Into the Wardrobe

I am thinking about the plausibility of writing an essay comparing the spiritual searches of Argentinean author and C.S.Lewis through their common affection towards the works of Chesterton. J. L. Borges's works are, in his own words, the exploration of the possibilities of idealistic philosophies as a means for literary and intellectual wonder. In this respect he was very fond of Chesterton's books, particularly his Father Brown stories. He, in fact, wrote the very famous essay On Chesterton, in which he hypothesizes that Chesterton concoction of many intellectual nightmares was diluted by his purpose of reflecting his Christian faith on his writings.

All of this is very well documented, but when it comes to Lewis, I find that, beyond that famous quote from Surprised By Joy, I don't have much more material. I surmise there may be whole essays about Chesterton's influence on Lewis before and after his conversion, but those aren't the kind of books one might easily find in a bookstore in my country, and I'd prefer an essay/critique written by Lewis himself on Chesterton's writings, person or his influence. Did Lewis ever write something like that? Where is it published? If you have thorough knowledge on this, could you please elaborate your own opinion on Lewis' regard for Chesterton?

Hi, Zahir,
As far as I know, Lewis never wrote anything specifically about Chesterton and his works. Chesterton is certainly referred to in nearly every Christian themed book Lewis wrote, and many essays, but not the topic of any.

If you want secondary sources, I found two in my reference books. The November 1991 issue of 'The Chesterton Review' is dedicated to Chesterton's influences on C. S. Lewis. Also, there is an essay in the book A Christian for All Christians, edited by Walker and Patrick, titled 'The Christian Influence of G.K. Chesterton on C.S. Lewis', by Aidan Mackey.

Selah,
Sven

Thanks Sven!

While they are certainly unavailable in my country, I have been looking into those references on the Internet and found that Chesterton Review issue for sale in and some places where the A Christian for All Christians can be bought. Nothing, though, that doesn't involve spending a load of money through the Internet :(

I also found by someone whose PhD thesis was about Lewis. Be sure to check out his online articles.