The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien
by John Hendrix; illus. by the author
High School    Abrams Fanfare    224 pp.
9/24    9781419746345    $24.99
e-book ed.  9781683359630    $22.49

In this ambitious tandem biography of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, we are presented with two approaches to the lives and friendship of these noted writers. A straightforward linear biography, accompanied by copious illustrations, places the men in their historical contexts using dense and sophisticated prose. (“Militarism, intertwined alliances, and a mis-placed nationalism fomented a desire for adventure on the field of battle.”) A second route through the book involves two guides, a cartoon lion and wizard, who begin by leading us, in meandering graphic-format style, through the wide-ranging subject of mythology (the book ends with a similar examination of fairy tales) and later take their turn carrying the biographical material. In the individual life stories, Hendrix chooses well-worn through lines: Lewis’s movement from atheism to Christian belief and Tolkien’s struggle to be taken seriously as a writer of fantasy. It is, however, the story of platonic male friendship between “Jack” and “Tollers” that packs the biggest emotional punch. Hendrix captures, in this portrait of a meeting of minds, the particular joys of their friendship, its intensity, and its tragic unraveling. What went wrong? Professional jealousy? The inevitability of touchy writerly egos? Lewis’s marriage? Readers are left to wander back through the pages, or consult other sources suggested in the exhaustive scholarly back matter (including extensive source notes, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index), to draw their own conclusions.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.