Search Results: Books by cs lewis

London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1938-1945. First editions of each volume in C.S. Lewis' important space trilogy including the dedicatee's (Lewis' brother's) copy of Out of the Silent Planet, the rarest book in the series. Octavo, three volumes, original cloth. Inscribed by C.S. Lewis' brother Warren Hamilton Lewis on the front free endpaper to whom the book is dedicated, "This book. Well, speaking as dedicatee I felt that it was up to me to buy it. What's more, I also think that you, as being friendly to us two, should try it. But if you should dislike the tale, Don't say so and thus spoil its sale: Keep quiet! W.H.L. to H.D.P. 10/10/38." The dedicatee, Warren Hamilton Lewis, was a British historian and officer in the British Army. He wrote on French history, and served as his brother's secretary in the later years of C.S. Lewis's life. Lewis referred to his older brother Warren ("Warnie") as "my dearest and closest friend," their lifelong friendship was formed as the boys played together in their… Read More

Oxford: np, 1952. First edition. nb. Very Good. ONE OF THE FINEST C.S. LEWIS LETTERS TO APPEAR ON THE MARKET, OFFERING INSIGHT INTO THE CREATION OF THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. WITH MENTION OF TOLKIEN'S "THE HOBBIT" AS A FAVORITE BOOK. Between the publication of the second (Prince Caspian) and third (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) books in his masterpiece series, "The Chronicles of Narnia," Lewis writes to a group of school children, revealing his thoughts about the series and his plans for the remaining books. Over the course of the letter, Lewis: -regrets that Peter and Susan are not returning to Narnia ("they are now getting to the age at which people stop having that sort of adventure for a time"); -offers a preview of the new book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ("Lucy and Edmund find Caspian (now King of course) on board ship, sailing to the Eastern end of the Narnian world. There will be lots about Reepicheep. And there will be a Sea Serpent, and a Dragon, and lots of strange islands.");… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, 1945. First edition of the author's allegorical tale about a bus ride from Hell to Heaven. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper with a pre-publication appearance of his 5-stanza autograph poem, The Meteorite, "The Meteorite Among the hills the meteorite Lies huge; and moss has overgrown, And wind and rain with fingers light Made soft the contours of the stone. Thus easily can Earth digest A cinder of sidereal fire, And make her translunary guest The native of the English shire. Nor is it strange these wanderers Find in her lap their fitting place, Since every particle that's hers came at the first from outer space. All that is Earth has once been sky; Down from the sun of old she came, Or from a star that travelled by Too close to his entangling flame. Hence, if belated drops still fall From heaven, on these her plastic power Still works as once is works on all the first rush of the golden shower.… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, 1945.

London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1945.

Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis. Folio, the collection includes the original composition of Spearing's 1957 English Tripos essay: "The Translation of English Verse (An Essay with some Specimen Translations)" which he sent to Lewis for edits and contains Lewis' marginal notes; two pages of critical notes entirely in Lewis' hand on his Magdalene College Cambridge letterhead containing 28 numbered notes and suggestions for edits to the Spearing's composition; an autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis to Spearing which reads in part: "The Kilns Headington Quarry Oxford Dear Shearing 'He's a fool without his Book', said Caliban, and you catch me without most of mine. The best I can do by Dead Reckoning is as follows: The bit from H. does not seem to me to make conciseness exactly 'the aim' of rhetoric... I'm sorry I can't give you anything… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles and The Bodley Head, 1950. Seven volumes complete, published between 1950-1956, comprising, 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe', (1950), [4], 5-172pp, [2]; 'Prince Caspian', (1951), [4], 5-194pp, [2]; 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', (1952), [8], 9-223pp, [1]; 'The Silver Chair', (1953), [10], 11-217pp, [1]; 'The Horse and His Boy', (1954), [8], 9-199pp, [1] with four full page illustrations outside of pagination; 'The Magician's Nephew', (1955), [6], 7-183pp, [1] and 'The Last Battle', (1956), [6], 7-184pp. Rebound by Temple Bookbinders in full blue morocco, raised bands, spines in six panels, title label to second panel, author label to fourth, remaining panels with central gilt device, date to foot, covers with single line border, gilt roll to inner edges, a.e.g. Externally very good indeed, internally a few spots of soiling and one or two spots of foxing generally to margins, but quite bright and clean. Housed in… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950-1956. First editions of each book in the author's classic Chronicles of Narnia series, which has sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Octavo, 7 volumes, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, gilt signature to each front panel, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. The set comprises of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle. Each are in fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional set.

London: Geoffrey Bles [and] The Bodley Head, 1950-1956.. COMPLETE LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITIONS, one volume SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR. Seven volumes. 8vo. (21 x 15 x 19cm). With illustrations by Pauline Baynes. The Magician's Nephew is SIGNED by the illustrator in black ink to the title page. Recently rebound in green full morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spines, marbled endpapers, and all edges gilt. The maps from Prince Caspian, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader are bound into the preliminaries of those books. Presented in a matching fleece-lined cloth slipcase with ribbon-pull. A little spotting to The Magician's Nephew, otherwise crisp, clean copies presented in attractive, uniform modern leather bindings.

London: The Centenary Pres, 1941.

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1942. First edition of Lewis' classic novel of spiritual conflict, one of his most celebrated works. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition. An excellent example. Very rare in this condition. The Screwtape Letters comprises thirty-one letters written by a senior demon named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood (named after a star in Revelation), a younger and less experienced demon, who is charged with guiding a man toward "Our Father Below" (Devil / Satan) and away from "the Enemy" (God). Versions of the letters were originally published weekly in the Anglican periodical The Guardian between May and November 1941.

London: Geoffrey Bles [and] The Bodley Head, 1950-1956. [Children's fantasy series] COMPLETE LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITIONS, first impressions. Seven volumes. Octavo (21 x 15 x 19cm). With illustrations by Pauline Baynes. Finely bound in recent navy full morocco, with gilt titles to spines, raised bands, marbled endpapers, and all edges gilt. The maps from Prince Caspian, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader are bound into the preliminaries of those books. Housed in a matching cloth slipcase with ribbon-pull. A touch of light occasional spotting. Faint remains of a washed ink ownership to half-title of 'The Silver Chair'. A small hole to map in 'Prince Caspian.' Otherwise crisp, clean copies in an attractive new leather binding.

London: Oxford University Press, 1939. First edition of this collection of arguments on the subjective and objective positions of writings, with C.S. Lewis arguing the latter. Presentation copy, inscribed by C.S. Lewis on the front free endpaper, "R.W. Fletcher from C.S.L. March 20th 1940." In near fine condition. Exceedingly rare signed and inscribed by Lewis. A series of articles, three each by C.S. Lewis and E. M. W. (Eustace Mandeville Wetenhall) Tillyard, The Personal Heresy is concerned with whether a piece of imaginative writing, particularly poetry, is primarily a reflection of the author's personality (Tillyard's position) or is about something external to the author (Lewis's position). The two positions may be summarized briefly as the subjective position (Tillyard) and the objective position (Lewis). In general, Lewis attempts to keep poetry within the reach of the common person, while Tillyard thinks of the poet as a person who is "a cut above the common person.

London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd, [1911]. First published in 1643 after an unauthorized version was distributed the previous year, Sir Thomas Browne's Religio Medici became an instant best-seller upon publication and has remained remarkably influential throughout the centuries. Structured upon the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity and in many ways a psychological self-portrait, the text served to express Browne's beliefs in the doctrine of sola fide, the existence of hell, the Last Judgment, the resurrection and other tenets of Christianity with the use of scientific imagery to illustrate religious truths and exhibit the relationship between science and religion. One of the four founding fathers of John Hopkins Hospital and "the father of modern medicine", William Osler is said to have learned Religio Medici by heart, Virginia Woolf regarded it as the basis for all future confessionals and memoirs, and Carl Jung cited it many times throughout his writings.

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1952. First edition of this classic C.S. Lewis work, which was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1942 and 1944. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional example, easily one of the nicest extant. In 1943 Great Britain, when hope and the moral fabric of society were threatened by the relentless inhumanity of global war, an Oxford don was invited to give a series of radio lectures addressing the central issues of Christianity. Over seventy years after the original lectures, the topic retains it urgency. Expanded into book form, Mere Christianity never flinches as it sets out a rational basis for Christianity and builds an edifice of compassionate morality atop this foundation. As Lewis clearly demonstrates, Christianity is not a religion of flitting angels and blind faith, but of free will, an innate sense of justice and the grace of God.

Geoffrey Bles, 1950. First Edition. Hardcover. Like New. First Editions, First Printings. Complete Set of Seven Volumes. Published by Geoffrey Bles & Bodley Head, 1950-1956. Octavos. Bound in three-quarter dark blue morocco over light blue boards with gilt topstains, 5 raised spine bands stamped in gold with marbled endpapers. Books are in fine condition; clean with no ownership markings, names or writing. The first two volumes have full-color frontispiece illustrations, volumes 3-5 have black and white frontispieces and the last two have none (as issued). All books featuring the wonderful original illustrations of Pauline Baynes. Books 2-5 have the full map endpapers bound in at the rear of each volume. A wonder complete first edition set of C.S. Lewis's acclaimed Chronicles of Narnia which consists of The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe (1950), Prince Caspian (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician's Nephew (1955), & The Last… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1953. First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, contemporary name to the half-title page. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. An exceptional example, as this is the most difficult volume in the series to find in collectible condition.

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1953. First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. An exceptional example, as this is the most difficult volume in the series to find in collectible condition.

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950. First edition of the first work in Lewis' acclaimed Narnia series. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, gilt signature to the front panel, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. An exceptional presentation.   The Chronicles of Narnia is "unforgettable not only for the excitement and suspense of the adventures but also for the strong emotions they describe so well [and they are] further enriched by Lewis' skillful use of language" (Silvey, 406). "Each book has something new and different to offer and there is no weakening of either inspiration or interest" (Eyre, 132). It is interesting that Lewis' inspiration came from a dream: "At first I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good… Read More

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1951.