J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary society with C.S. Lewis and other Oxford writers was called The Inklings. The group met mainly in Oxford from the early 1930s until the early 1950s, often at The Eagle and Child pub, nicknamed the Bird and Baby.
The Inklings were an informal discussion and reading circle rather than a formal club with a fixed membership list. Members shared works in progress, discussed literature and theology, and offered criticism. Tolkien read portions of The Lord of the Rings to the group, while Lewis was among its most prominent members.
The society also included writers such as Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. The name was connected with the idea of an “inkling,” meaning a notion or partial understanding. It is sometimes confused with an official Oxford academic organization, but The Inklings were primarily a private literary fellowship.