The Inklings

C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends

By: Humphrey Carpenter

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

During the 1930s at Oxford, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams - remarkable friends, writers, and scholars - met regularly to discuss philosophy and literature and to read aloud from their own works in progress. Calling themselves the Inklings, their circle grew. It was in this company that such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first found an audience.

Author Humphrey Carpenter was born in Oxford and was acquainted with Tolkien, Hugo Dyson, and several other Inklings. In this remarkable reconstruction of their meetings and momentous friendships, Carpenter brings to life those warm and enchanting evenings in Lewis' rooms at Magdalen College, when their imaginations ran wild. His account offers exciting insights into the influence these brilliant individuals had on each other's developing ideas and writing.

©1990 Humphrey Carpenter (P)1990 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Best bio of Lewis and friends. A wonderful story. Showing God’s goodness.

Thank you for this wonderful work. So well researched and written. Warm. Engaging. Enlightening. And inspiring.

Wonderful writeup

It is profound how one man sharpens another. I find it a necessary part of my life to have a group of similarly minded (but not necessarily similarly dispositioned) people in my life. Lo, in this day and age it is practically impossible to share the frequency of comradery these men had. I find Lewis a kindred spirit in this if not in common disciplines or hobbies. I bring men into fellowship and we share our ideas, life experiences, opinions, and observations for a few hours every other week or so. We also do not keep records of our discussions or any sort of formal structure.

I mourn the deaths of all these men in this book though all passed before I was born. I think myself below all of them, for they were geniuses each in his own right and form. Lewis in his simple writing style and masterful debate form. Tolkien in his imagination and staunch tenacity to develop logic and continuance through story and myth, as well as his linguistic aptitude. Williams’ thought and propensity to see the world in spiritual and physical capacities, though I disagree intensely with his theology. Warreny in his ability to hold his own in the company of such literary minds who would ascend to the status of legend and giants.

I miss all of them though I knew none of them. I miss the times when the world was simpler. I long for a return to something I never knew.

The Inklings Come Alive In This Audiobook !

I thoroughly enjoyed this book it gave you insight into their friendships. Excellent Book.

A great find for any Inkling fan

Good narrator (he sounded very much like Michael Caine to me), and I was willing to overlook his mispronunciation of some of Toklien's words. It was a thorough and well rounded accounting of the Inklings, albeit with a heavy focus on C.S. Lewis.

Informative Book

C.S. Lewis, J. R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams formed the ultimate book club called the Inklings. They discussed the ancient literature, had readings of each other’s books and intellectual conversations about literature. Other literary minds also move in and out of this circle. This book was based on the life and literary careers of these three main authors and how they influenced each other both in life and the written word. It is written as a history book but the content is good.

**The narrator has strong pronunciation of whistling “S.” It can be overwhelming at times.

Well worth the time if you at all enjoy Inklings writers.

Already a big Lewis and Tolkien nerd, this book makes me feel like I actually know them. It also introduced me to Charles Williams, whose works I’m now going to investigate. It spends the most time, appropriately, with Lewis, as he was certainly the nucleus of the Inklings, but all are given a fair treatment.

Perspective of biographer unsympathetic

I did not enjoy the way the author had a slant against CS Lewis as being brash, a poser, impressionable, unoriginal, closed-minded, etc. Let’s see if that author can write anything that holds a candle to Lewis’ brilliance and impact. Come on! It felt like he was trying to cut him down with 80% of his comments. He seemed to “like” Tolkien and Williams much more, and it was obvious and I hate that. Other than that, I enjoyed hearing about this set and their lives.

Just wonderful!

So much I had never known before about this group of men, their friendships, and their writing. I appreciate the books I have read by these writers so much more deeply having listened to The Inklings. If you are a fan of Lewis and Tolkien, this is a wonderful listen!

Mostly about CS Lewis, the common link

This biographical sketch begins and ends with Lewis and gives revealing insight to the man and the men that surrounded him.

Pleasant book

Pleasant cursory collective biography of the Inklings. Primary focus is on C.S. Lewis, Own Barfield, and Charles Williams. Unfortunately, J.R.R. Tolkien plays only a supporting role as a force in C.S. Lewis's life. Little is said about his own history. The reader is ideal for this story, and the author displays an uncanny familiarity with the Catholic perspective of Tolkien, though he certainly doesn't have this perspective himself. To illustrate:

In one chapter, he reproduces a fictional Inklings meeting along the lines of how one of them might have proceeded. I can't imagine any contemporary author being able to do this in a believable way, but Carpenter pulls it off. Every reply from Tolkien is the sort of reply I would expect him to make and nothing about it seemed forced.

On the other hand, Carpenter certainly does not himself have the Catholic perspective he so accurately grasped in Tolkien. For instance, he repeatedly says being a rosicrucian freemason or practicing magic is compatible with Christianity. Well, Tolkien certainly wouldn't say so.