The Hobbit ,The Inklings And The New Middle Ages.

It is of course JRR Tolkien and C S Lewis who made the Inklings during the 1930s and 1940s into the group that has been synonymous with literary fantasy.The third major Inkling Charles Williams was equally interesting but you will look in vain for editions of his novels on the same shelves in a book shop as Tolkien and Lewis.It is possible to find second hand editions of his works but takes some perseverance to do so.Charles Williams was a closer friend of C S Lewis than of Tolkien.,his novels are on occult themes such as the Grail,Tarot cards,Solomon's treasure and life after death which take place in a modern(20th century setting)The edition I have of his novel War In Heaven on the grail theme was actually published in the Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult in the 1970s.He  wrote poetry on the theme of the Arthurian legend and  was also a former member of The Order of The Golden Dawn the magical society which also numbered WB Yeats.Arthur Machen And Aleister Crowley among its members.The main influence on C S Lewis was on the concluding novel to his space trilogy That Hideous Strength which has been described as a Charles Williams novel written by C S Lewis.The Inklings were inspired mainly by English Literature from the Anglo-Saxon  period down to Milton in the 17th century as well as fantasy and also the science fiction of H G Wells and Olaf Stapledon.