ENG 446: Fiction of Lewis & Tolkien

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War tells the story of how the First World War shaped the lives, faith, and writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. This is the first book to explore their work in light of the spiritual crisis sparked by the conflict.

A Morning after War fills a critical gap in C. S. Lewis biographies with unprecedented detail by tracing Lewis's wartime service, relationships, and earliest publications. Probing war's traumatic destruction upon Lewis's romantic expectations of tranquil life, this book surpasses literary analyses of Lewis's work by asserting a comprehensive definition of war literature. Equally, scholars and students of World War I, war literature, trauma studies, and C. S. Lewis will find this work an invaluable reassessment of central assumptions.

Croft explores the different aspects of Tolkien's relationship with war both in his life and in his work from the early "Book of Lost Tales" to his last story "Smith of Wootten Major," and concentrating on his greatest and most well-known works "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." This timely addition to the critical literature on Tolkien sheds new light on the author's life and works.

C. S. Lewis in a Time of War is a fascinating look at how Lewis's World War II broadcasts were created and the enthusiastic response they generated at a time when bombing in London caused many radio stations to be evacuated. This book reveals a rich, previously untapped vein of Lewis's life and work that will intrigue his millions of fans.

Includes relevant chapter: "Fantastic Medievalism and the Great War in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings"

Includes relevant chapter: "The Loss of Conviction: World War I and Atheism"

Includes several relevant chapters including "The Shell-Shocked Hobbit: The First World War and Tolkien's Trauma of the Ring", "Faramir and the Heroic Ideal of the Twentieth Century; or How Aragorn Died at the Somme", and "Beyond the Circles of This World: The Great War, Time, History, and Eternity in the Fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis"

Includes two relevant chapters: "The Vasty Fields of France: War, 1917-1918" and "National Acclaim: The Wartime Apologist, 1939-1942"