{"id":5115,"date":"2014-04-15T05:26:48","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T13:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/?p=5115"},"modified":"2014-04-15T05:32:05","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T13:32:05","slug":"chronicles-nick-haddad-april-15-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/chronicles-nick-haddad-april-15-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chronicles of Nick Haddad – April 15, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Haddad currently serves as the C.S. Lewis Foundation\u2019s Assistant to the Warden for The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns. Before moving to Oxford, Nick served the Foundation as an intern in our Redlands office, as well as received his B.A. at Belmont University in Mass Communications. As a part of his time spent at The Kilns, Nick has agreed to write a series of blog posts regarding his experiences in order to give our readers an idea of what it is like to work and live in the former home of C.S. Lewis.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"kilns-header2.jpg\"<\/a>A large part of my job is to lead tours for visitors and people who are passionate about Lewis.\u00a0 I do love giving tours because you get a chance to interact with people from all over the world who, through one avenue or another, have been influenced by Lewis.\u00a0 From the young kids who just read The Chronicles of Narnia<\/i> for the first time, to the scholars who have invested all their study on the works of Lewis, they all make their way to the Kilns throughout the week.<\/p>\n

As a tour guide, I have to know the history of the home, as well as have a firm knowledge of the life of Lewis to answer any questions thrown my way. When I conduct a tour, questions do arise about the life of Lewis, the history of the home, and general inquiries as to the happenings of the house.\u00a0 So with that, I\u2019d like to present my answers to \u201cSeven Frequently Asked Questions I Get While Giving a Tour.”\u00a0 These aren\u2019t really in any particular order.<\/p>\n

Number 7: How accurate is the film Shadowlands<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shadowlands<\/em>, for those of you who haven\u2019t seen it, is a film about the relationship between C.S. Lewis and his American wife Joy.\u00a0 The film chronicles their friendship, first “green card marriage,” Joy\u2019s struggles with cancer, their marriage before God, and Joy’s eventual passing.\u00a0 It is a really beautiful film, and as a grown man, I openly admit to crying every time I see it.\u00a0 The film is a great representation of the relationship between Jack and Joy.\u00a0 Deborah Winger, the actress who played Joy, did an amazing job portraying her from what I\u2019ve been told by Douglas Gresham, Joy\u2019s son, and from other sources.\u00a0 She really captured the character, the life, and the spirit of Joy, and she even looks like her.\u00a0 Anthony Hopkins played C.S. Lewis, and I\u2019ve been told multiple times that he did an amazing job playing…Anthony Hopkins. Unfortunately, Hopkins failed to capture the style and personification of C.S. Lewis.\u00a0 Plus, Lewis never drove, but beyond that the film is quite accurate and a treat to watch.<\/p>\n

Number 6: Why did Maureen get rid of all of Lewis\u2019 books and the furniture in the Kilns?<\/b><\/p>\n

After Warnie passed away in 1973, Maureen, Mrs. Moore\u2019s daughter, put the home up for sale and had the furniture sold at an auction house.\u00a0 The best reasoning behind this was that Maureen had little to no idea of the impact that C.S. Lewis would have on the world, and she figured his stuff was, just that, stuff.\u00a0 Lewis was not very materialistic and to him, it was just furniture, and it was just books, and Maureen probably understood this about Lewis.<\/p>\n

Question 5: What happened with all of the items in the home after it was sold?<\/b><\/p>\n

There are a few surviving pieces that we know about, mostly because of Walter Hooper.\u00a0 Walter owns one of the desks that Lewis had in the Kilns.\u00a0 The Wade Center at Wheaton College owns the most Lewis memorabilia, including some manuscripts, Warnie\u2019s diary, and one of the wardrobes that was in the home.\u00a0 Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California also owns an original wardrobe, which has lead to both colleges having \u201cWardrobe Wars\u201d over who owns the wardrobe<\/i> that inspired The Chronicles of Narnia<\/i>.\u00a0 But beyond that, we unfortunately do not know what happened to a lot of the items from the Kilns.<\/p>\n

Question 4: Did Lewis use the current toilet in the Kilns?<\/b><\/p>\n

You\u2019d be surprised how often I get this question.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually a joke, but I play along with it anyway.\u00a0 But the actual answer is yes and no.\u00a0 He used the toilets in the home (the two original ones), but the original toilet seats have been replaced.<\/p>\n

Question 3: How did Lewis get all the way to Oxford City Centre?<\/b><\/p>\n

As stated in Question 7, Lewis did not drive: He attempted once when he was young and was so bad at it that his family forbid him from ever trying again.\u00a0 So when he wanted to get into Oxford he would often times walk from the Kilns to the city centre.\u00a0 If walking was not an option, he would either take the bus, have Fred Paxford drive him, or, most frequently, join Warnie in the side car of his motorcycle.<\/p>\n

Question 2: What happened to Lewis\u2019 stepsons David and Douglas?<\/b><\/p>\n

We actually do not know a lot of what happened to David Gresham.\u00a0 Last we heard, David resides in Switzerland and has no association with the legacy of Lewis.\u00a0 Douglas Gresham can tell you much more about his life in his book Lenten Lands<\/i>, but in a short explanation, Douglas actually spent many years in Tasmania becoming a renowned DJ (a feature you\u2019ll find obvious if you hear his booming and commanding voice).\u00a0 He also has an amazing family and has made his own name for himself instead of leaning on his stepfather\u2019s renown.\u00a0 Douglas is currently head of the Lewis estate, appearing at conferences and involved with the film adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia<\/i>.\"Bridge<\/a><\/p>\n

Question 1: What are your thoughts on Lewis and Mrs. Moore?<\/b><\/p>\n

This is actually the most frequent question asked whenever I give a tour.\u00a0 There is a lot of gray area in the relationship between Lewis and Mrs. Moore.\u00a0 Some biographies lean hard on this grayness, others prod less into this area of Lewis\u2019 life.\u00a0 From my readings on Lewis, as well as from conversations with scholars of Lewis, if there was ever anything romantic in Lewis\u2019 and Mrs. Moore\u2019s relationship, it ended before moving to the Kilns.\u00a0 And in complete honesty, if there was some sort of affair, I do not think it matters.\u00a0 Lewis was a human; he had flaws. But upon becoming a Christian, he eventually set right his relationship with Mrs. Moore.<\/p>\n

All of these answers are completely my own opinion and do not reflect the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s views on the life of Lewis and the Kilns.\u00a0 But hopefully this answers some of the questions my readers may have had about Lewis and the Kilns.\u00a0 Until next time, this is Nick Haddad, signing off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick Haddad currently serves as the C.S. Lewis Foundation\u2019s Assistant to the Warden for The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns. Before moving to Oxford, Nick served the Foundation as an intern in our Redlands office, as well as received his B.A. at Belmont University in Mass Communications. As a part of his time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[618,619,620,602,643],"class_list":["post-5115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-maureen","tag-mrs-moore","tag-shadowlands","tag-the-chronicles-of-nick-haddad","tag-the-kilns"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Chronicles of Nick Haddad - April 15, 2014 - Living the Legacy of C.S. 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