The Novels of Charles Williams

The fanciful novels of Charles Williams have long fascinated a rather elite reading public - T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, and C.S. Lewis, for example, were among his great admirers. But those books - which include 'The Place of the Lion' 'Descent into Hell' and 'All Hallows' Eve' - are also dense and perplexing, and even the writer's fondest devotees have found the meanings of his fiction elusive. Here at last is a clear and informed guide to the complexities and rich rewards of Charles Williams' novels. As Thomas Howard notes, Williams' tales might best be described as metaphysical thrillers, in which Williams used occult machinery in much the same way that Conrad used exotic locales and Joyce used the subconscious: to vivify human experience and awaken readers to its range and possibilities. One tale might feature a chase for the Holy Grail across Hertfordshire fields, while in another the picture may switch with no apology at all from a policeman at a crossroad to the Byzantine Emperor. As Howard lucidly demonstrates, the controlling factor behind Williams' work is an essentially Christian worldview in which heaven and hell seem to lurk under every bush and the constant theme is order versus disintegration. Concentrating on Williams' novels, Howard brilliantly illuminates the major concerns that informed all of Williams' thinking. Howard also considers Williams' work in the context of modern fictional practice and assesses its place in the tradition of the English language novel.

Literature & Fiction

HOWARD, Thomas

Short Stories & Anthologies

Oxford University Press

Black Voyage: Eyewitness Accounts of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Little,Brown

CHRIST THE TIGER IS A BREATHLESS, SWINGING, SINGING AFFAIR. IF ONE SAYS THAT HOWARD IS DEAD-WRONG, THE ANSWER IS THAT IT IS AUTOBIOGRAPHY-HE HAS LIVED IT.

Christ the Tiger; a Postscript to Dogma

Religion & Spirituality

Lippincott

A concise and clear introduction to the Episcopal liturgy that helps newcomers understand what is happening on Sunday mornings. An appendix called "Why Do You Do That?" provides useful explanations of bowing, genuflecting, bells, and other parts of the worship experience.

The Liturgy Explained

Thomas, Howard

Christian Books & Bibles

Morehouse Publishing

Evangelical Is Not Enough

Thomas Nelson

Splendor in the ordinary

Tyndale House Publishers

Christianity: The True Humanism

Book by Packer, J. I., Howard, Thomas

Politics & Social Sciences

Packer, J.I.

Philosophy

W Pub Group

The author assets that Christians have given the term Secular Humanism over to the outlook that calls itself "humanism" without qualification. The term leads people to believe that it believes itself to be offering mankind a formula for human fulfillment. Christians add the name "secular", imply that Christianity, is understood as Sacred Humanism, and stands as it rival.

The achievement of C. S. Lewis

Harold Shaw Publishers

The followers of today's new religion do not bow down to a physical idol in a traditional temple. Instead, we look at life as though everything is ruled by mere chance, that nothing has meaning anymore. Tom Howard shows that it is impossible to live this "new myth" and that, in fact, the very fabric of our everyday lives is imprinted with meaning and substance.

Chance or the Dance? A Critique of Modern Secularism

Arts & Photography

Performing Arts

Harold Shaw

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Books by HOWARD, Thomas