Deeper Heaven

A Reader's Guide to C. S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy

By: Christiana Hale

Narrated by: Timothy Stephenson

C. S. Lewis' Ransom Trilogy, better known as "the Space Trilogy", is a much-neglected and yet critically important part of Lewis's works. It has captivated and bewildered readers and listeners since its publication, and though hundreds of books about Lewis have been written, few seek to navigate the maze that is Lewis' "space-travel story". These books are a distillation in novel form of one of Lewis' favorite subjects, a subject whose melody is woven into almost everything that Lewis ever wrote: the medieval model of the cosmos.

Deeper Heaven is a guide and companion through the magical web of medieval cosmology, ancient myth, and critique of modern philosophies that makes up the oft-maligned "Space Trilogy". A student and teacher of literature and history herself, Christiana Hale will walk you through the trilogy one step at a time, with eyes fixed where Lewis himself fixed his: on Deep Heaven and beyond. In the process, many questions will be answered: What does Christ have to do with Jupiter? Why does Lewis care so much about the medieval conception of the heavens? Why should we? And, perhaps the most puzzling question of all: Why is Merlin in That Hideous Strength?

©2020 Christiana Hale (P)2021 Roman Roads Press

Essential Reading

A sword of light, parting the mists of Lewis’ most enigmatic series. If you love the Ransom Trilogy, this book is for you.

Simply incredible

The ending brought tears to my eyes. And all the rest was a wonderful look into the Ransom trilogy via the medieval cosmos, which beautifully complemented Michael Ward's Planet Narnia. Absolutely recommended reading!

Elegant, building layers well, an excellent guide

While this began as a reader's guide alongside a beloved author's modern fairytale masterpiece, it ended as a companion and honored fellow travelor to a truly great Dante of his time-Miss Hale proved herself a worthy student of a worthy master. Loved it and will read again every year. Thank you to the author!

Bringing a Whole New Meaning

The Ransom trilogy is by itself a fantastic and beautiful piece of work. With this review of the trilogy has expanded my love of this beautiful philosophical journey.

An Elegant Companion to Some of My Favorite Books

I mostly avoid books which seek to expound on other books because I already have a natural tendency to "murder to dissect" which has robbed me of a lot of joy in my literate life. However, this one has been on my periphery for so long that I decided to give it a go and I'm so glad I did!

Hale gracefully avoids the "Well actually..." approach by adopting a "Did you see that too?!" and "How beautiful is that?!" tone instead. There is much joy, love, and admiration for Lewis' eminently important trilogy that mingles with her expert and elegant observation and commentary.

I truly cannot recommend this enough for fans of the Ransom trilogy or someone just wanting to understand and plumb the deep, deep depths of it. Even though I just finished reading these books for the zillionth time last month, upon finishing this, I immediately downloaded them all again on my Audible app and can't wait to dive back in!