The fascinating story of the woman immortalized in the film Shadowlands and in C. S. Lewis's memoir, A Grief Observed
Abigail Santamaria holds a MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, Jentel Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Title: Joy: Poet, Seeker and the Woman Who Captivated C. S. Lewis
Author: Santamaria, Abigail
ISBN: 9780281074297
Binding:
Publisher: SPCK Publishing
Publication Date: 2016-06-16
Number of Pages: 432
Weight: 0.5036 kg
Abigail Santamaria's Joy is . . . a relentlessly focused and detailed biography of Joy Davidman . . . a serious and substantial work [that] takes the reader far beyond the familiar romance of the film and play Shadowlands, and the brilliance of Lewis's meditation on Davidman's death, A Grief Observed . . . This groundbreaking study contributes not just to established Lewis studies, but brings to the foreground the cost of being a talented woman in a patriarchal world. It makes its case for the possibility of Christian faith in a compromised world with elegance and skill. * Church Times *
Joy Davidman was manipulative, endearing, brilliant and obsessive - and C. S. Lewis, one of the most influential and beloved spiritual writers of the twentieth century, fell in love with all of it. A complicated woman for our times, Davidman's search for meaning and her final arrival at love will resonate deeply long after the reader has closed Santamaria's masterful biography. -- Kate Burford, author of Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe
Abigail Santamaria has written a luscious Narnia tale for grown-ups, a literary biography that takes the shape of a quest narrative as the brilliant, idealistic Joy Davidman Gresham, writer and free spirit, adopts one cause after another until finally setting her cap for her spiritual mentor, C. S. Jack Lewis. Santamaria's astonishing detective work reveals the surprising truth behind Lewis's description of the couple as a sinful woman married to a sinful man , even as she portrays their late-life love affair as salvational to them both. -- Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life
A biography about the brilliant and brash New Yorker who captured C. S. Lewis's heart was long overdue, so I'm thrilled to report that Abigail Santamaria does not disappoint. Her highly readable book should be the definitive biography of Joy Davidman for a long time to come. -- Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling author of Miracles and Bonhoeffer
Joy is a delightful and fast-paced romp through a fascinating life. I read most of this book in one sitting, genuinely curious about whether this feisty, brilliant woman was going to get her happy ending. A truly impressive, even enviable, debut for a writer and a historian. -- Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the forthcoming Madam: The Notorious Life and Times of Polly Adler
A tour de force. Plumbing the depths of unpublished documents, Santamaria reveals the vision and writing of a young woman whose coming of age in the turbulent 1930s is both distinctive and emblematic of her time. -- Susan Hertog, author of Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life
This brilliantly researched biography has changed me for good. Until I read this book I could never take Joy Davidman to my heart; she now stands before me as real and believable as anyone I know. Joy offers a wonderful account of an unforgettable woman and her vibrant life; it is no wonder C.S. Lewis loved her so much. -- Walter Hooper, personal secretary to C. S. Lewis and editor of The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis
Joy Davidman is best known as the wife of C. S. Lewis and many people are familiar with the depiction of their marriage in the book (and then film) Shadowlands, but we now have this 300 plus page biography that finally does her justice. What impressed this reviewer was Joy's raw humanity that was redeemed by God. It is plain (and she acknowledged it) that her conversion was utterly of grace. Her unique personality and talents were precious to God and used by God in His service. Every page of this biography shows the value of the original papers, interviews and oral histories that went into its composition. On reading this book, fans of C. S. Lewis, if they are not already, will become fans of Joy Davidman as well. -- Greg Goswell * New Life Christian Magazine *
