Not exactly a man who can be marketed to the polite suburban Protestant church crowd. Finally, he was a part of a mystical Christian group that practiced magical ritual while refusing to seek magical powers. He carried on a passionate but unconsummated (despite her strong desires to do so) love affair with Phyllis Jones, a librarian at the Oxford University Press London office. Lindop shares discomforting letters Williams wrote to young women that show a “master/apprentice” relationship which would often involve real spankings for supposed infractions. While Tolkien lived the life of a near saint, and Lewis seemingly beat his demons upon his conversion to Christianity, Williams struggled with his dark side his entire life. Williams was a complex, strange and sometimes disturbing person. First, why has Williams not enjoyed the near saint-like status bestowed on Lewis and Tolkien despite writing profound theological works? Second, how should Williams’ work be understood not only in light of the Inklings but in the larger literary world? Lindop seeks to correct that perception and show us the genius of the man many have referred to as “The Magician.” He does so by asking two questions.
Even in last year’s excellent literary biography The Fellowship, Williams is given a secondary role in the legendary writers group.
Everything he wrote, did or said has been analyzed by and through his relationship to The Inklings and its more famous members, Lewis and Tolkien. Charles Williams, in spite of being called “One of the most gifted and intellectual Christian writers England has produced this century” by Time magazine, has always walked in the shadow of his two famous friends. This story from the opening pages of Grevel Lindop’s Charles Williams: The Third Inkling reveals a startling but puzzling truth. By all accounts, everyone present was in awe of his insight, his brilliance and his raw charisma. As he begins to speak, the listeners fall under his spell. Between them is a strange-looking bespectacled man. Two of the men are among the most beloved writers of the 20th century, C.S. Right on time, the door opens and three figures walk in.
A packed hall at Oxford Divinity School is waiting for the first lecture by an editor from the London office of Oxford University Press.