Review of Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R.
Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of
the Inklings
The Inklings was an Oxford writers
group which met during the 1930s and 40s, and included JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. It is unusual for a writers group to garner the attention
the Inklings have over the years. A few select scholars have devoted much of
their lives to not only studying the lives of the men who were part of this
group, but the group as a whole. As early as 1979, scholars such as Humphrey Carpenter realized
the importance of the interaction of the Inklings to their lives and
writings. Colin
Duriez' recent book has helped amend and
clarify much of what we thought we knew. In 2007, Diana Pavlac Glyer went a
step further in her book, The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R.
Tolkien as Writers in Community, examining the extent of influence the
Inklings had on each other's writings. Glyer may not be as well known to
Inklings fans as Carpenter and Duriez, but she is considered one the foremost Inklings scholars
in the academic world.
Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis,
J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings is the
newly published adaptation of her 2007 book, re-written for a wider audience. The Company they Keep was meant for academic use. However, although
the earlier book has been described as
"easy and enjoyable to read" with "plenty to enjoy" for new
fans and scholars alike, Glyer realized the "fundamentally academic"
work should be updated. Besides being of interest to fans of Tolkien, Lewis,
and the other Inklings, Bandersnatch also is also helpful to
aspiring writers, artists, and inventors, providing suggestions on how to
interact with others in the same kind of creative collaboration the Inklings
did.
The title of the book comes from an
often quoted line from a letter Lewis wrote to Charles Mooreman in 1959.
Mooreman was researching a book about "the Oxford Christians," which came out in 1966. After admitting the
influence Charles Williams and
he had over each other, Lewis writes, "No one ever influenced Tolkien—you
might as well try to influence a bandersnatch." (A
"bandersnatch" is a creature created by Lewis Carol. Lewis was
undoubtedly borrowing from a quote from "Through the Looking-Glass"
where the White King describes his Queen: "She runs so fearfully quick.
You might as well try to catch a Bandersnatch!")
Lewis' "bandersnatch"
quote has been often used to affirm the idea the Inklings really did not have
much influence on each other's writings. However, the context of the quote
demonstrates the group did have a significant influence over Tolkien. The next
two sentences read: "We listened to his work, but could affect it only by
encouragement. He has only two reactions to criticism; either he begins the
whole work over again from the beginning or else takes no notice at all."
As Glyer points out, "listening
and encouraging are neither passive activities nor insignificant ones."
And "starting over" when criticized "represents major influence,
indeed." [p. 152] And there is evidence that Tolkien rarely took "no
notice at all." Tolkien's papers indicate he often jotted down notes to
himself based on suggestions he was given by others.
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