Shelley and Son Books

Shelley and Son Books Our bookstore specializes in The Inklings, with emphasis on "The Seven": C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K.

Chesterton, Owen Barfield & Charles Williams. Also books on: Christian Theology & North and South Carolina Shelley and Son Books specializes in books by and about: C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, the Inklings, and their friends. Email us to request a catalog.

MINUTIA IN FIRST EDITIONSSometimes the tiniest things make a difference in first editions. The example I am going to us...
04/01/2026

MINUTIA IN FIRST EDITIONS

Sometimes the tiniest things make a difference in first editions. The example I am going to use here is the first American edition of Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis.

When a publisher makes a change right in the middle of printing a first printing then that which came first is called a first state and that which came after is called the second state. Most frequently the change is made because a misspelling is found and they stop the presses, correct the error, and then continue printing the first edition.

In Out of the Silent Planet there is no known reason for the difference between the first and second states. The change was made at the bottom of the spine. Under the word “Macmillan” the publisher was printing a single dot. Then, for some unknown reason, they switched to printing a dash-dot-dash. Both are first editions but the single dot is the first state. It is worth a small amount more than the second state. See the images below.

Stan

https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/

Out of the Silent Planet, First American Edition, First State:
https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/pages/books/078931/c-s-lewis/out-of-the-silent-planet-first-american-edition

A GREAT RESEARCH TOOL FOR C. S. LEWISThere are many fine research tools for C. S. Lewis but one great one is Joel Heck’s...
03/03/2026

A GREAT RESEARCH TOOL FOR C. S. LEWIS

There are many fine research tools for C. S. Lewis but one great one is Joel Heck’s Chronology of C. S. Lewis. This is an online chronology of both C. S. Lewis and his brother Warnie. If we know where they were or what they were doing on any particular day, it is in the chronology. If he was writing a letter, traveling, giving a speech, meeting some"one for lunch…anything that we have a record of, it is in the chronology, which is now over 1000 pages. If, in the chronology, you go to June 8, 1941 you get the following entry:

"June 8 Sunday. In the evening, [1] Fred Paxford drives Jack to the university church to deliver 'The Weight of Glory' to a packed church at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Oxford. [2] Jack’s driver Clifford Morris (b. 1914) is in the audience, [3] as is Magdalen undergraduate Erik Routley. [4] Jack uses the text Rev. 2:26, 28.[5] The last hymn they sing is 'Bright the Vision that Delighted.'[6]"

If you download the chronology in WORD, it is searchable.

https://joelheck.com/

Joel Heck is a major C. S. Lewis and Inklings scholar. I had a marvelous visit with him once in his home and I came away a better educated Lewis fan. To his credit, Joel has put this chronology on the internet free of charge! Much thanks to Joel Heck.

Stan

https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/

THE KILNSIn 1930 C. S. Lewis (Jack), Warren Lewis (Warnie), and Mrs. Moore purchased The Kilns with the title being in M...
02/24/2026

THE KILNS

In 1930 C. S. Lewis (Jack), Warren Lewis (Warnie), and Mrs. Moore purchased The Kilns with the title being in Mrs. Moore’s name because she invested the most money. Mrs. Moore, her daughter, and Jack moved in soon after purchase and Warnie in 1932.

Previously the property held kilns for making pottery and ceramics. The property had eight or nine acres which included a small pond (about the size of an American football field) which was actually a former clay pit filled in with water. Lewis loved to swim in the pond and many mornings, at 7 AM he walked on the property while he prayed.

The C. S. Lewis Foundation purchased The Kilns in 1993 and started several years of renovation after which it became a study center. A great deal of Jack’s writing took place here. Fascinating tours are available. The current warden is Roger White. Roger is a great friend - one of the fine Inklings friends that I have never met in person but we have had great correspondence over the years.

Stan

https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/

A Bad C. S. Lewis BiographyI have read many Lewis biographies but there is only one that I would really call bad. And, ...
02/16/2026

A Bad C. S. Lewis Biography

I have read many Lewis biographies but there is only one that I would really call bad. And, surprisingly, it is by a good biographer, A. N. Wilson. I will give a few examples.

- Wilson said that Lewis “bullied” those he tutored. But there are dozens of reports by former pupils that refute that.

- Wilson wrote that the medical treatment Lewis received when he was declining was inferior because it lacked a certain catheter, but the catheter to which Wilson referred did not even exist in the early 1960s.

- Lewis’ stepson, Doug Gresham, said that Wilson quoted him in the book saying the exact opposite of what he had said on some point. Gresham contacted the radio station which had aired the conversation which included the quote, and they had a recording of it. The recording confirmed that Wilson stated the opposite of what Gresham said.

- At a Socratic Club meeting, philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe, in a discussion/debate with Lewis, gave convincing argument that chapter three of Miracles used weak philosophical language. When Lewis revised the book he revised chapter three. Wilson called it a devastating moment in Lewis’ life and created a psychological barrier for Lewis to ever get into philosophy again. There is no evidence that this is true, and Wilson forgets that Lewis’ first teaching job at Oxford was in philosophy.

- Harry Lee Poe’s biography is gentle when it calls Wilson’s biography controversial. Poe also said, “Wilson’s biography seems to be arguing a point rather pursuing answers to questions.”

- Kathryn Lindskoog, in her book Sleuthing C. S. Lewis, has an entire appendix (5) in which she documents many mistakes Wilson made.

It seems, that for some unknown reason, Wilson was bent on presenting a negative impression of Lewis.

Stan.

https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/

Books available by Harry Lee Poe:
https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&fromForm=1&category_id=&authorField=Harry+Lee+Poe&titleField=&publisherField=&keywordsField=&isbn=&dp1=&dp2=&priceStart=&priceEnd=&orderBy=relevance&recordsLength=25&firstEd=&signed=

Books available by Kathryn Lindskoog:
https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&orderBy=relevance&category_id=0&keywordsField=Kathryn+Lindskoog

JOY DAVIDMAN OR MRS. C. S. LEWIS?When I refer to Lewis’s wife, I call her Joy Davidman. Some people, understandably, th...
02/04/2026

JOY DAVIDMAN OR MRS. C. S. LEWIS?

When I refer to Lewis’s wife, I call her Joy Davidman. Some people, understandably, think this is disrespectful and I should say Mrs. C. S. Lewis. Here I explain why I do what I do.

All of Joy’s books show the author being Joy Davidman. Most scholars refer to her as Joy Davidman. One of the world’s top C. S. Lewis scholars is Don King and his book about Joy is called “Yet One More Spring: A Critical Study of Joy Davidman.” When King edited her letters they were published as “Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman.” The Wade Center material for her is called “The Joy Davidman Papers 1926-1964.”

New to be fair, I want to look at this from the other point of view. A major book on Joy is titled “Becoming Mrs. C. S. Lewis.” Over the years I have had and sold much correspondence from Joy to family members in the U. S. Many of these are signed Mrs. C. S. Lewis.

To those who would prefer that I refer to her as Mrs. C. S. Lewis, I offer the above justification but I sincerely respect your rationale for calling her Mrs. C. S. Lewis.

Stan

https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/

Available books by or pertaining to Joy Davidman,
Including a rare, first edition of "Anya", New York: Macmillan, 1940:
https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&orderBy=relevance&category_id=0&keywordsField=Joy+Davidman

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