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Becoming Mrs. Lewis
- The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Lauren Woodward
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
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Becoming Mrs. Lewis
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Publisher's Summary
Now a USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly best seller! Meet the brilliant writer, fiercely independent mother, and passionate woman who captured the heart of C.S. Lewis and inspired the books that still enchant and change us today.
When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis - known as Jack - she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford professor and the beloved writer of The Chronicles of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters.
Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, found a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.
In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice - and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.
At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story - a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.
Praise for Becoming Mrs. Lewis:
“Becoming Mrs. Lewis deftly explores the life and work of Joy Davidman, a bold and brilliant woman who is long overdue her time in the spotlight. Carefully researched. Beautifully written. Deeply romantic. Fiercely intelligent. It is both a meditation on marriage and a whopping grand adventure. Touching, tender, and triumphant, this is a love story for the ages.” (Ariel Lawhon, New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia)
“Patti Callahan Henry breathes wondrous fresh life into one of the greatest literary love stories of all time.... The result is a deeply moving story about love and loss that is transformative and magical.” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale)
“It's novel. And it's a very good one...extraordinarily accurate...more accurate than most biographical essays that have been written about my mother.” (Douglas Gresham, son of Joy Davidman, wife of C.S. Lewis)
- Full-length historical novel about the wife of C.S. Lewis
What the critics say
“Patti Callahan Henry breathes wondrous fresh life into one of the greatest literary love stories of all time... The result is a deeply moving story about love and loss that is transformative and magical.” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times best-selling author of The Orphan’s Tale)
“I was swept along, filled with hope, and entirely beguiled, not only by the life lived behind the veil of C. S. Lewis’s books but also by the woman who won his heart. A literary treasure from first page to last.” (Lisa Wingate, New York Times best-selling author of Before We Were Yours)
“Profoundly evocative, revealing an intimate view of a woman whose love and story had never been fully told... until now... Becoming Mrs. Lewis is a tour de force and the must-read of the season!” (Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times best-selling author of Beach House Reunion)
What listeners say about Becoming Mrs. Lewis
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan M.
- 2021-11-09
extraordinary writing
Superb writing which made the story and characters come alive. Narrator was very good for all American characters but unfortunately atrocious for any English accented dialogue which was very distracting. Would have been better not to even attempt the accent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan Thoma
- 2020-04-15
My heart and mind are bursting
...with inspiration, with the humbleness and awe of a love that many people only dream of. Thank you for these words, Mrs Lewis, Joy ... and Jack. And of course Patti Callahan
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B
- 2024-10-14
sublime
I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book, written with such care and thoughtfulness. Narration is great too, with appropriate accents that add to the storytelling.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Veronica
- 2021-01-26
Such an interesting book!
It was difficult to really get into this book as I found the narrator annoying. But as I listened longer the story, and characters grew on me. Interesting facts I never knew!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joan Raugust
- 2019-10-18
Loved this book!
This was an amazing and well written book. Narration also excellent. I would definitely recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- GrannieSheels
- 2020-07-19
Beautiful love story!
After loving CS Lewis writings for so long, this book brought him alive to me. I loved Joy's journey to love!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rachel U.
- 2019-08-16
Becoming Mrs. Lewis
I chose this novel because I’m a fan of historical fiction and like what is included in the author’s note at the end of the book, I too feel it is very important to examine many of the women who are woefully neglected from larger stories and from the men who often overshadowed them. I enjoyed the story and learning more about Joy Davidman and her relationship with CS Lewis But was frustrated by the tone and style of the voice actor who read the book. I kept hoping that I would get used to her cadence and her speech but was often frustrated with words that were mispronounced and her tone. Even until the last chapter I was hoping for a different voice to complete the novel.
Overall though I would recommend this book.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kimberly G.
- 2020-07-24
Opens up even further my love if Lewisiana!
thank you Miss Callahan for this excellent and well-researched novel. You did push the boundaries on much of what I would have expected not only from Joy but also from Clive himself. Despite other comments here I actually thought the narration added wonderfully. Thank you for making this book and for making it available in audio.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- catharine stecca
- 2022-10-18
CS Lewis and the woman he loved
At first, I didn’t care for this book because I felt the writing wasn’t very good, too clichéd. But the story and character of Joy won me over and I was quite caught up in it.
It records the love story of an American woman writer, mother with two sons and married to a writer who’s rather a scoundrel, and the authour of the Narnia Chronicles and many adult books, particularly on Christianity: CS Lewis. He is a prof in Oxford, lives with his brother there.
The correspondence Joy initiates with Lewis gradually turns warm and lively and she visits him in Oxford where they become good friends. Eventually, she leaves her husband and bringing the boys with her starts an independent life in London, visiting Lewis and his brother in Oxford. There’s much more to this story, surprises, but I leave you to meet these warm, charming characters yourself and follow their lives.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- kemanuel
- 2020-04-14
terrible narrator
The story is ok, but the narrator is absolutely terrible. i suggest reading the book over he audio if the story is of interest. I was not able to get very far listening to this due to the narrator and ended up borrowing the book from the library. Don't bother wasting your money on this.
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1 person found this helpful