by Dr. U » July 29th, 2008, 3:57 am
My son recently lent me a book of letters written by Tolkien, which is fascinating stuff (if you're crazy like we are). Anyway JRRT wrote some letters to friends discussing THS, and his take on it. Very interesting. He felt Charles Williams had gotten to have too much influence on CSL by the 3rd book, and it took on the flavor of one of Williams' novels, and, in his opinion, ruined the trilogy. I don't have time right now, but I'll see if I can find the exact quote and post it here later.
If you've ever read some of CW's novels, Tolkien's criticism has merit. CW's novels tend to be very strange, gothic stories, with cross-overs across different epochs and places, including Hell, often taking place. The lead characters tend to be mostly British academics, too, who spend a great deal of time Discussing Ideas. Sort of Masterpiece Theater meets Stephen King.
However, even if there's some truth in the idea of Williams' influence on the novel, THS is, IMO, still better than any of CW's novels. I really enjoy re-reading THS every few years, and I'm not even sure I can put into words all the reasons why I like the book so much. Certainly, Lewis created some unforgettable characters, including Mark Studdock, Frost, Withers and, of course, Merlin from Arthurian England.
BTW, years after reading a number of Williams' novels, I encountered his non-fiction work, Descent of the Dove. It's about the history of the Holy Spirit at work in the whole church, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox, across the whole world over the past 2,000 years. I found it outstanding and full of insights. I personally wish he had written more books like that and less quirky novels. DOD is definitely worth tracking down.