Portal:Literature/Biography archive/2006, Week 48

C. S. Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), was an Irish author and scholar. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics and fiction. He is best known today for his children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia.

Lewis was close friends with J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, and both were leading figures in the Oxford literary group the Inklings. Due in part to Tolkien's influence, Lewis converted to Christianity, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England". His conversion would have a profound effect on his work and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.

Lewis' works have been translated into over 30 languages and continue to sell over a million copies a year; the books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia have sold over 100 million copies. A number of stage and screen adaptations of Lewis' works have also been produced, the most notable of which is the 2005 Disney film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which grossed US$745,000,000 worldwide.