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Williams is one of those Christian figures like Origen the Alexandrian who may be read with profit but must be read with discernment. My guess is that a significant element in his troubles was that he thought of himself as a Poet and that that somehow made him different from most other people, and that ordinary counsels of prudence applying to them didn't apply to him. Thus he indulged two things, an attraction to occultism and a kind of spiritual adultery. The occultism was involved in his presentation sometimes of Christianity as something with esoteric elements, and the spiritual adultery was terribly injurious to his marriage and, I suspect, his fatherhood vis-a-vis his son. That I have benefited from reading him for more than 50 years I don't doubt, but I also think he very much needed to make a clean breast of some things with a sturdy pastor or priest. He didn't, so far as I know from reading Grevel Lindop's biography, etc.

There's much enjoyable entertainment in some of his novels, and also I never read Descent into Hell without feeling like getting on my knees in prayer.

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Good counsel. He’s definitely a mixed bag. I’m unbothered with the occult material of the novels since it’s largely fantastical, but I’ve always been bothered by what you term spiritual adultery. Every source I’ve read on his life seems to mention it.

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Joel, you have a way of convincing your readers to pick up all these fascinating books (even if they cannot possibly add anything more to their reading list...). Before Christmas I incredibly found a vintage boxed set of George McDonald fantasy stories, and will now be sure to keep my eyes open for Williams' when browsing at the used book store. Thanks for always supplying such fascinating details about the authors you introduce :)

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Ruth, you’re always encouraging!

And re MacDonald, what a find! I’ve never read any of his books but should try one given the esteem in which he’s held by so many.

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I found these novels (in cloth bound editions at the public library! I had not realized my good fortune until reading your post!) and devoured them a decade ago thanks to research I was conducting prior to interviewing Elisabeth Elliot's brother, Thomas Howard. Have you read Howard's Novels of Charles Williams? If not you might enjoy it. Wipf & Stock has a solid edition, and it's fwded by J. I. Packer and blurred by Madeleine L'Engle.

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I’ve only recently learned Howard wrote about Williams. I’ll have to hunt down a copy. Thanks for the encouragement!

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In the quote from Lewis, is the"Wm Morris" he is referring to the designer William Morris?

I think Lamb's cover art would alone sell Williams' books. However, Lewis's testimonial of Williams is actually a bit of a warning signal for mr. I share Lewis's love of Chesterton. However, I attempted to read George MacDonald before knowing Lewis was a fan and then again after I read Lewis's recommendation of MacDonald. I still cannot stand MacDonald although I made multiple tries with various of his works - his questionable orthodoxy made me uneasy, but it was his style that really put me off. Some written fantasy makes one's waking reality clearer and lighter, while other written fantasy is like reading one's dreams. And I don't mean daydreams, but rather the night dreams that came to life on the Island where Dreams Come True in Lewis's 'The Voyage on the Dawn Treader'. MacDonald produced the latter kind of fantasy, and I just wanted to wake up from it whenever I tried to read it. Some less well-known works by Lewis, such as 'The Pilgrim's Regress', and by Chesterton, such as 'The Ball and the Cross' have similar waking dream tendencies (Chesterton's 'The Man who was Thursday' was intended to do so). It sounds as if Williams might be another such creator of waking dream fantasy.

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He’s definitely not for everyone. The dream characterization is quite apt, actually.

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I really enjoyed War In Heaven, but was startled by a the appearance of a baddie who was little more than an antisemitic caricature part of the way through.

I still plan to read the rest.

You won’t believe this, but I have not one, but two complete sets of the Eerdmans editions sitting on my shelves right now (one belongs to my mom). I had no idea they were so hard to come by.

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I think that’s a reflection of the time. You’ll get that again in All Hallows’ Eve, but I wouldn’t let that stop you.

Two sets! That’s a treasure.

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I remember reading long ago that one of the Inklings, I'd guess Tolkien, had muttered that Williams should be burned for witchcraft.

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Yikes!

Someone challenged me on the question of whether Tolkien disliked Williams. It’s possible I’ve overstated the case. I skimmed through all the references to Williams in Tolkien’s published letters yesterday. He appears to have enjoyed Williams’ company but blamed Williams for Tolkien’s growing separation from Lewis, disliked his influence over Lewis, and repeatedly mentioned that he and Williams were polar opposites when it came to their tastes and interests.

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Yep, probably Tolkien!

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It's what my instinct was. I can't come up with a better candidate.

Tolkien has never come across as particularly likeable. He seems to have been a rather astringent man. His dislike of Lewis' marriage, whether it was because of Joy Davidman's Jewishness or not, is something I find inexcusable.

Do you know what Lewis wrote in his diary after meeting Tolkien for the first time? The following is at the level of at least 90% fidelity to the exact original:

"Nice, pale little chap. Only needs a slap or two."

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Oh, Tolkien could be quite the curmudgeon, but that's not why I said that. He had serious reservations about Williams's occult interests -- and he wasn't wrong there.

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No, he was not. In the last several weeks, I've read two different references to Williams' "interest" in sadomasochism. I don't believe the Universe is trying to tell me something, and if it is, I'd rather not know.

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All Hallows Eve is essential October reading

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I can see picking it up again during that season.

And The Greater Trumps is clearly a Christmas book!

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I still remember the opening of War in Heaven--so unexpected and intriguing, it drew me in to that strange new world. But I stopped there. I'm inspired to reread WiH and to try all the rest! Maybe not all in a row though. Thanks for reminding me/introducing me to the whole works!

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You’re welcome! The Greater Trumps or Many Dimensions make a great followup, then maybe Descent to Hell. All Hallows’ Eve might be the most challenging. It felt tedious to me in places, and I just read yesterday that Williams himself wasn’t entirely satisfied with it.

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I purchased war in heaven perhaps a decade ago probably because you told me too lol. But I had also heard of him through cs Lewis. My review is that the book is like a solid B. Fairly interesting story but the prose is stodgy and slow feeling. I also found the bad guy not evil enough and his intentions for the grail prosaic and quotidian. To me it felt like the point of the book was to show the Christian ideal in the character of the archdeacon and was more of a Christian book than a ‘good book’. Kinda of like how most Christian rock music is way better at being Christian than good music. You saying his prose only gets more stodgy and slow in later novels is not inspiring me to go further lol. Even though he was inkling I don’t think he can discussed on the same playing field with Lewis let alone Tolkien. Unless it’s to say he’s Saliari to their Mozart :)

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What?! Kevin, that’s an absurd analogy. Williams was positively reviewed—not only did TS Eliot praise his work but so did Time, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and others—and remains interesting 70 and 80 years later.

I’d agree that the prose is sometimes stodgy and slow. That’s mostly a reflection of mid-century British taste, which seemed to tolerate that more than we do today. He’s also prone to abstract flights and endless inversions that add little to the momentum or meaning of the story. That said, I find most of the stories fascinating. I won’t say he’s for everyone, but then again neither are Tolkien and Lewis.

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I had the in middle school.

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Good middle school :)

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I read them on my own. After about the middle of second grade they realized that if they woke me up. Mostly. Because if the called on me there was a non-zero chance I would embarrass the teacher. Teachers did not like that. So they left me reading Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Earthsea, Sherlock Holmes, A Tale of the Cities etc. By 5th grade I was part of the AD&D cluster - the ones who had parents in the 128 belt.

Occasionally they sent me to the school psychologist where I would talk about coiled tungsten for electron microscopy applications. He first thought I was crazy then he called up my grandfather and realized that learning from a physicist wasn't anything was going to compete with.

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Williams actually defends his "misogyny" on a theological base [I think inadequately]. Because "women on earth share with the Sacrifice the victimization of blood" (from his Taliessin poems), they cannot also be priests. So in the novels the dirty work of sacrificially cleaning up after the evildoers falls to Betty in All Hallows Eve and to Nancy in The Greater Trumps. And not to Lester or Sybil who are the heroines of faith.

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That’s a fascinating connection. I hadn’t noticed that about Betty and Nancy vs. Lester and Sybil.

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My entry into Williams's writing was Descent into Hell. I gave up in chapter 3 on my first three attempts. I should have started with The Place of the Lion. Reading the theology, church history, and poems helps to understand the intricacies of the stories. And I am eager to discuss his insights with others who speak his language.

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I’ve read some of his theology and can see how it informs his fiction. It’s actually astonishing how much he wrote, especially in the thirties and forties.

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Thank you! I’ve been intrigued by him due to the Inkling association. I tried the poetry, but as you commented, like others, I had a hard time with it. Not sure I’ll do any better with the books but you’ve prompt me to try! Found a kindle collection for $.99! Had to smile at your practice of starting, abandoning, donating and re-acquiring books! I do that, too!

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War in Heaven is probably the most accessible, followed by Many Dimensions and The Greater Trumps. Any one of those would give you a good sense of whether you wanted to try more.

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I really like your posts!

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Thanks, Janice! Glad you’re enjoying them!

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I got my first Charles Williams novel (Descent Into Hell) as a white elephant gift, then found others at my favorite bookstore, The Bookery in Placerville. I have them all now but have only read Descent and All Hallow's Eve. You have inspired me to pull them off the shelf and delve more deeply.

I wonder if the impulse to be known as a poet was the highest literary aspiration of the day. Lewis longed to be a better poet and he sent some of his work to Ruth Pitter, a well-known and gifted poet of that time with whom he had an intimate correspondence, asking for her advice to improve his craft.

I would love to hear more about how you manage to cull your library. That is something I struggle with!

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I’m not Joel (obvs!), but I’m going to be publishing a post soon on How to Get Rid of Books on my own ‘Stack.

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I would love to read it!

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I wrote about that a couple years ago: https://www.millersbookreview.com/p/criteria-for-culling-a-library

I’d love to see Claudine’s piece too!

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All Hallows' Eve could be a good first Williams for some readers. On a recent rereading, I thought Williams there restrained his obscurity. This would have been the one novel by Williams that was written with the comments of the Inklings, I believe. AHE contains challenging material but it is comprehensible. I'm now rereading Descent into Hell, and occasionally passages in this powerful novel seem to me to need help from an editor. Couldn't someone have suggested to Williams that readers were likely to be needless puzzled by his reference in the first 40 pages or so to "the Republic"?

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excellent review as always. I have not heard of William. I do like fantasy and off beat.I would like to delve into his work but I am concerned on the occult nature of this work. You mention he was a Christian though ?

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