Since individual essays and sermons can only be purchased as parts of larger collections, an essential aspect of the survey was to identify the most useful, collections.
I begin with an overview of Lewis’ writings–including books and various shorter works. Over the course of three decades, he wrote the following (perhaps not completely accurate, but directionally correct):
32 books
- 10 books on apologetics, theology and philosophy
- 10 books of fiction (faerie, science fiction, myth)
- 9 books on literature and literary matters
- 3 books of a biographical nature
In addition to those books that C.S. Lewis wrote, others are categorized as “Lewis books,” but are actually collections of his shorter writings compiled for him by other people. This includes:
20 collections
- 10 modern collections of shorter writings (mostly compiled by Walter Hooper)
- 8 collections of letters (mostly compiled by his brother, Warnie Lewis)
- 2 books of diary entries
This project has only to do with the 10 modern collections of essays and sermons. Please note, over the decades there have been several different compilations of these same essays published under different titles, albeit with minor differences. For the purposes of this survey, I am using only the most current compilations that are available through Amazon and other booksellers. In addition, I have eliminated one current compilation, “Of Other Worlds”, because it is almost entirely redundant with the collection entitled “On Stories.”
In assessing the value of various collections four metrics were considered:
- The total number of individual essays and sermons included in the collection. This might be considered a reflection of breadth of value in each collection. This metric is not of much relevance to this survey.
- The total number of “vote-garnering” essays (meaning at least 1 vote, or nomination, was recorded) in each collection. This might be considered a reflection of the depth of value in each collection. It is a metric of paramount importance
- The total cumulative number of votes for all essays in each collection. This might be considered a reflection of the weight of value in each collection. This is the single metric of greatest importance.
- The total number of “vote-garnering” essays in each collection that are in the “Top Ten” list, and/or the “Top Twenty-five” list. This might be considered a reflection of the degree to which a given collection is rife with Lewis’ most important essays and sermons.
Make sense? So, in accordance with of this system of benchmarks, the rankings of the various collections of shorter works is as follows”
#1: The Weight of Glory
- 9 total essays and sermons
- 8 of the 9 works were nominated
- 105 cumulative votes received from all 30 respondents
- 5 essays and sermons are among the Top Ten; 6 are among the Top Twenty-five
#2: God in the Dock
- 48 total essays
- 23 of the 48 were nominated
- 84 cumulative votes received from all 30 respondents
- 2 essays are among the Top Ten; 7 are among the Top Twenty-five
#3: Christian Reflections
- 15 total essays
- 10 of the 15 were nominated
- 38 cumulative votes received from all 30 respondents
- 2 essays are among the Top Ten; 4 are among the Top Twenty-five
#4: On Stories
- 20 total essays
- 12 of the 20 were nominated
- 36 cumulative votes received from all 30 respondents
- No essays are among the Top Ten; 4 are among the Top Twenty-five
#5: Selected Literary Essays
- 22 total essays
- 12 of the 22 were nominated
- 29 cumulative votes from all 30 respondents
- 1 essay is among the Top Ten; 2 are among the Top Twenty-five
#6: World’s Last Night
- 7 total essays
- 6 of the 7 were nominated
- 17 cumulative votes from all 30 respondents
- No essays are among the Top Ten; 2 are among the Top Twenty-five
#7: Present Concerns
- 19 total essays
- 6 of the 19 were nominated
- 13 cumulative votes from all 30 respondents
- No essays are among the Top Ten; 1 is among the Top Twenty-five
#8: Image and Imagination
- 53 total essays
- 2 of the 53 were nominated
- 5 cumulative votes from all 30 respondents
- No essays among the Top Ten; 2 are among the Top Twenty-five
With this, my report on survey results is complete. I hope you enjoyed reading it. More importantly, I hope you will find the information to be useful as you determine which writings by C.S. Lewis to read next.
Of course, I would again like to thank all those Lewis experts who supported my project by submitting a list of their favorites. This includes Adam Barkman, Steve Beebe, Devin Brown, Jim Como, Brenton Dickieson, David C. Downing, Colin Duriez, Diana Glyer, Crystal Hurd, David Jack, Don King, Peter Kreeft, Corey Latta, Andrew Lazo, Max McLean, Louis Markos, David Russell Mosley, William O’Flaherty, Harry Lee Poe, Victor Reppert, Joseph Ricke, Jerry Root, Alan Snyder, Jason Staples, Charlie Starr, Michael Ward, Don Williams, Sarah Waters and Will Vaus.
I would also like to express gratitude to our recently departed friend and mentor Walter Hooper. Without his tireless efforts to find and organize these exceptional works, neither this project, nor our great joy from reading these works by C.S. Lewis would be possible.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Next Up – Part 5: What Is the Best Way to Read Lewis’ Writings?
