What was the title of C.S. Lewis’s 1942 book presenting Christianity through imaginary letters from a demon?

The Screwtape Letters was C.S. Lewis’s 1942 book presenting Christianity through imaginary letters from a demon.

The Screwtape Letters consists of letters from Screwtape, an experienced demon, to his younger nephew Wormwood. Screwtape advises Wormwood on tempting a human subject away from Christian faith. Lewis uses the reversed viewpoint to satirize temptation, self-deception and the habits that weaken moral attention.

Lewis wrote the book during the Second World War, and it was first published in Britain in 1942. The unusual epistolary structure made the work distinctive among his apologetic books. Its humor is often sharp, because the demons’ professional language exposes their selfishness and incompetence.

A frequent mix-up is with Mere Christianity, which developed from radio talks and presents arguments more directly. The Screwtape Letters is fictional in form, although its purpose is theological and moral reflection. The named demon in the letters is Screwtape, while Wormwood is the junior demon receiving the advice.