Charles Williams

Charles Williams PDF Author: Grevel Lindop
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191063126
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
This is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial figure who was a central member of the Inklings—the group of Oxford writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charles Williams—novelist, poet, theologian, magician and guru—was the strangest, most multi-talented, and most controversial member of the group. He was a pioneering fantasy writer, who still has a cult following. C.S. Lewis thought his poems on King Arthur and the Holy Grail were among the best poetry of the twentieth century for 'the soaring and gorgeous novelty of their technique, and their profound wisdom'. But Williams was full of contradictions. An influential theologian, Williams was also deeply involved in the occult, experimenting extensively with magic, practising erotically-tinged rituals, and acquiring a following of devoted disciples. Membership of the Inklings, whom he joined at the outbreak of the Second World War, was only the final phase in a remarkable career. From a poor background in working-class London, Charles Williams rose to become an influential publisher, a successful dramatist, and an innovative literary critic. His friends and admirers included T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and the young Philip Larkin. A charismatic personality, he held left-wing political views, and believed that the Christian churches had dangerously undervalued sexuality. To redress the balance, he developed a 'Romantic Theology', aiming at an approach to God through sexual love. He became the most admired lecturer in wartime Oxford, influencing a generation of young writers before dying suddenly at the height of his powers. This biography draws on a wealth of documents, letters and private papers, many never before opened to researchers, and on more than twenty interviews with people who knew Williams. It vividly recreates the bizarre and dramatic life of this strange, uneasy genius, of whom Eliot wrote, 'For him there was no frontier between the material and the spiritual world.'

Charles Williams

Charles Williams PDF Author: Grevel Lindop
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191063126
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 516

Get Book

Book Description
This is the first full biography of Charles Williams (1886-1945), an extraordinary and controversial figure who was a central member of the Inklings—the group of Oxford writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charles Williams—novelist, poet, theologian, magician and guru—was the strangest, most multi-talented, and most controversial member of the group. He was a pioneering fantasy writer, who still has a cult following. C.S. Lewis thought his poems on King Arthur and the Holy Grail were among the best poetry of the twentieth century for 'the soaring and gorgeous novelty of their technique, and their profound wisdom'. But Williams was full of contradictions. An influential theologian, Williams was also deeply involved in the occult, experimenting extensively with magic, practising erotically-tinged rituals, and acquiring a following of devoted disciples. Membership of the Inklings, whom he joined at the outbreak of the Second World War, was only the final phase in a remarkable career. From a poor background in working-class London, Charles Williams rose to become an influential publisher, a successful dramatist, and an innovative literary critic. His friends and admirers included T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and the young Philip Larkin. A charismatic personality, he held left-wing political views, and believed that the Christian churches had dangerously undervalued sexuality. To redress the balance, he developed a 'Romantic Theology', aiming at an approach to God through sexual love. He became the most admired lecturer in wartime Oxford, influencing a generation of young writers before dying suddenly at the height of his powers. This biography draws on a wealth of documents, letters and private papers, many never before opened to researchers, and on more than twenty interviews with people who knew Williams. It vividly recreates the bizarre and dramatic life of this strange, uneasy genius, of whom Eliot wrote, 'For him there was no frontier between the material and the spiritual world.'

The Novels of Charles Williams

The Novels of Charles Williams PDF Author: Thomas Howard
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681495260
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
The fanciful novels of Charles Williams have long fascinated a rather elite reading public—T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden and C.S. Lewis for example, were among his great admirers. But those books—which include The Place of the Lion, Descent into Hell, and All Hallow’s Eve—are also dense and perplexing, and even the writer’s fondest devotees have found the meanings of his fiction elusive. Here at last is a clear and informed guide to the complexities and rich rewards of Charles William’s novels. As Thomas Howard notes, William’s tales might best be described as “metaphysical thrillers.” In which Williams used occult “machinery” in much the same way that Conrad used exotic locales and Joyce used the subconscious: to vivify human experience and awaken readers to its range and possibilities. One tale might feature a chase for the Holy Grail across Hertfordshire fields, while in another “the picture may switch with no apology at all from a policeman at a crossroad to the Byzantine Emperor.” As Howard lucidly demonstrates, the controlling factor behind William’s work is an essentially Christian worldview in which “heaven and hell seem to lurk under every bush” and the constant theme is order versus disintegration. Concentrating on William’s novels, Howard brilliantly illuminates the major concerns that informed all of William’s thinking. Howard also considers William’s work in the context of modern fictional practice and assesses its place in the tradition of the English language novel.

The Novels of Charles Williams

The Novels of Charles Williams PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: Benediction Classics
ISBN: 9781789432220
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1090

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Book Description
"The Novels of Charles Williams" is a collection of seven gripping novels. They have inspired C. S. Lewis and numerous other writers of fantasy.

The Greater Trumps

The Greater Trumps PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528786769
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
First published in 1932, “The Greater Trumps” is a novel by British writer Charles W. S. Williams. At its heart, it is a story of how to use the original Tarot cards to divine the meaning of all cosmic processes, illustrated throughout with beautiful images of a deck of Tarot cards originally designed by the French engraver and map-maker Claude Bardel in 1751. Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886 – 1945) was a British theologian, novelist, poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was also a member of the “The Inklings”, a literary discussion group connected to the University of Oxford, England. They were exclusively literary enthusiasts who championed the merit of narrative in fiction and concentrated on writing fantasy. He was given an scholarship to University College London, but was forced to leave in 1904 because he couldn't afford the tuition fees. Other notable works by this author include: “The Greater Trumps” (1932), “War in Heaven” (1930), and “The Place of the Lion” (1931). This volume is highly recommended for lovers of fantasy fiction, and it would make for a fantastic addition to any collection. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

War in Heaven

War in Heaven PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781774641323
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
Williams gives a contemporary setting to the traditional story of the Search for the Holy Grail. Examining the distinction between magic and religion, War in Heaven is an eerily disturbing book, one that graphically portrays a metaphysical journey filled with marvels and black magic, God and the Devil. "The telephone was ringing wildly," begins War in Heaven, "but without result, since there was no-one in the room but the corpse." From this abrupt - and darkly humorous - start, Williams takes us on a 20th-century version of the Grail quest, with an Archdeacon, a Duke, and an editor playing the old Arthurian roles. Throughout, Williams reminds us that these legends were above all about divine, not just human, romance.

The Descent of the Dove

The Descent of the Dove PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781395721
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Charles Williams was a writer of unusual genius. He had an ability to make theological matters not merely interesting to the lay person; but to make them appear, what they in fact are, matters of Life and Death.

The Place of the Lion

The Place of the Lion PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504006666
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
One man must save the human race from total destruction when a small British village is invaded by a terrifying host of archetypal creatures released from the spiritual world In the small English town of Smetham on the outskirts of London, a wall separating two worlds has broken down. The meddling and meditations of a local mage, Mr. Berringer, has caused a rift in the barrier between the corporeal and the spiritual, and now all hell has broken loose. Strange creatures are descending on Smethem—terrifying supernatural archetypes wreaking wholesale havoc, destruction, and death. Some residents, like the evil, power-hungry Mr. Foster, welcome the horrific onslaught. Others, like the cool and intellectual Damaris, refuse to accept what her eyes and heart tell her until it is far too late. Only a student named Anthony, emboldened by his unwavering love for Damaris, has the courage to face the horror head on. But if he alone cannot somehow restore balance to the worlds, all of humankind will surely perish in the impending apocalypse. An extraordinary metaphysical fantasy firmly based in Platonic ideals, The Place of the Lion is a masterful blending of action and thought by arguably the most provocative of the University of Oxford’s renowned Inklings—the society of writers in the 1930s that included such notables as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Owen Barfield. With unparalleled imagination, literary skill, and intelligence, the remarkable Charles Williams has created a truly unique thriller, a tour de force of the fantastic that masterfully engages the mind, heart, and spirit.

The Hot Spot

The Hot Spot PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: Overamstel Uitgevers
ISBN: 9049983715
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
For Madox, a dull town, a beautiful woman, and an easy bank heist spell doom In a town so small that Main Street is only three blocks long, there isn’t a lot to do—other than work, ogle women, and think about fast ways to get rich. After a year of aimless wandering, Madox has landed here, nearly broke and with no prospects but a dead-end job selling cars to yokels. Until one afternoon a fire at the burger joint draws the attention of everyone in town—including the men who are supposed to be guarding the bank. It’s almost too good to be true, but there it is—$15,000 lying around, watched by no one. Now all Madox needs is a little nerve and a second distraction. And while one woman will give him the nerve, another will make him ready to kill.

A Touch of Death

A Touch of Death PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: Overamstel Uitgevers
ISBN: 9049983758
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
The score would be an easy one—if it weren’t for the women involved Out of work and dead broke, Lee Scarborough is a long way from his days as a football hero when he meets the sunbathing Diana James—an innocent-looking creature with a plan to make a fortune. A few months’ back, her lover embezzled $120,000 from a bank, but disappeared before she could get her hands on the cash. The police think he’s fled the state, but Diana is sure he’s dead, and knows who killed him: his wife, Madelon Butler, a sadistic drunk who is capable of anything. The cash is inside Madelon’s house, waiting to be stolen a third time, and all Diana needs is a patsy. Scarborough fits the bill. The plan sails along smoothly until Scarborough meets Mrs. Butler. By the time his luck runs out, he’d rather face a dozen hulking linebackers than these two beauties, who have been driven to a frenzy by jealousy, greed, and lust.

He Came Down from Heaven

He Came Down from Heaven PDF Author: Charles Williams
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "He Came Down from Heaven" by Charles Williams. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.