Owen Barfield, Romanticism Come of Age

“Barfield towers above us all...the wisest and best of my unofficial teachers." —C. S. Lewis

Owen Barfield, philosopher, author, poet, and critic, was a founding member of the Inklings group, a private Oxford society that included leading literary figures of the time: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. Writing of their many heated debates, Lewis—who was greatly affected by Barfield during their long friendship—remarked, “I think he changed me a good deal more than I him.”

Blaxland de Lange’s biography (the first to be published on Owen Barfield) was written with the help of Barfield himself, who, before his death in 1997, participated in numerous interviews with the author. Barfield also lent him many of his papers and manuscripts. The fruit of their collaboration is a book that penetrates deeply into the life and thinking of one of a towering figure of the twentieth century.

Blaxland de Lange studies the influences on Barfield by the Romantic poet Coleridge and the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, while also focusing on Barfield’s profound personal connection with C.S. Lewis. The book also features a biographical sketch in Barfield’s own words and describes his strong relationship with North America as well as his dual profession as a lawyer and writer.