The Charles Williams Society
The Society exists to promote the study and appreciation of the life and writings of Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886-1945).
Charles Williams is probably best known, to those who have heard of him, as a leading member (albeit for a short time) of the Oxford literary group, the Inklings, whose chief figures were C. S. Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien. He was, however, a figure of enormous interest in his own right: a prolific author of plays, fantasy novels (strikingly different in kind from those of his friends), poetry, theology, biography and criticism.
He worked nearly all his life for the Oxford University Press, also lecturing extensively on English literature for evening institutes and latterly for Oxford University. Much of his critical writing grew out of this activity. His seven novels appeared from 1930 onwards; unlike much fantasy fiction, they deal not with imaginary magical worlds but with the irruption of supernatural elements into everyday life. A legal officer has bequeathed to him the original set of Tarot cards; the investigation of a murder in a publisher's office merges with the rediscovery of the Holy Grail; the ghost of a girl killed in an accident helps thwart a plot for world domination.
His later poetry, which he considered his main work, included a number of striking plays (Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury was the second Canterbury Festival commission after Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral) and two volumes of poems on themes connected with the Arthurian cycle, Taliessin through Logres (1938) and The Region of the Summer Stars (1944) (since republished, together with earlier verses, in Arthurian Poems. edited by D. L. Dodds (1991).
He was perhaps the most original lay theologian of the century (his chief books in this field being The Descent of the Dove, "A Short History of the Holy Spirit in the Church"(1939), and He Came Down From Heaven (1938). Above all, he was passionately interested in the ways in which romantic love can be a key to understanding our relationship with God. This vision blended with his critical work in his great study of Dante, The Figure of Beatrice (1943). A collection of his shorter writings, covering a wide range of his interests, was edited by Anne Ridler, with a biographical introduction, and published by the Oxford University Press in 1958 as The Image of the City.
The Society is a registered charity, and a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies.
The Society meets three times a year, and publishes a quarterly newsletter, which normally includes the papers delivered at the meetings. It also occasionally has short residential conferences, the most recent of which took place on June 16th/17th, 2000. It maintains a lending and reference library. The subscription is £10 a year (£15 for joint members; concessionary rates are also available).
Details,application forms and other information are available from the Secretary:
Dr. R. L. Sturch,
3 The Rise, Islip, Kidlington,
Oxfordshire OX5 2TG,
United Kingdom
e-mail: rsturch@compuserve.com or Ian Blakemore, Rosley Books.
Website: www.geocities.com/charles_wms_soc/