Remembering a Friend and Defender of C.S. Lewis

In the 1950s, C.S. Lewis was about as popular as a Christian author as he had ever been, though his reputation would continue to grow. His speeches to soldiers and radio presentations in wartime had made his name a household word in England, and some of his books had been published in the United States as well. I remember reading The Screwtape Letters when I was a child in those years and being entranced by the wellspring of wonder that was there. The Chronicles of Narnia were new, although I wouldn’t discover them until 1970.

Hundreds of people wrote to Lewis in those days, and he and his brother, Warren, made every effort to answer each letter. One of those letter-writers was a young woman named Kathryn Lindskoog. Lewis was impressed with her letter, and when Kay went to England for university studies in London, they met in Oxford and Lewis took her to tea. That began a friendship that continued until his death more than seven years later.

Kay became a noted scholar of Lewis’ work, becoming friends not only with him but with his brother Warren and with Pauline Baynes, who was the artist for the Chronicles of Narnia as well as for some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s publications. She wrote her master’s thesis on his writings in a book called The Lion of Judah in Never-Never Land. She sent Lewis a copy, and he responded, “You are in the centre of the target everywhere. You know my work better than anyone else I’ve met.”

She wrote and published many books on his works, as well as on other topics in her own right. Her book, Finding the Landlord, is a thoroughly researched and copiously footnoted commentary on his early Christian book, The Pilgrim’s Regress. She produced a readable translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy with profuse footnotes. In her later years, she published a Lewis newsletter called The Lamppost, which was popular among many Lewis fans. In her heyday she was well-known in C.S. Lewis circles, so I was very surprised to learn recently that few people of this generation have heard of her.

In the early 1990s, when I found that Kay lived not far from me, I wrote to her and asked if I might visit her; she responded with a warm welcome. From then I visited her about once a month for over ten years. We became good friends. The signature below is from the copy of her master’s thesis that she gave me. I don’t think I ever took any photographs of her, so the photograph above is a scan from one of her book covers.

She suffered from multiple sclerosis, about which she was quite at peace; she never made a big deal of it. She was able to talk normally. It even took me two years to find out that she was paralyzed except for her right arm, which was normal. She radiated joy at all times. Her house was filled with mementoes of Lewis, especially of Narnia. On the walls of her home there were more than a dozen original paintings that Pauline Baynes had done for English editions of the Narnian books. Kathryn told me that her family had visited Pauline once, had a great time, and as they were leaving, Pauline said, “Here are some paintings I did for Narnia. Take whichever ones you wish!” So they loaded up!

In one of Kathryn’s writings, she praised Lucy Barfield, to whom Lewis had dedicated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; the character of Lucy Pevensie is named for her. In her last years, Lucy Barfield suffered terribly from multiple sclerosis, and Kathryn praised Lucy for her faith and perseverance, without ever mentioning that she suffered from the same disease. Somehow, in spite of being wheelchair-bound when we first met, then homebound and eventually bedridden and mostly paralyzed, Kathryn was able to write book after book, always carefully researched and well-documented. She had a computer and her right hand was healthy.

She had access to the original versions of many of Lewis’s books, and was dismayed that, after his death, his executor and copyright owners altered many texts in subsequent editions. She wrote three books documenting and protesting this, each one more carefully researched and detailed than the previous. The most recent is Light in the Shadowlands, published in 1994.

As is often the case in such instances, when opponents cannot refute an argument, they resort to personal attacks. Kay has been described as an enthralled schoolgirl fan of “Jack,” someone jealous of others’ ownership of Lewis’s copyrights, and as a writer of “poison.”

I find it annoying that the Wikipedia entry on Kathryn Lindskoog says almost nothing about her life, but focuses on the controversy over the posthumously published works of Lewis. Readers add “citation needed” several times, or ask where the posted information came from. In other words, the statements are just guesswork or unsubstantiated. Kay was mostly puzzled by the accusations since her case was so well-documented, and her editor’s libel lawyer had concluded that the case against her was ridiculous.

Kathryn’s arguments on behalf of Lewis’s original versions have not been seriously refuted; they have been partially answered, but only after her death. Mostly they have been ignored, their publishers threatened, and Kathryn denounced as an opportunist seeking self-glory. All false. She sought nothing for herself, but was dedicated to what she believed was the truth and stood up for Lewis and his work as he produced it.

I knew her well and knew her work. Kathryn and her husband, John, a heroic caretaker for her in her last years, were confirmed in the Episcopal Church in their home. Her death in October 2003 at age 68 was a great loss, and I was honored to conduct her funeral. She was a good friend who colored my life with infectious joy, as she did for uncountable numbers of others throughout the world. She received Christian college students in her home, and accepted phone calls from Lewis fans all over the globe. She was always, always joyful with the invincible joy of faith in Jesus that Lewis himself called joy. Kathryn knew it, she lived it, and she radiated it. Always.

The Rev. David Baumann has been ordained for fifty years and spent most of his ministry as a parish priest in the Diocese of Los Angeles. He is now retired.