![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vr_trakowskiI read And God Came In (Lyle W. Dorsett) today, mostly on the bus. It's a brief biographical look at Helen Joy Davidman, poet, ex-Communist, and Christian apologist. I will admit right off the bat that my main interest in her is her connection to C.S. Lewis--I've never read any of her writing, though I may if I can lay hands on it. I suppose one of the descriptors for her should also be Jew or ex-Jew, except that she was raised pretty much outside the heritage and the faith and only tried to follow the latter briefly as an adult, at least according to this biography.
The book is not long or in-depth, though Mr. Dorsett did his research (he is also a Lewis scholar). It's more a quick look at her life with a focus on how she became a Christian, though to be fair the author isn't pretending it's anything else. It is interesting, with excerpts from her poetry and letters here and there and various quotes dropped in. And it's written from a Christian perspective--from the inside, as it were.
So it's not really a true biography, at least as I consider such. It's worth reading though, if one is interested in either Davidman or Lewis. I am not into poetry or Christian apologetics (bar Lewis and Max Lucado) so I don't know if anyone knows of her outside the Lewis sphere. I hope someone does. Her friendship with him was an important part of both their lives, but it was by no means all of hers, and it would be a pity if that were the only reason she were remembered today.
Apparently there will be a longer biography of her released next year. I may look into it, even if my interest is biased.
I am surprised to find that this book seems to be still in print, or returned to print. The copy I have, though, is a paperback from 1984.
The book is not long or in-depth, though Mr. Dorsett did his research (he is also a Lewis scholar). It's more a quick look at her life with a focus on how she became a Christian, though to be fair the author isn't pretending it's anything else. It is interesting, with excerpts from her poetry and letters here and there and various quotes dropped in. And it's written from a Christian perspective--from the inside, as it were.
So it's not really a true biography, at least as I consider such. It's worth reading though, if one is interested in either Davidman or Lewis. I am not into poetry or Christian apologetics (bar Lewis and Max Lucado) so I don't know if anyone knows of her outside the Lewis sphere. I hope someone does. Her friendship with him was an important part of both their lives, but it was by no means all of hers, and it would be a pity if that were the only reason she were remembered today.
Apparently there will be a longer biography of her released next year. I may look into it, even if my interest is biased.
I am surprised to find that this book seems to be still in print, or returned to print. The copy I have, though, is a paperback from 1984.