The Fellowship

The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski, 512 pages

For two decades a group of writers known as the Inklings gathered regularly in Oxford for conversation and criticism, brought together, according to CS Lewis, by a love of literature, Christian faith, and "a shared set of enemies, including atheists, totalitarians, modernists, and anyone with a shallow imagination."  The most famous members included Lewis, JRR Tolkien, anthroposophist Owen Barfield, and esoteric fantasist Charles Williams.  The Fellowship is the story of these men, their friendships, and how they formed perhaps the most influential literary clique of the twentieth century.

The Zaleskis are more interested in the work of the Inklings than their personal lives, not that they entirely neglect the latter, but the focus is on "literary lives".  Beginning with the title, the authors give Tolkien a central place in their account, equal to that of Lewis.  If this undervalues the importance of Lewis' personality within the group, it is justified by Tolkien's importance as an author.  The lives of Barfield and, especially, Williams are revealed as more troubled than is generally understood.  The book also draws in a galaxy of other Inklings beyond the canonical four, including David Cecil, Hugo Dyson, Lewis' brother Warren, and Tolkien's son Christopher.  The Inklings' meetings were not restricted to fiction, but included historical and even medical works.

While not the definitive critical account of the Inklings' influence, nor the best biography of the individual members of the group, The Fellowship ties the lives and works of the Inklings together in an extraordinarily satisfying - and revealing - way.