Letters from a Father

Thirteen years of letters to an unknown woman from Washington, a widow, poor and often ill, to whom Lewis responded with unwavering patience and kindness.

From 1950 to 1963, Lewis wrote over a hundred letters to Mary Willis Shelburne, an American poet he never met. He encouraged her through her material difficulties, spoke to her about prayer, old age, illness, and discreetly arranged for money to be sent to her through his foundation. Over the years, he also mentioned Joy’s illness, their marriage, his grief, and his own approaching death.

• Original title — Letters to an American Lady
• First publication — 1967
• Genre — Correspondence
• First English edition — Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1967, ed. Clyde S. Kilby
• Availability in bookstores — No French translation listed: no record in the BnF or swisscovery, only one in SUDOC (Hodder and Stoughton, 1971, in English). A small private edition is not ruled out.
• Reading level — Easy
• For whom — For those who want to know the man on a daily basis, in English.
• Year — 1967

themes

• Epistolary friendship.
• Discreet charity.
• Old age and death.

Family

Letters and autobiography

Other names

• Letters to an American Lady
• Correspondence

Thirteen years of letters to an unknown woman from Washington, a widow, poor and often ill, to whom Lewis responded with unwavering patience and kindness.

In brief

How to approach it

Level: Easy. For those who want to know the man on a daily basis, in English.

Key points

From 1950 to 1963, Lewis wrote over a hundred letters to Mary Willis Shelburne, an American poet he never met. He encouraged her through her material difficulties, spoke to her about prayer, old age, illness, and discreetly arranged for money to be sent to her through his foundation. Over the years, he also mentioned Joy’s illness, their marriage, his grief, and his own approaching death.

What announces Narnia

No direct link to the Chronicles, but these letters cover exactly the years when Lewis wrote and published Narnia, from 1950 until his death.

What today’s reader retains

Writing for thirteen years to someone you have never met, encouraging and helping them quietly: these letters give a very concrete image of ordinary goodness. They also show, over the years, a man growing old, losing his wife and facing his own death.

His legacy

A testimony to the private Lewis, often cited for his generosity.

Key ideas

• Epistolary friendship.
• Discreet charity.
• Old age and death.

See also

• Complete correspondence (not translated)
• True, false or to be nuanced? Twelve persistent legends about Jack, scrutinized

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis_bibliography