Clive Staples Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (✦29 November 1898 – †22 November 1963) was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. He held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College), 1925–54, and Cambridge University (Magdalene College), 1954–63. He is best known for his fictional work, especially "The Screwtape Letters", "The Chronicles of Narnia", and "The Space Trilogy", and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as "Mere Christianity", "Miracles", and "The Problem of Pain".
Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. They both served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings". According to Lewis's memoir "Surprised by Joy", he was baptized in the Church of Ireland but fell away from his faith during adolescence. Lewis returned to the Anglican Communion at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an "ordinary layman of the Church of England". His faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.
In 1956, he married American writer Joy Davidman; she died of cancer four years later at the age of 45. Lewis died on 22 November 1963 from renal failure, one week before his 65th birthday. In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of his death, Lewis was honored with a memorial in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. The books that make up "The Chronicles of Narnia" have sold the most and have been popularized on stage, TV, radio, and cinema. His works entered the public domain in 2014 in countries where copyright expires 50 years after the death of the creator, such as Canada.
Lewis's sexuality
Lewis sexual proclivities also clash with the images of the reserved Englishman who touted the virtues of abstinence before marriage in "Mere Christianity."
Lewis displayed an interest in sadomasochism during his youth. He read the writings of the Marquis de Sade; once became drunk at a party and begged people to allow him to whip them; and signed three letters to friend Arthur Greeves with the closing "lover of the whip," according to McGrath"s biography.
Lewis befriended Greeves during childhood, and the two remained close throughout his life. Greeves was gay, but that didn't seem to bother Lewis.
"Lewis was aware of Greeves" homosexuality and made it clear that this would not be a problem within their friendship," McGrath said. "He also made it clear that he didn't share Greeves" orientation."
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