Download or read book Charles Williams and his Contemporaries written by Richard Sturch and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2009-10-02 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Williams (1886-1945), poet, novelist, critic, biographer, lay theologian, and 'Inkling'; exercised a great influence, both as a personality and through his writings, on English letters in his own day; and now, after a period of relative neglect, interest in him has grown once more. This international symposium, a product of this revival, is presented as a contribution to the serious study of Williams and his work. Its contents reflect not only the extraordinarily wide range of his writing, but also the many contacts he made both personally and through his work at the Oxford University Press. Contributors look at his literary background and context, describe the part he played in introducing Kierkegaard to the English-speaking public, discuss his theology of love, and compare his work with that of friends, disciples and associates. Two papers concentrate specifically on one of his remarkable novels, The Place of the Lion. Between them, they give a glimpse, or a series of glimpses, of an unusual man and a fascinating writer whose influence and importance are being recognized more and more.
Download or read book Charles Williams written by Grevel Lindop and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-29 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial figure who was a central member of the Inklings—the group of Oxford writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charles Williams—novelist, poet, theologian, magician and guru—was the strangest, most multi-talented, and most controversial member of the group. He was a pioneering fantasy writer, who still has a cult following. C.S. Lewis thought his poems on King Arthur and the Holy Grail were among the best poetry of the twentieth century for 'the soaring and gorgeous novelty of their technique, and their profound wisdom'. But Williams was full of contradictions. An influential theologian, Williams was also deeply involved in the occult, experimenting extensively with magic, practising erotically-tinged rituals, and acquiring a following of devoted disciples. Membership of the Inklings, whom he joined at the outbreak of the Second World War, was only the final phase in a remarkable career. From a poor background in working-class London, Charles Williams rose to become an influential publisher, a successful dramatist, and an innovative literary critic. His friends and admirers included T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and the young Philip Larkin. A charismatic personality, he held left-wing political views, and believed that the Christian churches had dangerously undervalued sexuality. To redress the balance, he developed a 'Romantic Theology', aiming at an approach to God through sexual love. He became the most admired lecturer in wartime Oxford, influencing a generation of young writers before dying suddenly at the height of his powers. This biography draws on a wealth of documents, letters and private papers, many never before opened to researchers, and on more than twenty interviews with people who knew Williams. It vividly recreates the bizarre and dramatic life of this strange, uneasy genius, of whom Eliot wrote, 'For him there was no frontier between the material and the spiritual world.'
Download or read book The Descent of the Dove written by Charles Williams and published by . This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Williams was a writer of unusual genius. He had an ability to make theological matters not merely interesting to the lay person; but to make them appear, what they in fact are, matters of Life and Death.
Download or read book Many Dimensions written by Charles Williams and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ancient stone possessing awesome and terrifying powers wreaks havoc in this intelligent and provocative literary excursion into the supernatural A remarkable object has fallen into the hands of the abominable scientist Sir Giles Tumulty. Once positioned at the center of the crown of King Solomon, it is a stone of astonishing and terrifying power, capable of good and evil alike. Anyone who touches it can move through time and space, perform miracles, and heal or kill. The stone can replicate itself, and does so during the course of Sir Giles’s inhuman experiments, subsequently falling into numerous unworthy hands throughout England. There are those who will attempt to use the stone for personal gain, only to discover that it is they themselves being used by a power beyond their comprehension; some will find themselves trapped in eternally repeating nightmares from which there is no escape; still others will be freed from their earthly burdens. And so begins the battle between the forces of darkness and light for control of the most dangerous object in existence. A gripping metaphysical thriller by Charles Williams, who along with C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, and J. R. R. Tolkien was one of Oxford’s famed Inklings, Many Dimensions is at once a gripping supernatural adventure and a thought-provoking exploration of the good and evil that dwell in the heart of every human being.
Download or read book The Greater Trumps written by Charles Williams and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1932, “The Greater Trumps” is a novel by British writer Charles W. S. Williams. At its heart, it is a story of how to use the original Tarot cards to divine the meaning of all cosmic processes, illustrated throughout with beautiful images of a deck of Tarot cards originally designed by the French engraver and map-maker Claude Bardel in 1751. Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886 – 1945) was a British theologian, novelist, poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was also a member of the “The Inklings”, a literary discussion group connected to the University of Oxford, England. They were exclusively literary enthusiasts who championed the merit of narrative in fiction and concentrated on writing fantasy. He was given an scholarship to University College London, but was forced to leave in 1904 because he couldn't afford the tuition fees. Other notable works by this author include: “The Greater Trumps” (1932), “War in Heaven” (1930), and “The Place of the Lion” (1931). This volume is highly recommended for lovers of fantasy fiction, and it would make for a fantastic addition to any collection. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.
Download or read book Descent into Hell written by Charles Williams and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative, classic metaphysical thriller, a group of suburban amateur actors plagued by personal demons and terrors explore the pathways to heaven and hell Certain inhabitants of Battle Hill, a small community on the outskirts of London, are preparing to mount a new play by the neighborhood’s most illustrious resident, the writer Peter Stanhope. Each actor struggles with self-absorption, doubt, fear, and sin. But “the Hill” is not like other places. Here the past and present intermingle, ghosts walk among the living, and reality is often clouded by dreams and the dark fantastic. For young Pauline Anstruther, who is caring for an aging grandmother and frightened by the specter of a doppelgänger who gets closer with each visitation, the prospect of heaven exists in the renowned playwright’s willingness to bear the burden of her terror. For eminent historian Lawrence Wentworth, the rejection of his desire pulls him deeper inside himself, leaving him vulnerable to the lure of the succubus and opening wide the entrance to hell. A brilliant theological thriller, Descent into Hell is an extraordinary fictional meditation on sin and personal salvation by one of the twentieth century’s most original and provocative literary artists. Charles Williams, a member of the Inklings alongside fellow Oxfordians C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Owen Barfield, has written a powerful work at once profoundly disturbing and gloriously uplifting, an ingenious amalgam of metaphysics, religious thought, and darkest fantasy.
Download or read book Charles Williams written by Alice Mary Hadfield and published by New York : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A biography of the British editor, critic, poet, novelist, dramatist, and theologian describes his influence on Auden, Lewis, Sayers, Eliot, and Tolkien".
Download or read book The Place of the Lion written by Charles Williams and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One man must save the human race from total destruction when a small British village is invaded by a terrifying host of archetypal creatures released from the spiritual world In the small English town of Smetham on the outskirts of London, a wall separating two worlds has broken down. The meddling and meditations of a local mage, Mr. Berringer, has caused a rift in the barrier between the corporeal and the spiritual, and now all hell has broken loose. Strange creatures are descending on Smethem—terrifying supernatural archetypes wreaking wholesale havoc, destruction, and death. Some residents, like the evil, power-hungry Mr. Foster, welcome the horrific onslaught. Others, like the cool and intellectual Damaris, refuse to accept what her eyes and heart tell her until it is far too late. Only a student named Anthony, emboldened by his unwavering love for Damaris, has the courage to face the horror head on. But if he alone cannot somehow restore balance to the worlds, all of humankind will surely perish in the impending apocalypse. An extraordinary metaphysical fantasy firmly based in Platonic ideals, The Place of the Lion is a masterful blending of action and thought by arguably the most provocative of the University of Oxford’s renowned Inklings—the society of writers in the 1930s that included such notables as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Owen Barfield. With unparalleled imagination, literary skill, and intelligence, the remarkable Charles Williams has created a truly unique thriller, a tour de force of the fantastic that masterfully engages the mind, heart, and spirit.
Download or read book Charles Williams and C S Lewis written by Paul S. Fiddes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-21 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the literary relationship between Charles Williams and C. S. Lewis during the years 1936-1945 focuses on the theme of 'co-inherence' at the centre of their friendship. The idea of 'co-inherence' has long been recognized as an important contribution of Williams to theology, and had significant influence on the thought of Lewis. This account of the two writers' conviction that human persons 'inhere' or 'dwell' both in each other and in the triune God reveals many inter-relationships between their writings that would otherwise be missed. It also shows up profound differences between their world-views, and a gradual, though incomplete, convergence onto common ground. Exploring the idea of co-inherence throws light on the fictional worlds they created, as well as on their treatment (whether together or separately) of a wide range of theological and literary subjects: the Arthurian tradition, the poetry of William Blake and Thomas Traherne, the theology of Karl Barth, the nature of human and divine love, and the doctrine of the Trinity. This study draws for the first time on transcriptions of Williams' lectures from 1932 to 1939, tracing more clearly the development and use of the idea of co-inherence in his thought than has been possible before. Finally, an account of the use of the word 'co-inherence' in English-speaking theology suggests that the differences that existed between Lewis and Williams, especially on the place of analogy and participation in human experience of God, might be resolved by a theology of co-inherence in the Trinity.
Download or read book War In Heaven written by Charles Williams and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In War in Heaven Williams gives a contemporary setting to the traditional story of the Search for the Holy Grail. Examining the distinction between magic and religion, this eerily disturbing book graphically portrays a metaphysical journey through the shadowy crevices of the human mind. “Reading Charles Williams is an unforgettable experience.”—SATURDAY REVIEW “...one of the most gifted and influential Christian writers England has produced this century.”—TIME “Charles Williams’s firm conviction that the spiritual world is not simply a reality parallel with that of the material one, but is rather its source and its abiding infrastructure, is explicit in both the manner and matter of all he wrote. Hence the unique contribution offered by his novels to the materialistic age in which these characters live and behave and their plots unfold.”—OWEN BARFIELD “Charles Williams took the form of the thriller and used it to create an extraordinary genre that has sometimes been called ‘spiritual shockers.’ His books are immensely worth reading, even if you consider yourself unspiritual and immune to shock.”—HUMPHREY CARPENTER “...satire, romance, thriller, morality, and glimpses of eternity all rolled into one.”—THE NEW YORK TIMES
Download or read book The Theology of Romantic Love written by Mary McDermott Shideler and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2005-12-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Theology of Romantic Love' is the first comprehensive presentation of the thought of one of the most gifted novelists and original theologians of the twentieth century. Drawing together the recurrent themes and proving insights scattered through his many books, Mrs. Shideler sets forth with clarity and understanding Williams' versatile use of imagery, his key ideas, his revaluation of basic Christian doctrines, and his approach to personal and social ethics. Readers will find in these pages a vivid new appreciation of the experience of love in the life of faith.
Download or read book Harold Macmillan written by Charles Williams and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterly biography of a great Conservative Prime Minister (and publisher) - Harold Macmillan (1894-1986). Harold Macmillan was a figure of paradox. Outwardly, it was Edwardian elegance and civilised urbanity. Inwardly, it was emotional damage from his wife's open adultery and his progressive perplexity at the onward march of time. The First World War showed the courageous soldier. From then on, it was politics, rather than the family business of publishing, which was to be his future. Nevertheless, although he supported Churchill in the 1930s he was deemed boring - and certainly not ministerial material. All changed with the Second World War. Appointed Minister in Residence in North Africa, Macmillan's career flowered. After the War he became indispensable to Conservative Cabinets and as Churchill's Minister of Housing in the early 1950s he achieved the target, against all expectations, of 300,000 houses annually. Thereafter, he was Eden's Foreign Secretary and Chancellor but by then Macmillan had become openly ambitious. Over the Suez affair in 1956 he played a difficult - and somewhat devious - hand. Eden's resignation left him as the clear choice of his Cabinet colleagues to become Prime Minister. From 1957 to 1962, Macmillan was a good - some would say a great - Prime Minister. By 1962, however, his government was looking tired. The Profumo affair in 1963 was particularly damaging, and in the autumn of 1963 his health forced him to retire.
Download or read book Shadows of Ecstasy written by Charles Williams and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deals with an invasion of Europe from Africa and a kind of superman who denies that he is Antichrist, but who looks uncommonly like him.
Download or read book Charles Williams written by Grevel Lindop and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-30 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial figure who was a central member of the Inklings—the group of Oxford writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charles Williams—novelist, poet, theologian, magician and guru—was the strangest, most multi-talented, and most controversial member of the group. He was a pioneering fantasy writer, who still has a cult following. C.S. Lewis thought his poems on King Arthur and the Holy Grail were among the best poetry of the twentieth century for 'the soaring and gorgeous novelty of their technique, and their profound wisdom'. But Williams was full of contradictions. An influential theologian, Williams was also deeply involved in the occult, experimenting extensively with magic, practising erotically-tinged rituals, and acquiring a following of devoted disciples. Membership of the Inklings, whom he joined at the outbreak of the Second World War, was only the final phase in a remarkable career. From a poor background in working-class London, Charles Williams rose to become an influential publisher, a successful dramatist, and an innovative literary critic. His friends and admirers included T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and the young Philip Larkin. A charismatic personality, he held left-wing political views, and believed that the Christian churches had dangerously undervalued sexuality. To redress the balance, he developed a 'Romantic Theology', aiming at an approach to God through sexual love. He became the most admired lecturer in wartime Oxford, influencing a generation of young writers before dying suddenly at the height of his powers. This biography draws on a wealth of documents, letters and private papers, many never before opened to researchers, and on more than twenty interviews with people who knew Williams. It vividly recreates the bizarre and dramatic life of this strange, uneasy genius, of whom Eliot wrote, 'For him there was no frontier between the material and the spiritual world.'
Download or read book Dead Calm written by Charles Williams and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2012-09-18 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two honeymooners take a stranger onto their yacht—with terrifying consequences—in this “superb” psychological thriller (The New York Times). Rae and Ingram are nineteen days out of the Panama Canal, sailing slowly across the wide, flat Pacific on the Saracen, when they find Hughie Warriner in his dinghy. He was on a pleasure cruise in his yacht, the Orpheus, he says, when food poisoning killed his passengers and his ship began to sink. After an alleged ten days of desperately fighting to stay afloat he spied the Saracen, and rowed to his salvation. Finding the stranded yacht, against Warriner’s wishes, Ingram boards the stranded Orpheus. There he finds Warriner’s passengers—very much alive, and hungry for revenge against the man who attacked them and left them to drown. Ingram tries to get back to his ship, but is too late. Warriner escapes with his yacht, taking Rae hostage, and Ingram hasno means to save them but tattered sails, a sinking ship, and rage that burns hotter than the merciless Pacific sun.
Download or read book A Secular Age written by Charles Taylor and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-17 with total page 889 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The place of religion in society has changed profoundly in the last few centuries, particularly in the West. In what will be a defining book for our time, Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean, and what, precisely, happens when a society becomes one in which faith is only one human possibility among others.
Download or read book Charles Williams Omnibus War in Heaven Many Dimensions the Place of the Lion Shadows of Ecstasy the Greater Trumps Descent Into Hell All Hallo written by Charles Williams and published by . This book was released on 2012-07 with total page 1068 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an omnibus edition containing the seven novels that Charles Williams wrote as well as a short story that he wrote for the London Mercury: War in Heaven (1930) - The Holy Grail is discovered in a small country parish and becomes both a sacramental object to protect or a cup of power to exploit. Many Dimensions (1931) - The Stone of Suleiman is illegally acquired from its Islamic guardian in Baghdad and taken to England, it is discovered the stone allows its possessor to transcend the barriers of space and time. The Place of the Lion (1931) - Platonic archetypes begin to appear in an English market town, wreaking havoc and unveiling the spiritual strengths and flaws of the townspeople. Shadows of Ecstasy (1931) - A man discovers that by focusing his energies inward he can extend his life almost indefinitely. He undertakes an experiment using to die and resurrect his own body in order to attain immortality. The Greater Trumps (1932) - The original Tarot is used to unlock immense power, allowing those who possess it to see across space and time, create matter, and create powerful natural storms. Descent into Hell (1937) - An academic fetishizes a woman to the extent that his perversion takes the form of a female demon. The cycle of sin brings about the necessity for redemptive acts. All Hallows' Eve (1945) - Explores the meaning of suffering and empathy by removing the barrier between the living and the dead through both black magic and divine love. Et in Sempiternum Pereant (1935) - In this short story a retired Lord Chief Justice is on a walk in the countryside when he enters a burning house and encounters a troubled spirit on its way to Hell. This is the only tale of this kind that Williams wrote - sketchy in detail but terrifying through implication. Williams was admired by his contemporaries including T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden, his especially by C. S. Lewis, whose novel That Hideous Strength is considered to be entirely inspired by Williams's work. When he moved to Oxford he participated regularly in Lewis's literary society known as the Inklings. This enabled Williams to read and improve his final published novel, All Hallows' Eve, as well as to hear J. R. R. Tolkien read some of his early drafts of The Lord of the Rings aloud to the group.
