Upbringing
http://dejnarde.ms11.net//lewis_child.jpg Clive Staple Lewis, one of my favorite writers and valued author in the literary community, was born in Belfast Ireland on November 29th, 1898. His mother was Florence Lewis and his father was Albert Lewis. As he grew up he had one elder brother, Warren, who affected him very much. When C.S. Lewis was 4 years old his dog named Jacksie died in a car crash. From that day on he demanded everyone called him "Jacksie", in honor of his dog, which eventually changed to Jack. As a child he was obsessed with talking animals, reading Beatrix Potters novels one end to the other. He and his brother created an entire world called "Boxen" where it was run and inhabited by talking animals. The photo below is of 1900 Belfast Ireland.
His family grew up next to a port where Jack (C.S. Lewis) spent much of his time staring out to the ocean. These two things, the ocean and talking animals, have left a visible mark upon his novels. C.S. Lewis's mom home schooled him teaching him Greek and Latin. When Florence (his mother) passed away, it greatly affected him and his father Albert. Albert sent him to Wynard Boarding School which turned out to be one of the worst parts of Jack's life, even compared to the war. Lewis grew up hating this school, it scarred him forever and affected the way he would eventually write. It took him many years to recover from this, for example, it was here that he gave up on Christianity, became an atheist and started being interested in mythology, languages and the occult. Another example of the harshness of this school is that the headmaster Robert "Oldie" Capron was sent to a psychiatric hospital after many complaints were filed against him. When Lewis was growing up in Belfast, there was a time of much fear. The city was a farm for disease because of poor sewer systems and lacking in medical research. When there was rain he was forced to go inside, avoiding the chance of getting a cold and inevitably creating a wandering imagination that made him who he was.
Photos include C.S. Lewis as a youth, his dog, his family, his home city, Beatrix Potter, Boxen, Bellatrix's creations and more.
Photos include C.S. Lewis as a youth, his dog, his family, his home city, Beatrix Potter, Boxen, Bellatrix's creations and more.