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Abstract

General Editor’s Note:

C. S. Lewis delivered a series of lectures in February 1943 for the University of Durham, published the month prior as The Abolition of Man. It remains a robust defense of moral law and objective values against the onslaught of what Lewis soon labeled “The Poison of Subjectivism.” He argued that children who are not schooled in ancient wisdom regarding mercy, justice, beneficence, and duty become not simply self-centered adults but easily manipulated people. A society bent on pursuing such a path becomes a society in peril.

Last year’s issue of Sehnsucht included a call for papers in which scholars from a variety of disciplines were invited to engage with this seminal text. The current volume of Sehnsucht is the result of that call. Nine new articles on The Abolition, and its imaginative twin That Hideous Strength, are preceeded by a reprint of Owen Barfield’s essay “The Riddle of the Sphinx,” introduced by Rory O’Connor. The journal offers special thanks to the Owen Barfield Literary Estate for making available to a wider audience this 1964 engagement with the Lewis text.

The response to last year’s call for papers was so robust that it necessitated the expansion of our Editorial Body. Both Josiah Peterson and Sarah R. A. Waters were welcomed as new and will soon move to other areas of responsibility. In addition, Reviews Editor Crystal Hurd has resigned after nine years of dedicated service. We wish her well in her continuing scholarship.

The year also saw the passing of Stan Mattson, an early supporter of Sehnsucht, who served on our advisory board from 2008 to 2021. As Founder and President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, he gave to many Lewis scholars and readers “a tall ship and a star to steer by” as well as “a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover.” Gayne Anacker has written a tribute to Stan which doubles as an informative history of the C. S. Lewis Foundation.

Next year, besides the production of our regular Volume 19 (2025), we anticipate the introduction of a new series of publications: Sehnsucht Lewis Studies Supplements. This series will feature proceedings of significant academic gatherings focused on C. S. Lewis and ready English translations of significant secondary works on Lewis. Supplement, Volume 1 will be entitled Age of Discovery: Essays from the Inaugural Undiscovered C. S. Lewis Conference.

The efforts of the entire Editorial Body are substantial, and I remain grateful for what each editor contributes as well as for the labors of every author, poet, and reviewer. As always, Sehnsucht remains committed to the collaborative goal of upholding the highest of academic standards while fostering new work on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis.

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