Which Cambridge college did C.S. Lewis join as a fellow in 1954?

C.S. Lewis joined Magdalene College, Cambridge, as a fellow in 1954. That year he became the first holder of the Cambridge Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English, a position he held until 1963.

Lewis had spent most of his academic career at Oxford, first as a fellow and tutor at Magdalen College, Oxford. The two institutions are easy to confuse because their names are similar and both are historic colleges. His move to Cambridge did not end his connection with Oxford, where he continued to live at The Kilns.

Magdalene College, Cambridge, is pronounced “Maud-lin,” as is traditional for the college’s name. Lewis’s Cambridge appointment recognized his scholarship in older English literature and allowed him to teach and write while remaining a major public Christian author.