• The Fellowship

  • The Literary LIves of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams
  • By: Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski
  • Narrated by: John Curless
  • Length: 26 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (486 ratings)

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The Fellowship  By  cover art

The Fellowship

By: Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski
Narrated by: John Curless
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Publisher's summary

A stirring group biography of the Inklings, the Oxford writing club featuring J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis is the 20th century's most widely read Christian writer and J. R. R. Tolkien its most beloved mythmaker. For three decades they and their closest associates formed a literary club known as the Inklings, which met weekly in Lewis' Oxford rooms and a nearby pub. They read aloud from works in progress, argued about anything that caught their fancy, and gave one another invaluable companionship, inspiration, and criticism.

In The Fellowship, Philip and Carol Zaleski offer the first complete rendering of the Inklings' lives and works. Lewis maps the medieval mind, accepts Christ while riding in the sidecar of his brother's motorcycle, becomes a world-famous evangelist and moral satirist, and creates new forms of religiously attuned fiction while wrestling with personal crises. Tolkien transmutes an invented mythology into a breathtaking story in The Lord of the Rings while conducting groundbreaking Old English scholarship and elucidating the Catholic teachings at the heart of his vision. This extraordinary group biography also focuses on Charles Williams, strange acolyte of Romantic love, and Owen Barfield, an esoteric philosopher who became, for a time, Saul Bellow's guru. Romantics who scorned rebellion, fantasists who prized sanity, Christians with cosmic reach, the Inklings sought to revitalize literature and faith in the 20th century's darkest years - and did so.

©2015 Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski (P)2015 Recorded Books

What listeners say about The Fellowship

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If You Love Literature...

It seems that practically everyone loves either Narnia or Middle Earth these days. But what this book does is look at not only the lives and careers of their famous creators (C.S.Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien respectively) but also looks at the careers of two other members of the famed literary society, the Inklings, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. It gave me so much pleasure to learn about how these men (and wow, is this a male dominated book) came together to smoke, drink, and talk. The rich, heady pleasure of creation is very present in this book. Lewis and Tolkien, unsurprisingly, dominate this book as they doubtless did the society itself. Still, the Zaleskis don't just give token notice of the others but try to be proportional in their coverage. Tolkien and Lewis rate much more coverage simply because they are much more influential.

It did make me wistful as I listened to this, to think of the world that we have lost. I think a core message of the lives of all of the Inklings was not only the importance of humans as social animals but also humans as creative ones as well. All of the Inklings spent their lives writing, critiquing, and revising their work. Indeed, the spirit of revision in response to the honest criticism that they offered one another is the strongest message of this book. Also, the overwhelming idea of Christianity as an intellectual impetus for these giants is not as much of the public discourse as it merits. Christianity and the spiritual lives of the Inklings is huge and is well and thoroughly covered in this book. This is a fascinating look at a group of fascinating men (too bad Dorothy L. Sayers didn't get more respect from these men because she was such a fine writer). Not an easy book but worth the time and effort.

Narnia and Middle Earth are places of magic that will doubtless be a source of wonder and delight for many generations to come. This is a grand place to learn about their creators and some of the lesser lights of the time and place.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Thorough Moving Tribute

Absolutely fascinating read for devotees of the Oxford phenomenon. I have read several biographies of the key members- Lewis, Tolkien, Williams,etc -but not until filling out the edges with the stories of how they interacted together did I appreciate the joyfulness, intellectual depth and spiritual searching that came from these timely friendships. I have to admit that whilst thoroughly enjoying the intellectual stimulation of following the various paths of philosophy and debate, I also found myself moved to tears a few times! A Great balance of their humanity... and beyond.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Expands the horizons of the Inklings

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If my friend was interested and had read Lewis and Tolkien, yes. For the uninitiated, this study may be too dense and scholarly.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not a character, but a central figure, JRR Tolkien, as I have always admired his devotion to the making of the "legendarium" as a storehouse of tales for our age, from another...

What about John Curless’s performance did you like?

He handles the personalities emerging in the Zaleskis' telling well. He modulates his voice to suit the mood, and over 20+ hours, engages the reader in an intellectual investigation

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Inklings: more than beer at the Bird and the Baby

Any additional comments?

The Zaleskis' respect our intelligence. They understand the worlds that Lewis, Tolkien, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams created, and they critique them evenly and fairly, while remaining sympathetic to their anti-modernist credo and their surprising pop culture impact.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Speed of voice is too slow.

Would you try another book from Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski and/or John Curless?

Yes. Definitely from the Zaleski's. The recording is terrible, but I don't think it is the fault of the narrator--the speed is too slow on the recording and neither the 1.0 or the speeded up 1.25 sound natural. The 1.25 is at least bearable, though the faster speed makes the voice unnatural.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fellowship?

The book is non-fiction, so it's not "plotted" for thrills.

How could the performance have been better?

[see above] The recording is terrible, but I don't think it is the fault of the narrator--the speed is too slow on the recording and neither the 1.0 or the speeded up 1.25 sound natural. The 1.25 is at least bearable, though the faster speed makes the voice unnatural. If you play it exactly as it downloads, the voice is artificially slow, drawling, and robotic. Speeded up makes it less annoying, but the tone is still wrong.

Did The Fellowship inspire you to do anything?

Look up more books by the Zaleskies.

Any additional comments?

Please don't make this kind of recording with the speed of the voice manipulated to fit different speeds on different devices. Keep the natural voices of the readers.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Too much Lewis, but well worth reading

Several years ago I read a ton of books by and about CS Lewis. I am still fascinated by Lewis, and there is still more to read by or about Lewis, but at this point much that I read about Lewis is repetition. So I was a bit reluctant to read The Fellowship because one of the complaints about it, is that it is too much about Lewis and not enough about the others. That complaint is valid. Although the Zaleskis managed to include new information about Lewis and the others, once I got past the initial introduction of the characters.

The Fellowship is not a short book. I listened to it on audiobook and it was over 26 hours (nearly 700 pages). While I did set it down a couple times, it was interesting and well written. Primarily I was interested in the biography of Charles Williams. He was one of the earliest Inklings to pass away (1945), but he was an important, but odd, member. Williams was the only member that was not highly educated (never competing a college degree). Gut as an editor at Oxford University Press, Williams came up through an alternative system of learning about writing. Williams was certainly odd. He was fascinated with the occult and magic and seemed to have a certain sexual appeal that he took advantage of, potentially to the level sexually abusing some women. At the very least he was a serial adulterer.

William is just one example of a mix of people that surrounded JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. Both Lewis and Tolkien, were clearly orthodox Christians, and at least after Lewis’ conversion, they were both very conventional in their morality. But many of the others around them were not. It was not just Williams. Barfield was fascinated by, and a proponent of, Anthroposophy, a pseudo-scientific, semi-religious rationalistic philosophy. Most manifestations of it were clearly not compatible with orthodox Christianity.

But what the Inklings did do is create a community that encouraged writing. Not everyone was a fiction writer. Lewis wrote a number of non-fiction works, Warren Lewis (CS Lewis’ older brother) was primarily a historian, Barfield and others wrote a mix of non-fiction and fiction. But it was through fiction, primarily fantasy that the Inklings really changed the course of 20th century literature. I tend to think of epic fantasy as an old genre. But epic fantasy, as it is not understood, really is dependent on The Lord of the Rings. And lighter fantasy has been significantly influenced by the Chronicles of Narnia. The Zaleskis assert that the Inklings did not start to fall apart upon Williams’ death, as some have proposed. Instead, they suggest that, while his death was important, the group started to wane as a natural progress of the aging of the group (and being pulled by work and family needs) and the inclusion of some of the newer members that were less compassionate toward fantasy writing. (Tolkien never read any of the Lord of the Rings to the group and Lewis seems to have not read much of the later Narnia books to the Inklings because the group was not particularly supportive by the time the books were being worked on.)

Part of what is fascinating about the group is that while it is viewed as incredibly successful group of writers now, much of their fame was posthumous. Lewis was genuinely famous prior to his death. But his fame grew much larger after his death. Tolkien, through the editing of his son, published much more after his death than prior to his death. Williams, while much less known, died early and was not particularly successful prior to his death. Barfield retired as a lawyer when he was 60 and spent most of the rest of his life (he passed away when he was 99) as a traveling speaker and professor and finally getting to write in ways that he did not have opportunity while the Inklings was active.

The early part of The Fellowship was fairly boring because it was basic info that I was very familiar with. It was only later when the other characters were introduced and there was actual analysis of writing or the group that the book picked up. I was ready to give up about half way through the book. But I am glad that I did not. The second half of the book was much better.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a pleasant way to learn about Lewis & Tolkien

If you want some insight into how CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien became the men who wrote their famous works, you'll find that out and more. I finished with a greater apreciation for their place in the literary world. Barfield and Williams do not receive the same exposure, but their place in the lives of Lewis and Tolkien opens the door to their own creativity. I enjoyed it all.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good, but too much Lewis

Good narration and the researchers certainly did their homework with regard to C.S. Lewis. But so much C.S. Lewis and little else. There are many books about Lewis, did we really need another? Even Tolkien takes a weak second place to Lewis. Charles Williams is certainly an important author worth knowing more about, but you won't find much about him here. I think this book missed a great opportunity to expand on the promised: "The Literary Lives of the Inklings".

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Inklings

One of the best books I’ve read or listened to! Filled with history and personal accounts, it has filled many gaps in my knowledge of some of my favorite writers. I’m sorry to come to the end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Inklings in Fellowship

If one knows anything of the Oxford Inklings, it is that J. R. R. Tolkien and Clive Staples (C. S.) Lewis were two Inklings members. And the biographical approach to this narrative adds a thrilling drama to moments when Inkling lives met, especially Tolkien and Lewis. But one grows to care in this telling of other Inklings, especially Owen Barfield and Charles Williams, incredibly interesting writers and thinkers who were members of the illustrious group, but known by many readers much less.

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Closer to the Inklings

It was a mammoth task to record the lives of the four main Inklings and their associates. But the authors achieve their aim admirably - to show how these writers of the last century interacted with each other. Highly recommended.

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