Patti Callahan Henry
Oct 29, 20197 min
Updated: Nov 10, 2019
Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis | A New🎙Podcast Series | Episode Five
Welcome to Episode Five of Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast!
Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche, is often hailed as one of C.S. Lewis’s most mature and sophisticated novels. Lewis himself credits the title as being one of his best books.
In this episode, I am speaking with scholar Andrew Lazo about how Till We Have Faces was heavily influenced—and arguably co-written—by wife Joy Davidman and how Lewis’s other works show Davidman’s literary fingerprint.
If you missed Episode Four, be sure to tune in. The question — WHY JOY?—Why did Lewis choose Joy Davidman? One of the questions I asked while writing Becoming Mrs. Lewis was: Why was Joy Davidman the woman who finally ended Lewis’s long run as a bachelor?
In last week's episode, I spoke with Dr. Crystal Downing about how Dorothy Sayers introduced Lewis to an appreciation of brilliant, fiery women who bristled against cultural gender expectations. In another conversation, Dr. Crystal Hurd provides insight on how Lewis’s mother, Flora Lewis, also paved the way to Lewis finding his soul mate in the feisty Joy Davidman.
Each of these episodes begins with Joy’s startlingly beautiful poetry, so tune in!
I am so grateful to each of you for embracing this exciting journey with me and thrilled that you love hearing from these fascinating experts. I encourage you to check out my BLOG to get the latest on each podcast episode and join in the conversation! (you can sort by subject in the blue top banner). Be sure to post your comments and share them across your favorite social media platform.
I look forward to hearing more about your favorite episodes, thus far. Stay tuned! 🔊 We have episodes six and seven to come and bonus episodes to follow!
With💕JOY,
(Five of a Seven-Part Series)
October 29, 2019
MUSE AND CO-AUTHOR
——Author Joy as Lewis's muse and co-Author
with Andrew Lazo
Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche, is often hailed as one of C.S. Lewis’s most mature and sophisticated novels. In fact, Lewis himself credits the title as being one of his best books. Patti speaks with scholar Andrew Lazo about how Till We Have Faces was heavily influenced—and arguably co-written—by wife Joy Davidman and how Lewis’s other works show Davidman’s literary fingerprint.
Andrew Lazo Website
Speaker, Scholar, Writer —and expert on Joy’s influence on Till We Have Faces.
Till We Have Faces (book mentioned in the podcast)
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis
Diane Pavlac Gleyer Website
Author, Speaker, and Teacher—whose work centers on C. S. Lewis.
Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings
(book mentioned in the podcast) by Diane Gleyer and Michael Ward.
Michael Ward Website
Michael Ward is Senior Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford. He is the author of the award-winning Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis.
The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens
(book mentioned in the podcast)
Studio Website
Calvin Venus, owner/operator of Tonecrafters
Houston Christian High School
Joy Davidman's Poetry: A Naked Tree: Love Sonnets to C.S. Lewis and other poems by Joy Davidman and edited by Don W. King. Sonnet I (written in 1948 or 1949). One version of this sonnet has her note that says— “In a moment of insight for C. S. Lewis.”
"Begin again, must I begin again
Who have begun so many loves in fire
And ended them in dirty ash? Despair
Of treating you better than other men
Would take the taste of love out of my mouth
Before I had spoken half the lying word
I would have loved you once if I had dared
And made a song of it. I’ll save my breath
And save your peace, God love you! But for me,
I’ll measure my affection by the drachm
As men weigh poisons. Honoured sir, I am
Somewhat your friend, as far as courtesy.
Requires, your servant; not at all your slave.
I love you far too well to give you love."
— Joy Davidman, A Naked Tree
Sonnet I Edited by Don W. King
Host and Author: The New York Times bestselling (Author) Patti Callahan Henry writing as Patti Callahan. Patti Callahan Website. (The Novel) Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. (The Podcast) Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series.
Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series
Click below to SUBSCRIBE to the podcast newsletter and LISTEN to the teaser!
When you click on EPISODES, select SUBSCRIBE to your vendor of choice, or you can listen on the Episodes' web page.
@pattichenry #BMLPodcast #joydavidman #cslewis #becomingmrslewis #historicalfiction
#podcast #bookpodcast #litchat #literary
September 12, 2019
Introduction
TRAILER Teaser
Episode 1
October 1, 2019
WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN PART 1
— With Douglas Gresham (before Joy's cancer)
As Joy Davidman’s son and C.S. Lewis’s stepson, Douglas Gresham has a distinctly unique perspective on the love story that transpired between the two writers. Gresham shares with Patti his first years of knowing and meeting Lewis and explains how Joy and Lewis’s correspondence, romance, and marriage affected the entire Gresham family.
Episode 2
October 8, 2019
WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN PART II
—With Douglas Gresham (after Joy's cancer)
When Douglas Gresham first learned of his mother’s cancer diagnosis, he very clearly heard the Lord say, “If you can’t make it, if you really can’t make it without your mother, I can fix it. All you have to do is ask.” Joy Davidman’s cancer later went miraculously into remission and gave her, her two children, and Lewis four more blissful years before fatally returning. In this episode, Douglas takes Patti through the years following his mother’s death and shares how her cancer diagnosis not only changed him but also changed the people whom he learned to call family.
Episode 3
October 15, 2019
LOSING FAITH
—Did Lewis lose his faith after Joy’s death?
With Dr. David Downing
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear,” C.S. Lewis writes in his raw and beautiful book, A Grief Observed, which chronicled his heartbreak after losing his wife, Joy Davidman, to cancer in 1960. Many have read this text and have interpreted that Lewis might have lost his Christian faith after losing Joy. Patti joins Dr. David and Crystal Downing in Wheaton College’s Marion E. Wade Center to discuss how this grief impacted Lewis, his future writing, and ultimately, his Christianity. She discusses the fascinating essay “A Grief Obscured” by Dr. David Downing.
Episode 4
October 22, 2019
WHY JOY?
—Why did Lewis choose Joy Davidman?
Dr. Crystal Hurd and Dr. Crystal Downing
One of the questions that Patti asked while writing Becoming Mrs. Lewis was: Why Joy? Why was Joy Davidman the woman who finally ended Lewis’s long run as a bachelor? Patti speaks with Dr. Crystal Downing about how Dorothy Sayers introduced Lewis to an appreciation of brilliant, fiery women who bristled against cultural gender expectations. In another conversation, Dr. Crystal Hurd gives insight on how Lewis’s mother, Flora Lewis, also paved the way to Lewis finding his soul mate in the feisty Joy Davidman.
Episode 5
October 29, 2019
MUSE AND CO-AUTHOR
—Joy as Lewis’s muse and
co-Author with Andrew Lazo
Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche, is often hailed as one of C.S. Lewis’s most mature and sophisticated novels. In fact, Lewis himself credits the title as being one of his best books. Patti speaks with scholar Andrew Lazo about how Till We Have Faces was heavily influenced—and arguably cowritten—by wife Joy Davidman and how Lewis’s other works show Davidman’s literary fingerprint.
Episode 6
November 5, 2019
THE LOST LOVE SONNETS
—Joy’s poetry to C.S. Lewis with Dr. Don W. King
Over 300 poems by Joy Davidman were never published during her lifetime and were, in fact, lost until quite recently. Dr. Don King has edited, analyzed, and published them in his book Yet One More Spring: A Critical Study of the Works of Joy Davidman. During their compelling conversation in this episode, Patti and Don discuss how Joy’s poetry reveals her desires, persistence, and even her pain. Together, they also ask: Did Joy give Lewis these poems? And how do these poems reflect their love story? Quite racy in parts, Joy’s desire and love for Lewis is palpable in these lost sonnets.
Episode 7
November 12, 2019
SURPRISED BY LOVE
—How love found C.S. Lewis with Andrew Lazo
A once-proclaimed “confirmed bachelor,” C.S. Lewis found himself contradicted when he fell in love with Joy Davidman. However, it is up for debate WHEN Lewis discovered this deep love for Joy. Scholar Andrew Lazo discusses how the letters and works of C.S. Lewis showcase his evolving self-awareness as he realized that he had helplessly fallen in love with the imperious Joy Davidman.
Behind the Scenes Media PDF
PW LitCast speaks with 'New York Times' bestselling author Patti Callahan about her seven-part original podcast that explores the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Stay tuned at the end of the episode for a brief excerpt of the podcast featuring Douglas Gresham, and find more info about 'Becoming Mrs. Lewis' here: www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com
Want to get the scoop on the podcast and the latest edition? SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAILING LIST for podcast updates.
Grab the book to accompany the podcast!
Available in Hardcover, e-book, audiobook, and MP3CD formats.
Coming in Paperback March 2020
View an extensive collection of videos from Oxford, England, interviews, podcasts, articles, accolades, reviews, inspiration, maps, timeline, a letter to Joy, book club kit, photo galleries, additional reading materials, and more to enhance your overall reading/listening experience.
Check out our IGTV Becoming Mrs. Lewis mobile videos, quote audiograms, and fabulous quote graphics to download, like, and share across your favorite social media platforms.
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times best-selling author of fifteen novels, including the historical fiction, BECOMING MRS. LEWIS—The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.
The author is also the host of the seven-part original "Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series" —launched October 1, 2019.
THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER, (Southern Contemporary Fiction) was released June 4, 2019 and her holiday Christmas novella THE PERFECT LOVE SONG released October 8, 2019, and both are available now.
A full-time author and mother of three children, she now resides in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.
Here are some of the places I’ll be. Would love to see you!
November 5, 2019
THE LOST LOVE SONNETS
—Joy’s poetry to C.S. Lewis with Dr. Don W. King
Receive Our Latest Updates. Share with a Friend! Subscribe
Newsletter BML Podcast Oct 29, 2019
Episode Five