Re: believe it or not...

Posted by Calixar from id-couerdalene2d-16.cdalid.adelphia.net (24.53.226.16) on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 at 6:02pm :

In Reply to: believe it or not... posted by Aragorn from val-hs1-016.inetnebr.com (206.222.219.144) on Tuesday, December 03, 2002 at 1:48pm :

: ... I've never read the final volume of the Space Trilogy. I loved "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra", though (Perelandra is quite possibly the best book Lewis ever wrote). I plan on reading "That Hideous Strength" someday, and if I don't get it for Christmas (hardcover, on my wishlist at amazon.com), I'll go ahead and buy it for myself.

I managed to get my hands on a nice hardcover set of the trilogy... about... uh... wow... eleven years ago. I was working for Waldenbooks at the time and got them cheap.
Anyway, I personally like the third book (thought I agree that the second is better). But I'm a sucker for Arthuriana and such. Williams was really big into Arthurian Lore and he annd Lewis had been having some in depth conversations on it at the time he wrote That Hideous Strength.
When you're reading it, keep an eye out for references to Lord of the Rings. There's at least one outright mention to "Numinor"... which is what ticked Tolkien off so much, but I won't say why exactly. The person speaking the comment was what did it. He didn't object to Lewis using it, as by his own statement in a letter in 1961 he said that he only finished LotR because of Lewis' encouragement. The mispelling of Numenor, he said, was due to Lewis having never seen the word, but only heard it when the stories were read aloud at Inklings' meetings.
In a 1964 letter he says of Williams, "I actively disliked his Arthurian-Byzantine mythology; and still think that it spoiled the trilogy of C.S.L."
In a 1965 letter he says, "... Eldil is an echo of the Eldar; in 'Perelandra' Tor and Tindril are... Tuor and Idril, parents of Earendil... It was at any rate broken to bits before it became coherent by contact with C. S. Williams and his 'Arthurian' stuff--which happened between 'Perelandra' and 'That Hideous Strength.' A pity... I was and remain wholly unsympathetic to Williams' mind."

Follow Ups:

Interesting stuff... - Aragorn 7:12pm 12/03/2002

Re: Interesting stuff... - Calixar 9:07pm 12/03/2002

Actually... - Aragorn 11:36pm 12/03/2002

Ah... - Calixar 9:12am 12/04/2002

Grr... - Aragorn 8:21pm 12/04/2002

Re: Grr... - Calixar 8:50pm 12/04/2002

thanks... - Aragorn 11:43pm 12/04/2002

Re: thanks... - Calixar 7:32pm 12/05/2002

well... - Aragorn 0:08am 12/07/2002

never mind that! - Aragorn 0:22am 12/07/2002

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: : ... I've never read the final volume of the Space Trilogy. I loved "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra", though (Perelandra is quite possibly the best book Lewis ever wrote). I plan on reading "That Hideous Strength" someday, and if I don't get it for Christmas (hardcover, on my wishlist at amazon.com), I'll go ahead and buy it for myself. : I managed to get my hands on a nice hardcover set of the trilogy... about... uh... wow... eleven years ago. I was working for Waldenbooks at the time and got them cheap. : Anyway, I personally like the third book (thought I agree that the second is better). But I'm a sucker for Arthuriana and such. Williams was really big into Arthurian Lore and he annd Lewis had been having some in depth conversations on it at the time he wrote That Hideous Strength. : When you're reading it, keep an eye out for references to Lord of the Rings. There's at least one outright mention to "Numinor"... which is what ticked Tolkien off so much, but I won't say why exactly. The person speaking the comment was what did it. He didn't object to Lewis using it, as by his own statement in a letter in 1961 he said that he only finished LotR because of Lewis' encouragement. The mispelling of Numenor, he said, was due to Lewis having never seen the word, but only heard it when the stories were read aloud at Inklings' meetings. : In a 1964 letter he says of Williams, "I actively disliked his Arthurian-Byzantine mythology; and still think that it spoiled the trilogy of C.S.L." : In a 1965 letter he says, "... Eldil is an echo of the Eldar; in 'Perelandra' Tor and Tindril are... Tuor and Idril, parents of Earendil... It was at any rate broken to bits before it became coherent by contact with C. S. Williams and his 'Arthurian' stuff--which happened between 'Perelandra' and 'That Hideous Strength.' A pity... I was and remain wholly unsympathetic to Williams' mind."

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