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Title: A Love Observed by Lyle W. Dorsett ISBN: 0-87788-479-X Publisher: Shaw Pub. Date: 07 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Joy and C.S. Lewis
Comment: The film 'Shadowlands' tells the story of one of the more unlikely love matches of the twentieth century, that of C.S. Lewis, famous British scholar and author of the Narnia stories, to American author of Jewish extraction, Joy Davidman. This short, competent biography tells the story of Joy's early life as an atheist and Communist, her first marriage to a writer of thrillers, their two children, her Christian conversion, and her leaving her hard-drinking husband to come to England. C.S. Lewis enters the story as an author who influenced Joy, and later as a friend when she emigrates to England. The civil marriage of a divorcee to a famous Christian bachelor author in his fifties caused some shock back in December 1956, but was accepted by the majority who knew them. The plain authenticity of this book is greatly enhanced by Lyle Dorsett's access to family letters, papers, and also the friends and family who knew them best. It is a recommended read as it fills in details of a period of Lewis's life which is subject to a certain amount of debate and confusion, and is a good supplement to the film.
Rating: 5
Summary: ...nothing ordinary about Joy.
Comment: The first sentence in the author's preface says it all... "There was absolutely nothing ordinary about Joy Davidman Lewis." This book is a testament to the truth of that statement, and is unique in its ability to show us so much about Joy Davidman prior to (or besides) her relationship with C.S. Lewis. In fact, it is only towards the mid-section of the book that she even meets Lewis for the first time in the dining room of the Eastgate Hotel, across from Magdalen College in Oxford. Dorsett does an unparalleled ORIGINAL job of documenting Joy's early family life in New York. (95% of the biography is based upon hitherto untapped primary sources). Growing up in a family where religion was at once respected and deplored, we see her unfold as a reluctant Jewess, an atheist, a militant communist, Christian convert, gifted writer/poet and screenwriter, mother and divorcee. She was a many-splendored critical thinker, and Lewis's brother Warnie tells us that "she liked walking, and she liked beer."
In her search for critical truth, Joy was greatly affected by the writings of Lewis (in particular, his Great Divorce, Miracles, and Screwtape Letters) and in the early spring of 1946 she experienced a profound conversion to Christianity. In the midst of a tumultuous and intolerable marriage, she and her two sons sailed for Liverpool from New York in August of 1952. In early September, Joy met Lewis. Anyone who has seen the Hollywood movie "Shadowlands" starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger will remember the portrayal of this initial meeting, and the relationship that followed. It must be said that the movie, though excellent, is grossly inaccurate of their actual story in many ways. For the clearest picture of one of the most heart-rending love stories of our modern age, you can do no better than to sit down with this book by Dorsett. It is an extraordinary account of two lives that were anything but ordinary.
Rating: 4
Summary: A peek into the personal life of Joy Davidson and C.S. Lewis
Comment: I recently rented the movie, Shadowlands, which is based on the life story of C.S. (Jack Lewis) and his relationship with Joy Davidson. That movie is what whetted my appetite for this book. I wanted to know more and this book certainly opened up more information about the two of them and their unique relationship. I cried at the movie and I cried reading this book. I intend to read other books about C.S. Lewis. He was a man who never expected to find (or have time for) a wife, but when Joy Davidson came along--all that changed. I'm so glad this author delved more into the lives of these special people. As a woman, I wanted to feel the bonding that went on with *Jack*, and I did. I thank the author for writing this. I would recommend this book to any CS Lewis fan. The next book I plan to read is "Letters to an American Lady."
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Title: Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments by Joy Davidman, C. S. Lewis ISBN: 066424680X Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press Pub. Date: November, 1985 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis by Douglas H. Gresham ISBN: 0060634472 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 03 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: And God Came In: The Extraordinary Story of Joy Davidman by Lyle W. Dorsett, Lyle W. Dorsett ISBN: 0345317874 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 October, 1984 List Price(USD): $2.95 |
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Title: C. S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands: The Story of His Life With Joy Davidman by Brian Sibley ISBN: 080078670X Publisher: Spire Books Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer ISBN: 0891077618 Publisher: Crossway Books Pub. Date: January, 1994 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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