[Child of the 7th Age]

I'm interested because I do not know...was Narnia written before or after Joy Gresham?

Lalwende,

Regarding this question.....if you want to see a different side of Lewis, try reading Till We Have Faces. I always felt it was the best piece of fantasy/myth that C.S. Lewis attempted. His depiction of the two sisters shows a depth of understanding that isn't apparent in the Narnia series. Till We Have Faces was composed after the marriage to Joy (Narnia was before). His understanding of women seems to have taken a giant step forward in the interim.

When I first read Narnia, the Susan stereotype did not bother me. I was a young teenager and knew a lot of girls who exactly fit the Susan stereotype. I righteously consoled myself with the fact that I was not one of these airheads but a "Lucy" who definitely merited entry to Narnia . However, looking backwards from a different vantage point, I am less comfortable with how Lewis depicted women, whether in the Narnia series or in his sci/fi--their roles seem so limiting. Still, the feeling is not so visceral that I can't get around it to read and enjoy his stories.

I will put in another word for T.H. White and the Once and Future King. Shippey once talked in an interview how Tolkien and White were unique--both the product of a particular education system and world view that had now vanished from the world--so there couldn't possibly be anyone to take their places. At the time I hoped he was wrong but now I am beginning to believe him. The interview was fascinating, and I wish I could find that link, which has somehow disappeared in the shadowlands of the internet.