Non-Fiction Books

The following pages are concerned with James Stuart, and not the history of England except as it affected James Stuart writes Williams in his preface. All relevant historical details are woven into this narrative account, however, like his novels, Williams pushes further into the very personality of James. Early chapters cover the alliances, plots, and threats of his Scotland years; latter chapters cover his reign in England, which commenced in 1603. Situated between the executions of his mother (Mary) and his son (Charles I), "the curious figure of James stands at the change of the centuries. The splendour of the Renascence homo is becoming the clarity of the seventeenth-century gentleman" "Shakespeare and Bacon were to be his servants; Harvey his physician, Donne his chaplain. He was to be the patron of the great English book that declared the coming of the Prince of Peace, and to see himself as a prince of peace, bringing rest to the afflicted churches and nations. But war in Europe and war in England were to open over his grave; the gossips were to spice their scandalous talk with his name; and afterwards everybody was always to laugh or shudder at him for ever"

Author and scholar Charles Williams (1886-1945) joined, in 1908, the staff of the Oxford University Press, the publishing house in which he worked for the rest of his life. Throughout these years, poetry, novels, plays, biographies, history, literary criticism, and theology poured from his pen. At the beginning of the Second World War the publishing house was evacuated to Oxford where, in addition to his own writing and his editorial work for the Press, he taught in the University.

Henry VII is less spectacular than his descendants, but not less interesting or even exciting. The first of the Tudors has been less written about than any (except Edward VI). He supplanted a dynasty and subordinated an aristocracy; he collected a treasure and created a fleet. But he created also the engine of monarchy. He did this because his desires were never at odds with his intentions: he possessed an equilibrium greater than any other Tudor-even Elizabeth. That fixed equilibrium of his mind released a very high industry and decision. In his later life his methods a little overcame him; his suspicion, his caution, his acquisitiveness escaped control. It was then that by certain general measures and especially by one little particular act he prepared the way for the destruction of that engine of monarchy he had created. The reign of Henry VII was the seed of the future, but it was already worm-eaten. Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

"The Descent of the Dove" is an unconventional study of the Church as governed by the activity of the Holy Spirit in history. It the most significant of Williams' theological writings. (Christian)

Looks at how forgiveness is presented in Shakespeare, discusses the theology of forgiveness, and describes the importance of understanding and reconciliation

One of the most ambitious essays in the interpretation of Dante our time has seen...his interpretation of the role of Beatrice is a subtle and individual one. Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

When Charles Williams died in 1945 there remained to us of his work, besides his published books and those which he had in preparation for the press, a number of essays which had appeared in periodicals and elsewhere, many of which contain important statements of his ideas. A selection of these is printed here. -from the Introduction Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

The book also includes Williams' essay 'Religion and Love in Dante: The Theology of Romantic Love"....... Alice M Hadfield on Charles Williams.’s romantic theology: “In experiencing romantic love, we experience God: He has been in the experience from the beginning, and the more we learn about it, the more we learn also about Him. . . .” "Romantic theology is . . . the working out of ways in which an ordinary relationship between two people can become one that is extraordinary, one that grants us glimpses, visions of perfection." ”For Williams, romantic theology was never just a subject for a book but a lifelong way of daily living." ..... Williams was admired by his contemporaries including T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, J.R.R. Tolkien and most 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.

Discusses heaven, the Creation, forgiveness, vanity, the theology of romantic love, responsibility, and the life of Jesus

The short-lived but remarkable correspondence presented in Letters to Lalage took place toward the end of Charles Williams’ life. Louis Lang-Sims was not the first young woman to seek his help or to fall beneath his spell. When she wrote to him in September 1943 Williams had already had numerous admirers, pupils, and disciples who looked to him for counsel, for advice, and most especially, for encouragement. His affinity with Louis Lang-Sims was not surprising. Some thirty years younger than he was, she was in due course herself to become a forceful and individual writer whose literary output, though relatively small, was almost as varied as Williams’ own. In Lois Lang-Sims’ writings, as in those of Charles Williams, a variety of literary forms embody a singleness of imaginative vision. But at the time of their first meeting she was only twenty-six years old and, according to her autobiographical a Time to be Born, in a state of great mental and emotional confusion. Now, nearly fifty years later, she presents the letters Williams wrote to her, together with her own comments on a relationship that was to come to such an abrupt, and in some respects disturbing, end. The intense demands of Williams’ mental and imaginative life did not permit him to be readily or relaxingly gregarious, though in whatever company he happened to be, for example as part of the Inklings group at Oxford, he was a powerful presence. Letters to Lalage enables us to study his involvement in one particular relationship with one particular person. As such they form an invaluable supplement to the more general accounts of Williams’ life supplied by his biographers. As a writer Williams blends to a remarkable degree those seemingly contradictory characteristics of impersonality and mannered idiosyncrasy which were features of his daily bearing. We see here something of the hypnotic quality of Charles Williams’ character and may obtain from it a deep if glancing insight into his extremely vulnerable humanity. At times a painful document, Letters to Lalage is of the greatest value in illuminating some of the more troubled aspects of a Christian writer and teacher who, more convincingly than most, could evoke the nature of joy―and who could induce joy in other people, however precariously he may have been aware of it himself. Most especially this book gives one an insight into the price Charles Williams paid (and unwittingly exacted) for his particular gifts and vision.

Charles Williams was an editor at Oxford University Press until his death in 1945 and a member of the Inklings, the literary society started by J. R. R. Tolkien. To modern readers he is best known for his novels, but he is also the author of literary criticism ( The Figure of Beatrice ), church history ( The Descent of the Dove ), verse plays, and epic poetry, as well as the works of theology from which this collection is drawn.

"'The new Sayers' is not merely admirable; it is adorable. There were, in Miss Sayers's more recent books, signs that a strange element was struggling to be free. In one this element seemed like philosophy; in one like fantasy. It has now become perfectly freed itself, and become perfectly united with her other capacities. The Nine Tailors is consequently not a tale of murder, but an experience of life."--Charles Williams, review of The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers, January 17, 1934. English editor, literary critic, poet, novelist, theologian, and Inkling, Charles Williams (1885-1945) wrote popular-press reviews of detective fiction in its golden age of popularity (early thirties) for such newspapers as The Westminster Chronicle & News-Gazette and The Daily Mail. This book presents all of Williams' published reviews of detective fiction--covering works by Agatha Christie, Sax Rohmer, Ellery Queen, Dashiel Hammett and E. Phillips Oppenheim, to name a few. It begins with a discussion of Williams as a detective fiction reviewer, then presents the reviews year-by-year, from 1930 to 1935, and concludes with a discussion of the end of the golden age of detective fiction. An appendix lists the authors that Williams reviewed, which books were reviewed, the date that they were reviewed, and additional information on each author.

Romantic theology is the working out of ways in which an ordinary relationship between two people can become one that is extraordinary, one that grants us glimpses, visions of perfection. In experiencing romantic love, we experience God: He has been in the experience from the beginning, and the more we learn about it, the more we learn also about Him. -adapted from the Introduction and the Sequel Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

This book is meant as an introduction to the works of certain contemporary poets, for those readers who do not know them, while not being, it is hoped, entirely without interest for those who do. Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, his poetry profound, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

The life of Elizabeth represents, in English history, the longest and most spectacular period of a change in society. That change began before her. It was the change from a society directed, at any rate in theory, by a metaphysical idea, to a society directed, both in theory and practice, by nothing but he continual pressure of events. It is a change completed in our day. -from the first chapter Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, his poetry profound, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

The purpose of this book is to provide brief biographies of certain historical figures whose names have for long been prevalent in English literature. These names are used not only in correct historical allusions, but as imaginative ideas; myths, one might almost say, of the English mind.-from the Preface Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, his poetry profound, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

Long out of print, Flecker of Dean Close was one of many books Williams wrote for hire, this one commissioned by the Flecker family. It is now once again available from the Apocryphile Press. Charles Williams was one of the finest-not to mention one of the most unusual-theologians of the twentieth century. His mysticism is palpable-the unseen world interpenetrates ours at every point, and spiritual exchange occurs all the time, unseen and largely unlooked for. His novels are legend, his poetry profound, and as a member of the Inklings, he contributed to the mythopoetic revival in contemporary culture.

"This book is an abridgment of William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems, by Sir Edmund Chambers, published in 1030 in two volumes. It has been made for the convenience of those who cannot possess and perhaps do not find it easy to consult the major work, but have nevertheless a vivid interest in all that can be known of Shakespeare. The antagonistic, economic, and cultural circumstances of our time tend to increase the number of such readers. Being one of them, I have wanted to make for them the kind of book that I should myself desire. I have therefore retained as much as possible concerning Shakespeare's life, even at the cost of omitting important critical and bibliographical matter." -- From the introduction.