Leipzig, 2019. 1st edition. Paperback.*
Four Inklings - Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield - go on a walking tour together during four days in May, 1938. They walk in the footsteps of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge through the Quantock Hills in Somerset and into Exmoor. They walk and talk with rucksacks on their backs, rain or shine, up- and downhill, through forests and moorland, smoking their pipes and drinking their beer. Never missing a pub. Tolkien has the first chapters of 'The Next Hobbit' (later: Lord of the Rings) on his mind, C.S. Lewis is halfway his science fiction trilogy, Charles Williams works on a poem about the Arthurian Legends and Owen Barfield studies the concept of Metaphor. It's 1938 and dark shadows grow in the East. What do they talk about and what happens on the way?Based on biographies of The Inklings and the individual authors, their books, letters and diaries, this is an enchanting tale about the long-lasting friendship between the (sub)creators of modern myths and fantasy. You are witness to their conversations, you feel their fatigue when they reach a hilltop and you enjoy their humour and wit. It's almost as if you participate in their journey. And of course - in a way - you do. For as long as you read, the spell isn't broken and the magic is there for you to experience. May I invite you to a special walking tour?