Which writer and scholar was C.S. Lewis’s close friend in the Inklings?

J.R.R. Tolkien was C.S. Lewis’s close friend in the Inklings. The two writers met at Oxford and developed a friendship grounded in shared literary interests, conversation, and Christian belief.

The Inklings were an informal Oxford literary discussion group that met mainly at The Eagle and Child pub and in college rooms. Members read drafts aloud and discussed mythology, poetry, fiction, and theology. Tolkien’s developing work on Middle-earth and Lewis’s imaginative and apologetic writing benefited from this intellectual community.

Their friendship was important but not free of changes. Lewis helped encourage Tolkien’s confidence as a writer, while Tolkien played a role in Lewis’s return to Christian belief. They later became less close, partly as their careers and personal circumstances changed. Charles Williams and Owen Barfield were also important Inklings, so they are plausible alternatives, but Tolkien is the best-known literary friend associated with Lewis.