C.S. Lewis was a British novelist born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. Lewis was raised in a devout Christian family, but he identified as an atheist in his teens. However, as an adult, he once again found comfort and solace in religion, which would significantly influence his future novels. Many of his stories reference Christianity and model it in a positive light. Although Lewis is primarily known for his works of fiction, he was also an English literature teacher at Oxford University as well as the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University.
The Screwtape Letters is composed of a series of 31 letters written by a devil named Screwtape. He is writing to his nephew named Wormwood about how to tempt human beings to resist the teachings of God and to embrace Satan. Throughout the novel, the reader discovers the utter depravity of Screwtape and other devils just like him.
When it was published in 1942, The Screwtape Letters received great acclaim and to this day, it continues to be a work lauded by critics and audiences alike. It was adapted into a comic book in 1994 and a stage play in 1961. 20th Century Fox also bought the rights to a film adaptation in the 1950s, but the movie version never came to fruition as many filmmakers found it difficult to adapt a collection of letters. Yet C.S. Lewis’ career spans far beyond this sole novel. In his lifetime, he authored more than 30 books, many of which sold over a million copies.
