That Hideous Strength

This podcast covers the last book in C S Lewis’ space trilogy, That Hideous Strength. It is the most complex and, I think, the most enjoyable book in the space trilogy.  While the story shares some common ground with the … Continue reading →

This podcast covers the last book in C S Lewis’ space trilogy, That Hideous Strength. It is the most complex and, I think, the most enjoyable book in the space trilogy.  While the story shares some common ground with the other two novels, it also has some new elements in it, especially elements from the legends surrounding King Arthur.  This is probably due to the influence of Charles Williams, one of Jack’s best friends.  (See this link – Charles Williams in Wikipedia).

The book is the story of an evil assault on nature and humanity by the demons who are temporarily in control of the earth.  It tells how Ransom (the hero from the first two books) and a small band of followers thwarted that assault with the help of Merlin the magician from King Arthur’s time.  At the same time it is the story of the temptation and conversion of two young English intellectuals, Mark and Jane Studdock.  One of the most enjoyable (and perhaps most instructive) parts of the book are its character portraits of the villains, Dick Devine, Augustus Frost, and John Wither.  Our podcast gives us an overall view of the plot and then looks at some of the character studies Lewis has given us in this novel.

The notes for this show are here.