Descent Into Hell

Charles Williams was a British poet, novelist, playwright, theologian, and literary critic. Williams was a member of the Inklings, a literary discussion group at Oxford University in England, whose members included J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Owen Barfield.


Generally thought to be Williams's best novel, Descent Into Hell deals with the various forms of selfishness, and how sin brings about the necessity for redemptive acts. From beginning to end, Williams crafts a story that reads more like a theological drama which, though obscure, is deeply personal and engaged with humanity's need for communion with God and one another. Williams believed that the source of sin and alienation from God and one another is our failure to live according to "co-inherence." At the conclusion of the novel, you will understand why C.S. Lewis was drawn to Christ through this man's work.