The Lion's Country - by Charlie W Starr (Paperback)

About the Book

"Drawing on C. S. Lewis's essays, sermons, and fiction, The Lion's Country offers a comprehensive exploration of Lewis's understanding of reality-important, Charlie W. Starr argues, to more fully understand Lewis's writing but also to challenge and inform our own thought about what constitutes the Real. For Lewis, reality is not simply a matter of what we can ascertain with our senses; the Real includes but also transcends the physical. Indeed, for Lewis, who is perhaps the most influential Christian writer of the 20th century, God is the most Real thing there is. Yet during the modernist era when Lewis lived, taught, and wrote, the prevailing view was that the only legitimate knowledge was that which could be derived from empirically provable facts. Lewis's rejection of such a narrow belief prompted him to ask, "What are facts without interpretation?" and led to his lifelong pursuit of experiencing and understanding the Real. Much of his fiction, including The Chronicles of Narnia, is fundamentally about how we can encounter reality and be certain of what we know. Starr's unique look at Lewis's philosophical and theological underpinnings extends even to a discussion of heaven and what it would be like to see the face of God. Including a never-before-released passage from Lewis's unpublished Prayer Manuscript, The Lion's Country is an essential contribution to Lewis studies"--

Book Synopsis

Using a philosophical lens to more deeply examine, appreciate, and understand C. S. Lewis's writings

Drawing on C. S. Lewis's essays, sermons, and fiction, The Lion's Country offers a comprehensive exploration of Lewis's understanding of reality-important, Charlie W. Starr argues, to more fully understand Lewis's writing but also to challenge and inform our own thought about what constitutes the Real.

For Lewis, reality is not simply a matter of what we can ascertain with our senses; the Real includes but also transcends the physical. Indeed, for Lewis, who is perhaps the most influential Christian writer of the 20th century, God is the most Real thing there is. Yet during the modernist era when Lewis lived, taught, and wrote, the prevailing view was that the only legitimate knowledge was that which could be derived from empirically provable facts. Lewis's rejection of such a narrow belief prompted him to ask, "What are facts without interpretation?" and led to his lifelong pursuit of experiencing and understanding the Real. Much of his fiction, including The Chronicles of Narnia, is fundamentally about how we can encounter reality and be certain of what we know.

Starr's unique look at Lewis's philosophical and theological underpinnings extends even to a discussion of heaven and what it would be like to see the face of God. Including a never-before-released passage from Lewis's unpublished Prayer Manuscript, The Lion's Country is an essential contribution to Lewis studies.

From the Back Cover

Using a philosophical lens to more deeply examine, appreciate, and understand C. S. Lewis's writings

Drawing on C. S. Lewis's essays, sermons, and fiction, The Lion's Country offers a comprehensive exploration of Lewis's understanding of reality--important, Charlie W. Starr argues, to more fully understand Lewis's writing but also to challenge and inform our own thought about what constitutes the Real.

For Lewis, reality is not simply a matter of what we can ascertain with our senses; the Real includes but also transcends the physical. Indeed, for Lewis, who is perhaps the most influential Christian writer of the 20th century, God is the most Real thing there is. Yet during the modernist era when Lewis lived, taught, and wrote, the prevailing view was that the only legitimate knowledge was that which could be derived from empirically provable facts. Lewis's rejection of such a narrow belief prompted him to ask, "What are facts without interpretation?" and led to his lifelong pursuit of experiencing and understanding the Real. Much of his fiction, including The Chronicles of Narnia, is fundamentally about how we can encounter reality and be certain of what we know.

Starr's unique look at Lewis's philosophical and theological underpinnings extends even to a discussion of heaven and what it would be like to see the face of God. Including a never-before-released passage from Lewis's unpublished Prayer Manuscript, The Lion's Country is an essential contribution to Lewis studies.

Review Quotes

"Starr, a professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University who is also an expert on Lewis's handwriting, has a deep and intimate knowledge of Lewis's full body of work. In his new book, he marshals that knowledge for a single purpose: to tease out what Lewis had to say in his fiction, nonfiction, essays, letters, and sermons about the nature of reality. .... Such wonders await the reader who, guided by Starr, ventures into the realms of C. S. Lewis." --Christianity Today

"Starr's book opens the door for new and exciting avenues for Lewis studies, such as inquiry into Lewis's influences for his theory of Reality. Lewis scholars can also use this theory as a lens when reading Lewis's fiction, bringing to light new elements in his narratives. ...Those who have read much of Lewis's corpus will delight in a reinvigoration of Lewis's vision of reality and those new to Lewis will be introduced to a thinker who goes further up and further into the Christian faith." --Mythlore

"In The Lion's Country, Charlie Starr skillfully guides us through Lewis's theory of reality, a world of fine distinctions and conceptual and linguistic pitfalls. After finishing, readers will be well equipped to journey further on their own. Clear, engaging, and insightful." --Devin Brown, professor of English at Asbury University and author of A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis

"Starr has provided us with a new thread to weave together the many different works in many different genres that flowed from Lewis's pen over a quarter century." --Louis Markos, professor of English and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University and author of The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis, C. S. Lewis for Beginners, The Myth Made Fact

About the Author

Charlie W. Starr is professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University and visiting professor of Inklings studies at Northwind Seminary. He teaches, writes, and lectures on classic and American literature, film, humanities, and theology, and on the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. An expert on C. S. Lewis's handwriting, he is also the author of The Faun's Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters.