Wednesday, November 09, 2005

fabrications and outright lies

I am reading a book right now entitled Sleuthing C.S. Lewis: More Light in the Shadowlands and I have been greatly disturbed by what I have read thus far. The book is by Kathryn Lindskoog, a foremost authority on Lewis, and is a revision and expansion on Light in the Shadowlands as well as continuation on points that she raised in 1988's The C.S. Lewis Hoax. Her main target is the executor of the Lewis estate, Walter Hooper, who has taken extreme liberties with much of Lewis' published writings, changing sentences, re-writing, and even writing stories and saying that they are the work of Lewis himself! The book has far too much material to write about here, but she systematically blasts the industry that has exploded since Lewis' death in 1963. Hooper is a first-class imposter which Lindskoog proves with irrefutable evidence time and time again, from tampering with manuscripts to contriving stories about the nature of his relationship with Lewis. What I would love to know is how Hooper, who only knew Lewis for a short time, became executor of the estate instead of Warren Lewis, the older brother (and believe me there was great bitterness towards Hooper from Warren about how the estate was handled). Lindskoog's research is meticulous, fascinating, but ultimately distressing because Lewis's legacy should be entrusted to those who will preserve it, not exploit and ruin. To say that I am angry about Hooper's hatchet job would be an understatement. I would consider it just short of rage and the more I read, the more disgusted and furious I grow...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i'm trying to figure out why, in doing so, she has to insinuate, or imply, that Hooper is gay. how is this relevant??? - br