I discovered as you and your readers also will, that Joy isn’t interesting merely because C. S. Lewis fell in love with her. Not even close.
What a privilege and an honour to talk to you about writing Becoming Mrs Lewis – The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. After years of research and interviews, you will finally meet C. S. Lewis’s wife on her own terms and in her own voice.
When I first heard about Joy Davidman, I wondered why she was always cast as the dying wife of C. S. Lewis. Why was she put into this box? Who was this poet and novelist who so enchanted Lewis, that he wrote the critically acclaimed book on grief A Grief Observed about her? How improbable they were, a married woman from upstate New York with two young children and a top Oxford University Academic.
As I started to learn about her, I realised that we no longer needed to hear about her but from her. She was a fiery, brilliant, bold and complicated woman who was ahead of her time. She was an award-winning poet and a rule breaker, and she enchanted C. S. Lewis and his brother, Warnie, from her first letter.
Years ago, this story grabbed me by the heart and would not let me go. I deeply desired to tell the story of this intelligent woman who changed her life so dramatically in a time when women were not encouraged to pursue their art or passion, to save their own lives as best they could.
I discovered as you and your readers also will, that Joy isn’t interesting merely because C. S. Lewis fell in love with her. Not even close. Come meet Joy and travel with her on this courageous journey from New York to London, and into the enclaves of Oxford University and C. S. Lewis’s heart.
I truly hope that this story grabs you as much as it took hold of me. I’m passionate about sharing Joy’s story, which was left slightly hidden in the shadow of C.S. Lewis. Harper Inspire, have truly believed in my re-telling of this poignant story and I cannot wait to share this with you all.
Becoming Mrs Lewis
Patti Callahan
16th May 2019
Paperback
HarperInspire
9780310104803
RRP £8.99
Proofs available – email independentthinking@harpercollins.co.uk to request one now
