Sleuthing C. S. Lewis
Sleuthing C. S. Lewis: More Light in the Shadowlands
- Author: Kathryn Lindskoog
- Length: 432
- Edition: Hardcover
- Publisher: Mercer University Press; 1st ed edition
Description of Sleuthing C. S. Lewis:
Sleuthing C. S. Lewis is the latest installment in the story of the most bizarre literary and religious scandal of the late twentieth century. Within a few months of C. S. Lewis's death in 1963, certain facts about his life were already being fictionalized and his literary leavings were being contaminated with fakery. This was the beginning of one of the most audacious literary hoaxes on record, and it's still going on today. Year after year, the fraud has been promoted by public relations and protected by secrecy. Year after year, Lindskoog has explored the fraud farther. The result is a gripping tale with an amazing cast of characters and new developments every year. This is scholarship packed with human interest and suspense. Reading this book is not only an excursion into realms of forgery, imposture, and cover-up, but also an insightful excursion into little-known aspects of C. S. Lewis's life. It offers rare glimpses of Lewis from his teens to his final day, and it uncovers important facts about his beloved brother Warren. This is a gripping tale of literary detective work, with an amazing cast and up-to-the-moment developments. It is packed with human interest and suspense. The content is complex, but the writing is colorful, clear, and concise. Although scandalous, this book is full of goodwill and laced with wit. Lindskoog shows how exciting and influential good scholarship can be. C. S. Lewis on Kathryn Lindskoog: In 1957 C. S. Lewis sent a letter to Kathryn Lindskoog in which he included this unique commendation: "You are in the centre of the target everywhere. For one thing, you know my work better than anyone else Ive met; certainly better than I do myself But secondly, you (alone of the critics I've met) realize the connection, or even the unity, of all the booksscholarly, fantastic, theologicaland make me appear a single author, not a man who impersonates half a dozen authors, which is what I seem to most. This wins really very high marks indeed If you understand me so well you will understand other authors too. I hope we shall have some really useful critical works from your hand." "If you pretend to be a serious Lewis scholar, you have to have this book, because it is certainly not going to go away. I think what's been done to C. S. Lewis is unconscionable." --Algis Budrys Editor of Tomorrow: Speculative Fiction Magazine "An extraordinary book... Her thesis is that C. S. Lewis' posthumous books are at least partly forged... Iand millions of otherswould like to know if there is indeed a 'Lewisgate' scandal..."Arthur C. Clarke in his acceptance speech for his Honorary Doctorate at the University of Liverpool "With meticulous detail, painstaking research, and flashes of humor, she reveals a pattern of misinformation, subtle compromise, incestuous management, and outright perfidy in the posthumous legacy of Lewis publishing. I stand in awe of her achievement."Bob Darden, editor of The Door and assistant professor at Baylor University
Information on Sleuthing C. S. Lewis from the publisher:
"Kathryn Lindskoog, of whom C. S. Lewis said that she knows his work better than anyone, has some serious questions for the guardians of the gates of the C. S. Lewis estate. Her careful, meticulous research results in many questions that no one seems to want to answer. Did Lewis write the posthumous book The Dark Tower? Or, was it written by someone connected to the estate? Who owns the C. S. Lewis estate? Is what the estate saying about Lewis true or false? Finally, the scandal of the Chronicles of Narnia may be the biggest and most misleading of all. Rearranging the order of the books against Lewis's wishes is just a minor part of the problem." Lindskoog answers these and a multitude of other questions regarding the keepers of the keys to one of the most significant estates in literary history. Anyone who reads this book will be enlightened to one of the greatest literary frauds in history. While Lindskoog offers a veritable wall of granite-like evidence she does not set here the final word. The book is but a beacon to join in the quest to discover the truth. This is a manifesto regarding the integrity and honesty of literary estates in general, and a daring quest to find answers to significant questions regarding the Lewis estate in particular.
Description of Kathryn Lindskoog, author of Sleuthing C. S. Lewis:
Kathryn Lindskoog, of whom C.S. Lewis said that she knows his work better than anyone, has some serious questions for the guardians of the gates of the C.S. Lewis estate. Her careful, meticulous research results in many questions that no one seems to want to answer. Did Lewis write the posthumous book The Dark Tower? Or, was it written by someone connected to the estate? Who owns the C.S. Lewis estate? Is what the estate saying about Lewis true or false? Finally, the scandal of the Chronicles of Narnia may be the biggest and most misleading of all. Rearranging the order of the books against Lewis's wishes is just a minor part of the problem. Lindskoog answers these and a multitude of other questions regarding the keepers of the keys to one of the most significant estates in literary history. Anyone who reads this book will be enlightened to one of the greatest literary frauds in history.

