Many Times & Many Places – Pondering Principles

C. S. Lewis & the Value of History

by K. Alan Snyder & Jamin Metcalf

What is the value of knowing history, especially at a time when universities are cutting back on history courses and degree programs? C. S. Lewis’s education gave him a strong foundation in history. He knew its value, not only for the general public, but also for Christians who want to understand history from a Scriptural point of view. Many Times & Many Places: C. S. Lewis and the Value of History draws upon this influential Christian author to help determine not only why history has value, but also to aid readers in grasping how one should divide historical periods, how to develop a historical imagination, and how to avoid key errors in interpreting history.

Ordering Information:

Many Times & Many Places is available at amazon.com.

Chapter Titles:

Lewis the Historian
Dividing History Lewis Style
Historians vs. Historicists
Historical Imagination: A Mental Journey into the Real Past
Lewis’s Fiction: Awash with History
- Conclusion: The Man Who Lived in Many Times and Many Places
- Appendix 1: Tutored by Lewis: Interview with Historian A. G. Dickens
- Appendix 2: An Exercise in Imaginative History

Endorsements:

“Although C. S. Lewis is well known as a literary scholar, Christian apologist, and philosopher, Alan Snyder and Jamin Metcalf demonstrate that he was also a historian of considerable sophistication. Their extensive exploration of Lewis’s own works and the works that Lewis read with critical care show how thoroughly, yet also discerningly, Lewis considered questions about the past and its interpretation. Of the book’s many contributions, one of the most telling explains why “historicism,” as Lewis understood the term, undercut clarity about past events and their contemporary significance.”

♦ Mark Noll, Author of C. S. Lewis in America: Readings and Reception, 1935-1947

“As C. S. Lewis once challenged the conventional understanding of the Renaissance, Snyder and Metcalf now challenge established views on Lewis. Their careful work reveals Lewis to be a historian of the first rank. He was an expert in medieval history who spoke out against the dangers of both historical provincialism and the modern tendency to interpret historical outcomes as moral judgments. For anyone curious about the recurring themes of history and legends based on history which are found throughout the Lewis corpus, this is a must-read volume.”

♦ Bruce R. Johnson, Editor of The Undiscovered C. S. Lewis and General Editor of Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

“There is a lop-sidedness in Lewis studies, too many Narnia guides and not enough scholarly work on Lewis as a philosopher or historian. K. Alan Snyder and Jamin Metcalf have done an admirable job in addressing this imbalance, offering a well-researched and readable guide to Lewis’s views on history and historians. They persuasively argue that Lewis the Christian cultural historian is present in everything he wrote—literary criticism, lay theology, cultural analysis, and even fiction.”

♦ David Downing, Author of The Most Reluctant Convert and Co-Director of The Marion E. Wade Center

Many Times & Many Places
C. S. Lewis & The Value of History

by K. Alan Snyder, PhD
& Jamin Metcalf, MA
Copyright © 2023