What was the title of C.S. Lewis’s 1940 book about pain and the existence of God?

The Problem of Pain is C.S. Lewis’s 1940 book about suffering and the existence of God.

Published in 1940, The Problem of Pain examines why suffering exists if God is good and powerful. Lewis discusses subjects including divine goodness, human freedom, punishment, pain, and the possibility of heavenly joy. The book is an apologetic work, meaning it presents arguments intended to explain and defend Christian belief.

Readers sometimes confuse it with A Grief Observed, which Lewis wrote after Joy Davidman’s death and which presents a much more personal response to bereavement. The Problem of Pain is primarily a theological argument, while A Grief Observed is a raw account of grief and doubt. Their different purposes make the distinction important.