"Sunbeams and Bottles reveals C.S. Lewis as a narrative thinker and neo-Romantic, for whom what felt right as a story was a sure guide to truth, and for whom story was the best way to communicate the truths he found—as a fantasist, an apologist, and a literary critic. This commitment to the truth of story, as Prothero shows, is why Lewis so often slips through the fingers of those who would claim him as a flagbearer for any political, religious, or theoretical position; try to put him in a bottle, and Lewis fizzes up and keeps you from pushing in the cork."
Janet Brennan Croft, editor of Mythlore: A Journal of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis,
Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature
Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature
"Correctly insisting that Lewis must not be co-opted for any Ideology, Professor Prothero’s deep reading of Lewis in the context of his own literary learning has yielded this rich and broad understanding, frequently personal, of the (often-paradoxical) man and his work. Even when revisiting familiar terrain, Prothero seeks to correct settled views from a fresh angle. His unfolding, especially, of Lewis’s “narrative thinking” makes this book required reading for students and Lewis scholars alike."
James Como, author of C.S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table
and Mystical Perelandra: My Lifelong Reading of CS Lewis & His Favorite Book
and Mystical Perelandra: My Lifelong Reading of CS Lewis & His Favorite Book
"As one voyages through Sunbeams and Bottles, one senses steady hands at the tiller, the trustworthy hands of Jim Prothero. In twenty-one chapters and twenty-one key ideas, Dr. Prothero hews to a speedy course, displaying mastery and humor and insight in a conversational style that should win him many happy passengers.
I learned something new in every chapter!"
I learned something new in every chapter!"
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
"Prothero makes his case convincingly, covering a wide variety of categories – virtue, myth, imagination, reason, first and second things, natural law, Scripture, quiddity, culture, hierarchy, membership, etc. – thereby providing valuable insight into the complexities of Lewis’s thought. Read this book and understand Lewis far better than you did!"
Joel Heck, author of No Ordinary People: 21 Friendships of C.S. Lewis
James Prothero
About the Author
Dr. James Prothero teaches English and lives in Orange County, California. He is a watercolor artist, and has published much work on C.S. Lewis, including Gaining a Face: The Romanticism of C.S. Lewis. He is the Director of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society and former editor of The Lamp-Post.
Dr. James Prothero teaches English and lives in Orange County, California. He is a watercolor artist, and has published much work on C.S. Lewis, including Gaining a Face: The Romanticism of C.S. Lewis. He is the Director of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society and former editor of The Lamp-Post.
SUNBEAMS & BOTTLES