• The Four Loves

  • By: C. S. Lewis
  • Narrated by: C. S. Lewis
  • Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,629 ratings)

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The Four Loves  By  cover art

The Four Loves

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: C. S. Lewis
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Publisher's summary

A remarkable audio edition of C.S. Lewis' beloved classic - the only existing recording of Lewis reading his own work.

C.S. Lewis - the great British writer, scholar, theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics - explores the essence of love and how it works in our daily lives in one of his most famous works of nonfiction based on his series of radio talks from 1958.

With penetrating logic and charming wit, Lewis explores the four aspects of love: affection, the most basic form; friendship, the rarest and perhaps most insightful; Eros, passionate love; and charity, the greatest and least selfish.

Lewis exposes the pitfalls in our loves, leading us to the agape love that God has for humankind and the type of love we must develop to nurture our relationships. Throughout this compassionate and methodical study, he encourages readers to open themselves to all forms of love - the key to understanding that brings us closer to God.

  • Features vintage BBC narration by C.S. Lewis
  • New introduction and commentary by Charles Colson
  • Discussion questions available in the audiobook companion PDF download

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1960 C. S. Lewis (P)1970, 1982, 1994, 2004 The Episcopal Media Center

Critic reviews

"The chapter on charity (love of God) may be the best thing Lewis ever wrote about Christianity." (Amazon.com)

Featured Article: 95+ C.S. Lewis Quotes About Love, Life, Faith, Bravery, and Friendship


Born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1898, C.S. Lewis is perhaps one of the most esteemed and beloved authors of all time. His acclaimed classics range from The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series to the theologically-specific Mere Christianity. As one of the world’s most respected authors, Lewis’s words of wisdom continue to inspire countless readers and listeners. Here are our favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis about friendship, love, life, and faith.

What listeners say about The Four Loves

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful Views on Love

It is a great treat to hear Lewis' voice. But be aware that this is not the exact same material as his book that bears the same title. Rather it is from a series of radio broadcasts prior to the publication of the book.
The material is still very insightful, even though the book itself contain additional material.

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119 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lewis's Own Voice: an Acquired Taste

Any additional comments?

C. S. Lewis is my favorite author, but I was almost horror-stricken the first time I heard his voice. He sounded to me like he was looking down his nose, and unfriendly. But I kept listening, mostly out of sheer novelty. And now, all sorts of qualties, tones, colors, nuances, and inflections have settled in and I find that not only do I enjoy his voice, but I almost can't understand how I had such an aversion to it. I think there's just been a lot lost in the lecture manner of 1950's Oxford/Cambridge, until what was excellent, clear, and forceful once comes off as cold and affected now. But in his day, nobody packed the house for lectures like Lewis. And it wasn't just his ideas, but his voice they loved. There are many accounts of this. So, if you are turned off at first, keep going and see if you don't end up loving it.I know, by the way, that this wasn't just a matter of "getting used to it" or forcing myself to like it because I like Lewis. Because I tried to apply the same acclimation to a particularly obnoxious narrator who happened to perform my favorite novel of all time. But try as I might, I couldn't take the guy.Lastly, if you find the commentary (I believe it's Dobson, but I could be wrong) before each of the loves to be jarring - as I did - you can order a CD version of these recordings plus two other CD's of Lewis reading a paper on The Pilgrim's Progress and a longish paper he wrote when he took his position at Cambridge, all for 20 bucks from the folks at Episcopal Media Center. They call the collection "C S Lewis Speaks His Mind." In addition to the extra material, the Four Loves recordings are presented without commentary. (I hope Audible doesn't mind my plugging their version here, but Audible doesn't have those other recordings available.) Just google "C S Lewis Speaks His Mind" and it'll pop right up.

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71 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hearing this book in his own voice was incredible.

CS Lewis is such a profound thinker, and his insight into the types of love and how they grow or fail is so perceptive. While the reading isn't up-tempo or fast paced, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Lewis himself reading this. It was more like having your grandfather give you really great insight into a matter than hearing a motivational speaker talk about it, and this seemed to make it more tangible.

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37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Dr
  • 08-22-19

Not the full book

This is an incomplete recording of the printed version of the book - the introductory chapter and the chapter on love for the sub-human are missing. Presumably there is no recording of Lewis reading those. The chapters on the respective four loves are present, together with a largely unhelpful introduction and commentary by Charles Colson (one wonders why he was chosen for this role). The commentary detracts considerably from Lewis's own readings, and certainly did not make up for the missing content. Colson's comments are interjected before each chapter, and one wishes that Lewis had been left to read through the chapters on offer without interruption. Thankfully, Colson offers no closing thoughts, so Lewis is at least permitted the final word. Unfortunately, this recording seems to be the only one available. Because the book is a must-read (or listen), and if the printed version is not an acceptable option for any reason, then this recording will have to suffice.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Must read book on love

This book by Lewis unpacks what love is. And how cool to hear his voice as he reads this book.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I LOVE C.S. Lewis!

Being able to hear my favorite author was truly a treat for me! I have already listened to this recording several times and I get something new from it each time. C.S. Lewis puts a concept that has been convoluted and scrambled for so long into such beautiful terms that it is nearly impossible to not understand at least one part of loves spectrum.

Personally, I would be ok without Chuck Coulson's input during the section breaks... But other than that I absolutely
Love this audiobook.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

C.S. Lewis read by C.S. Lewis

This is an amazing piece. Considering it was recorded over 50 years ago, the quality is pretty good. I highly recommend it.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

No introduction needed!

The introduction before the book starts is so drawn out and adds nothing to the experience except annoyance. Skip ahead seven minutes to avoid that ridiculousness.
Hearing C.S. Lewis read it aloud is great. I liked it very much!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lewisneeds no introduction

Lewis was superb, erudite and easy to follow. Coleson should be deleted. His voice is irritating and his introductions to the four sections, which should be divided into four chapters, deleted. He leads the listener down HIS path, instead of allowing the listener to be lead down the path he himself needs to hear. Delete the commentaries and you have an excellent book. Unfortunately, Coleson destroys this aspect unless you rise up and hit fast forward multiple times until you get to Lewis himself, by which time I was totally irritated. Find me a different Audible version, please.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A classic. Lewis reading Lewis

Thanks for preserving for us this classic recording of insight into how we truly love and must love as we grow in Christian maturity.

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6 people found this helpful