Few books leave a mark like Mere Christianity. I have heard countless stories of questions answered, lives turned upside down, and faith renewed at the hands of this powerful volume. And I have found that because of this, people often treat their copies like heirlooms or sacred milestones in the journey of their spiritual lives.
When my husband and I first got married, faced with the daunting task of paring down our enormous book collection to fit into our very tiny first apartment, we both insisted on keeping our own copies of Mere Christianity. His was filled with jagged underlines, mine thoroughly highlighted. We were unwavering on this. I was holding tightly not just to my own edition, but to my dad’s as well, filled with his handwritten notes in the margins—a road map of his own conversion to Christianity during his college years.
I think the reason people cherish their copies is because this book isn’t just a book. It’s the marker of a moment, where people feel that inexplicable closeness with God, or they have a breakthrough after so many years of grappling with questions on faith.
Now that C.S. Lewis isn’t just a part of my personal life but my professional one as well, you can imagine how many copies of Mere Christianity cram the bookshelves in my home. So, when it was announced that HarperOne would be publishing a deluxe edition, my heart soared. The book is so thoughtfully created with its gilded edges, gold foiled cover, and gorgeous end papers. And while “Deluxe Edition” might be the official term, I can’t help but think of it as the keepsake edition. It’s the edition I’ll be gifting to people. And it’s the edition I will keep for myself, putting my own mark on it in this new season of life where, inevitably, I will want to highlight an entirely new selection of passages.
If you have been looking for an excuse to read Mere Christianity for the first time or the hundredth time, or need a good Easter gift or keepsake for someone you love—Mere Christianity Deluxe Edition is out tomorrow, April 2nd, wherever books are sold.
I loved Mere Christianity, and I remember how the chapter "Making and Begetting" clarified the meaning of the Trinity and the Creeds for me early in my Christian walk.
It's a wonderful thing when a particular work of literature ushers us from death into Life. For me it was a poem.
Looks great! Do you know of any plans for the complete letters to be republished? (Genuinely) asking for a friend!