Which C.S. Lewis novel was published under the name Clive Hamilton in 1919?

Spirits in Bondage was published under the name Clive Hamilton in 1919. It was C.S. Lewis’s first published book, a collection of poems released while he was still a young man.

The volume reflects influences from classical literature, romantic poetry, and Lewis’s early philosophical outlook. Its poems often explore suffering, nature, mortality, and questions about God. The title suggests confinement and spiritual unease, themes that Lewis would later revisit from a very different Christian perspective.

Lewis chose the pseudonym Clive Hamilton rather than publishing under his familiar name. “Clive” came from his birth name, Clive Staples Lewis, while “Hamilton” honored his mother’s family. Later editions identify Lewis as the author, making the book’s literary importance easier to place within his career.

Spirits in Bondage is sometimes confused with Dymer, another early poetic work. Dymer appeared in 1926 and used the pseudonym Lewis, not Clive Hamilton. Neither book belongs to the Narnia series.