Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Yet more CS Lewis biography

Mere C. S. Lewis | TLS

There are still biographies being written about CS Lewis, and this review of two of them is not a bad read, but it didn't contain much in the way of information that I hadn't read elsewhere.  Except, perhaps, for this minor anecdote:
In his biography, McGrath is candid about the eccentric and less edifying side of his subject’s life. Lewis was personally shabby and unkempt, and he let his house get into an unhealthily filthy state. He refused to learn to type or drive a car. He smoked and drank heavily: Tolkien was amused to hear a reference to “the ascetic Mr Lewis” on a day when he had seen him down three pints of beer at lunchtime.

4 comments:

TimT said...

Lewis remarked on that three-pints-at-lunch day that he was "going short for lunch".

In my Lewis collection (and possibly somewhere in my Aldiss collection as well) I have an interview between Lewis, Aldiss, and Amis the elder. Lewis and Amis compete to outslob one another - Lewis to Amis, at one point: "Are you looking for an ashtray? Just use the carpet." If you believe the biographers, this sort of thing was common.

Steve said...

I think it was Paul Johnson who remarked in his amusing column about the history of smoking that people became absolute grubs about it (using the carpet for ash) in the 1920's.

I don't think that column is available on the 'net. I'm sure I have looked for it before; I think it was one of his Spectator "And Another Thing" columns, and although the Spectator does have an archives search for free, it is not turning it up...

He basically argued that everyone always knew it was an unhealthy habit which should be done away from other people, but it was only in the early 20th century that cheap cigarette production meant the habit was widely embraced and people started doing it everywhere regardless of others.

nottrampis said...

is that McGrath as in alister McGrath?

if so I would give it more credence than others

Steve said...

Yes it is Alister McGrath.