What,
another book on the Inklings? Isn’t the field almost saturated with works about
the members of the Inklings, the dynamics of the Inklings, the history of the
Inklings, the works of the Inklings? Why would Hillsdale Professor Bradley
Birzer want to make another entry in an already crowded field with his Tolkien
and the Inklings: Men of the West?
Indeed,
many books have been written about these towering scholars who made such a
great impact on literature and thought in the twentieth century, impact that is
still being felt. Birzer even identifies several of the best works on them in
the opening pages of this work. But lovers of the Inklings and their work
should be glad that Birzer undertook this effort, because he brings a distinct
perspective to the topic. Having read many of those other works myself, I
assure you that Tolkien and the Inklings ranks with the best of them.
For one thing, Birzer writes not just as an academic, but as one whose
imagination and intellect have been shaped by the work of the Inklings. His
heart “beats with theirs”, and thus his insights are that much deeper.
One thing
to notice right away is the title: Tolkien and the Inklings.
Most works on this informal literary assembly stress how C.S. Lewis was the
foremost personality in the group. After all, the Inklings met in Lewis’s rooms
at Oxford when they didn’t meet at the Eagle and Child pub, Lewis was
unquestionably most well known, as well as a dynamic “force of nature”, as the
book states. Birzer acknowledges all this, but quietly maintains that the
founding and unifying thread behind the whole “Inklings phenomenon” was J.R.R. Tolkien. Birzer does not for a moment contend that only Tolkien’s work truly
matters, or even matters most – in fact, he goes out of his way to illuminate
the contributions of other Inklings such as Owen Barfield and Hugo Dyson.
However, Birzer does build a case that Tolkien’s methodical lore building,
which drew upon his profound moral imagination, formed the bedrock that
anchored most of the work of the group. Tolkien’s responsibility for the
conversion of C.S. Lewis is legend, but his influence on Lewis’s thought is
much broader and longer. Coalesced in Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories,
Tolkien’s ideas on the place of imagination in sub-creation was the plumb line
that guided much of the Inkling’s works.
One great
thing about Birzer’s approach is that it treats the Inklings, their
interactions and their works, in blocks of time. The first chapter is about
their childhoods and early influences, the second chapter is about their
formation period (1919-1933), the third is about how their influence on each
other grew and clarified (1933-1939), and so on. This is brilliant, for the
Inklings as a group were founded, grew, changed, matured, and ultimately
dissolved in the nature of human associations. This “timespan” breakdown
enables Birzer to place the group and its members in the context of the history
in which they lived, currents of thought in academia and the world, and their
own strained relationships.
This is a
work thick with quotes. Since they were first a literary group, Birzer lets the Inklings
speak for themselves throughout, with excerpts and block quotes on almost every
page. It’s a mark of Birzer’s brilliance and humility that he doesn’t press his
thoughts and opinions, but rather acts as a narrator or docent, then stands
aside to let the reader encounter his subjects for themselves.
Tolkien
and the Inklings: Men of the West
is wonderful and refreshing, and a welcome additions to Inklings scholarship.
Though obviously scholarly, it is accessible and enjoyable to non-scholars as
well. I hope it attains the success it deserves.
Tolkien and the Inklings is available on
Amazon.
