Geography (1) - C.S Lewis

About C.S Lewis:

C.S Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898. His mother died in 1908 from a severe case of bone cancer. This had a huge impact on Lewis, who was only a young child at the time. This event also deeply influenced his writing in "The Magician's Nephew" where the main character, a young boy called Digory, grapples with the sickness of his mother.

As a child he developed a love of nature and later on in life became very interested in Greek and Norse mythology. This love of mythology comes through a lot in his writing as he uses many mythical creatures as characters. For example, Minotaurs, Satyrs, Fauns, Dwarves, Dragons, Giants and Centaurs all feature in "The Chronicles of Narnia". 

He studied at University College, Oxford. While there he became close friends with J.R.R Tolkien and both became prominent members of the literary group known as "The Inklings". Tolkien had a huge religious influence on C.S Lewis and because of this Lewis converted to Christianity, when he had previously been a very passionate atheist.  

C.S Lewis is best known for his works of fiction. These include; “The Chronicles of Narnia", "The Space Trilogy" and "The Screwtape Letters".

"The Chronicles of Narnia" are perhaps his most loved stories. They are a children's fantasy series consisting of seven books, all of which are set in the mythical world of Narnia. They centre around children who travel by magic from our world into Narnia and have amazing adventures with the animals and creatures there. The series has been made into a film franchise in the last few years and these have been successful box-office hits.

"The Chronicles of Narnia" have very strong Christian symbolism within the stories. For example, in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" he uses the lion, Aslan's death as a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and in "The Last Battle" he describes the end of the world and the Last Judgment. 

Tourism in Belfast:

Belfast has made quite a large tourist industry from CS Lewis. For example; "The Linen Hall Library", which is the oldest library in Belfast, houses a large collection of books by and about CS Lewis. There is also a large statue, "The Searcher", depicting the character of Digory Kirke and the magical wardrobe from "The Magician’s Nephew". The artist modeled Digory on how CS Lewis himself looked in 1919. His childhood home is also greatly visited by fans of his work and some tourist companies in the area give special C.S Lewis tours of the city.

Belfast is a major tourist attraction for other reasons as well. The biggest of these is probably the Titanic. Many people flood to Belfast each year to visit the "birthplace" of the famous liner. The Harland and Wolff Shipyards are the most popular place to visit in relation to the Titanic. There you can visit the Titanic's Dock and Pump-House and also see the two huge cranes, nicknamed "Samson" and "Goliath", that were used to build her. C.S Lewis would have been living in Belfast during the time in which the Titanic was being built and would have witnessed its progress.