Which C.S. Lewis novel was his first published work of fiction?

C.S. Lewis’s first published work of fiction was The Pilgrim’s Regress. Published in 1933, it is an allegorical novel subtitled An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason and Romanticism.

The book follows a character named John as he undertakes a journey shaped by spiritual longing, intellectual arguments, and encounters with figures representing ideas and attitudes. Its title deliberately recalls John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, but Lewis’s book is a modern, explicitly philosophical response rather than a retelling.

The Pilgrim’s Regress appeared before Lewis became famous for The Screwtape Letters, the Space Trilogy, and Narnia. It can be challenging for modern readers because many characters embody abstract concepts and because the book reflects debates in Lewis’s own intellectual development. Lewis later wrote a preface explaining some of the ideas and references behind it.

The novel’s publication date also places it shortly after Lewis’s return to Christian belief. That timing helps explain why the work combines fiction with sustained arguments about Christianity, reason, desire, and the search for meaning.