keeps coming back: How do we explain the sudden … Continue reading →