Location
Old Library
Event type
Library, Public
Date
24 April - 18 September 2024
Time
Wednesdays 2-4:30pm
An exhibition in the Old Library
C.S. Lewis began his Oxford career as a student at University College in 1917. In 1925 he was appointed Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen College, where he remained until his election to the Professorship of Medieval and Renaissance English at the University of Cambridge in 1954. This exhibition examines his Oxford life as teacher, scholar, writer, administrator and broadcaster, and his extensive involvement in various societies, including the Socratic Club and the Inklings. It was during his Magdalen years that Lewis wrote many of his most famous works, including Out of the Silent Planet, The Screwtape Letters and the Narnia stories. The exhibition also explores how Lewis’s literary interests, and his friendships with other writers and academics, especially J.R.R. Tolkien, helped create one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers and thinkers.
The exhibition is curated by Professor Simon Horobin, Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen, whose interests are also in the medieval period, and Dr Lucy Gwynn, College Librarian. Alongside original manuscripts, books, letters, illustrations, audio recordings and photographs, the exhibition will display personal objects, including Lewis’s pipe, tobacco jar and pen.
Please note that the exhibition is free, but that Magdalen College charges an entrance fee to some visitors. Click here for details of admission and access to Magdalen College.
Access: The Old Library is accessed via a steep flight of stairs. There is disabled access via a lift, but please contact us in advance so that we can arrange this for you. Many thanks.
