Which 1938 novel begins C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy?

Out of the Silent Planet begins C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy.

Published in 1938, the novel introduces philologist Elwin Ransom, who is kidnapped and taken to Mars, known to its inhabitants as Malacandra. The story combines planetary adventure with Christian themes, moral speculation, and Lewis’s interest in language and mythology.

The book is followed by Perelandra, published in 1943, and That Hideous Strength, published in 1945. Although the three novels share a setting and ideas, their plots and tones differ substantially. The first book is the trilogy’s interplanetary adventure, while the third shifts much of its action to Earth.

Lewis wrote the trilogy partly as a response to the scientific romances of H.G. Wells and other writers. The title “Space Trilogy” is common, though the books are also called the Ransom Trilogy because Ransom is the central character in each novel.