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A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War
- How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918
- Narrated by: Dave Hoffman
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
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Publisher's Summary
The untold story of how the First World War shaped the lives, faith, and writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
Had there been no Great War, there would have been no Hobbit, no Lord of the Rings, no Narnia, and perhaps no conversion to Christianity by C. S. Lewis.
The First World War laid waste to a continent and brought about the end of innocence — and the end of faith. Unlike a generation of young writers who lost faith in the God of the Bible, however, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis found that the Great War deepened their spiritual quest. Both men served as soldiers on the Western Front, survived the trenches, and used the experience of that conflict to ignite their Christian imagination.
Tolkien and Lewis produced epic stories infused with the themes of guilt and grace, sorrow and consolation. Giving an unabashedly Christian vision of hope in a world tortured by doubt and disillusionment, the two writers created works that changed the course of literature and shaped the faith of millions. This is the first book to explore their work in light of the spiritual crisis sparked by the conflict.
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What listeners say about A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Zebedee
- 03-10-17
Delivers what the title says.
This book was exactly what I wanted. It gives the reader both a broad overview and deep understanding of social and psychological thinking pre and post WWI and helps modern readers understand how radical Tolkien and Lewis were in their thinking when they created their most famed fantasy works. I highly recommend this book to Lewis and Tolkien fans who want to understand how WWI colored Narnia and Middle-Earth. Happy reading.
34 people found this helpful
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- Orson
- 10-14-15
My Tolkien-Lewis students will read this book
Any additional comments?
I have taught a course in the fiction of Tolkien and Lewis for many years now, and while I encourage my students to read in the critical, historical, and biographical literature for class presentations and papers, it is only in reading A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War that I found a book that merits requiring ALL my students to read it in order to have a shared understanding of what the Inklings - indeed, friendship in general - meant to Tolkien and Lewis, and how they helped shape each other's lives and works.
47 people found this helpful
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- David S. Mathew
- 05-27-16
The First Fellowship
This book offers a fascinating look into the spiritual lives and developing theologies of J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both during and after WWI. Loconte makes a few logical leaps and assumptions about the authors, but the overall research is pretty solid. Who knew C.S. Lewis started off as an atheist? If you're interested in learning more about these two wonderful men and their world, I'd recommend you pick this up now.
16 people found this helpful
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- Jed B
- 12-21-17
All my favorites
If you love C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and understanding how history, biography, and art intersect--this one is for you. Just enough sociological & psychological context to put the war and its impact on these two men into the proper context, but not so academic add to be dreary. What stuck with me were the pervasive, unexamined assumptions associated with liberalism & how WWI destroyed & devastated Western culture's love affair with the Myth of Progress. Lots of examples from their work demonstrate their intimate acquaintance with the terror of war, their suspicion of technology, and their unabashed awe with which they regarded the stolid courage & unpolished stubbornness of the working-class men with whom they served in the all-volunteer British Expeditionary Force. Their friendship mirrored the best part of that culture and the "stern & tender" relationships between men which made the accomplishments of the BEF possible. a wonderful book!
17 people found this helpful
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- ADB
- 12-14-20
seeing more clearly now
I am not in any way put off by the mispronunciations of place names by the narrator. Minor inaccuracies of speech did not hinder the beautiful connections that were shown me in this book. The shaping of two brilliant authors by the horrors and brotherhood of war is what listeners should focus on. I highly recommend.
4 people found this helpful
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- T. A. Widman
- 08-06-18
New perspective on the Great War and both authors
This book is intriguing both as historical study of both the causes and deep effects of the Great War, particularly on matters of faith, as well as a biographical study of both Lewis and Tolkien's time in the war and their friendship afterwards. The book gives enough information to allow the reader to make their own conclusions and begin to see potential connections, but does not dictate a 'correct' viewing of the links. Rather it presents the information in a clear manner with appropriate passages which demonstrate potential evidence of the War's effect. A book which causes more thought and reason for questions and curiosity in reading than direct answers.
4 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 07-22-17
Fantastic
This book is a great listen. I thoroughly enjoyed the material presented and the narration. The in depth study of two of my favorite authors and the impact of WW1 on them, on their generation, on their faith, and on their writing was absolutely riveting. If you like the works of both these authors, I encourage you to listen to this book. I am going to re-read the books just to savor the added depth of insight this book has given me into what both authors experienced in WW1.
9 people found this helpful
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- Billie
- 05-08-17
There some good tidbits and observations but...
I should say that there are some worthwhile bits in this book. The author is at his best when speculating on he impact Tolkien and Lewis' wartime experience might have had on their imagination when writing of struggle in their own books. Unfortunately the author seems far too invested in building a background narrative of Lewis and Tolkien as some sort of prophetic culture warriors to whom contemporary conservativism should look. The result is that he paints a half picture of both authors.
The narration was generally well done except that the narrator had some serious problems with his pronounciation.
10 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-25-20
Good book. Learned some good things about life.
this is a great book and I learned more about CS Lewis and Tolkien that I did not know before. a lot more about World War one that I did not know. very well written and enjoyed it.
2 people found this helpful
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- Heather
- 08-01-20
Wonderful Story
I never realized the depth of misery WW1 caused. Being so far removed from it has muted the devastation.
2 people found this helpful
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- myfanwy
- 06-02-22
The W W 1 battle is never pronounced as SohMa
This interesting story was marred by careless and peculiar errors in pronunciation. The worst howler was the First World War battle here called Soh-ma
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- Chris Taylor
- 11-30-21
ok
just could not stand the way the narrator pronounced somme (its som not som me)
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- MR Coffey
- 02-24-20
A gem 💎
A superb book - I can forgive the narrator the odd failure of pronunciation - otherwise excellent. The background is superb and the narrative griping and informative - really enjoyed this listen 👂
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- Annaliesa Rose
- 09-26-17
Amazing!
An amazing storytelling of how these brilliant writers were influenced by the Great War, Mythology, debating, Christianity and their friendship.
1 person found this helpful
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- John
- 03-08-21
Fascinating and haunting
A fascinating and haunting exploration of the influences of J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. Wonderful.