"The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings is Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski's substantial literary biography of the remarkable circle of writers and thinkers centred upon J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams. Known collectively as the Inklings, they gathered regularly in Oxford during the middle decades of the twentieth century, meeting in Lewis's rooms at Magdalen College and in local pubs to discuss literature, philosophy, religion and their own works in progress. Drawing upon extensive archival and biographical material, the Zaleskis explore both the individual lives of these four extraordinary figures and the friendships, disagreements and intellectual exchanges that bound them together.
At the heart of the narrative are Tolkien and Lewis, whose friendship became one of the most consequential literary relationships of the century. The authors trace Tolkien's scholarship, mythology and development of the imaginative world that culminated in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, alongside Lewis's transformation into the celebrated scholar, Christian apologist and creator of The Chronicles of Narnia. Equally important are philosopher and writer Owen Barfield and poet, novelist and theologian Charles Williams, whose ideas and personalities contributed significantly to the intellectual character of the group. The book places their achievements against the wider background of Oxford life, two World Wars, religious thought and the profound cultural changes of twentieth-century Britain.
Extending to more than 600 pages, The Fellowship combines group biography, literary history and intellectual history to examine how the Inklings influenced one another and, collectively, modern literature. Its extensive notes, bibliography and index add considerable value for readers wishing to explore Tolkien, Lewis and their circle in greater depth, while the biographical narrative makes it equally accessible to the general reader. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, in 2015, this desirable copy is the First Edition, First Printing, with the complete number line present, and retains its original unclipped dustjacket."
