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<\/a>I cannot properly express how influential the Inklings<\/a> have been on my life. Not only do I enjoy the works they wrote, I have found many of their ideas I have helped shape the way I think and write.\u00a0 One significant notion of theirs that has had a lasting influence on me was the way they saw myth<\/a> was to be valued, seen not as some sort of falsehood, but rather as a different way for transcendent truths to be expressed in human conventions. I was under ten when I began reading the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S, Lewis, and a teen when I started reading their non-fiction and scholarly works. Next, I began reading what other Inklings wrote, starting with Charles Williams and Owen Barfield, and eventually, \u00a0the works of those who participated in the Inklings meetings, whether or not they were deemed official members, \u00a0including, but not limited to, the works of Warren (Warnie) Lewis, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, Lord David Cecil, Nevil Coghill, and finally, John Wain.<\/a> John Wain<\/a> was, at one point, a student of C.S. Lewis, but \u00a0he became much more, as he became a university professor, literary critic, poet, and author, and it was his love for literature which had him connect with the rest of the Inklings. \u00a0While Wain, like the others of the Inklings, believed in the importance of the literary tradition, his literary interests was quite different from most of the Inklings, as he was not interested in the fantastic or mythological stories as much as he was in realistic fiction, the type which he would write throughout his life. It was, in part, because of his different literary tastes, but also, his differing views on life in general (he considered the other Inklings to be too socially conservative), that he would often say he should not be considered an Inkling as much as an associate of theirs who often went to their meetings. \u00a0I, myself, disagree with him, for I think it is by being an associate, by being someone \u00a0who went to several of their meetings, he was one of the Inklings. The problem is he wanted to essentialize the group, similar to many of their\u00a0 fans do, which then made him say he did not fit. But it is because he was different than the rest that I believe he was an important member of the group, the kind who could and did act like a foil to the rest, that is, as one of the challengers who helped the group as a whole become better than if everyone \u00a0followed the image which has needlessly been given to it (such as all of them being Christian<\/a>, which was not the case).<\/p>\n I have been slowly reading through the works, especially the fiction of John Wain, \u00a0for many years. \u00a0While I was lucky and found some of his novels available at my local used bookstore a few years ago, which allowed me to begin my journey through his oeuvre, many of his works have taken me longer to locate and buy. Now, as I am more like Tolkien and Lewis, interested in mythic or fantastic tales, Wain\u2019s novels, if they were written by someone else, would not be the kind which I would have bought and read. I am glad I did. Some of his novels are much better, much more interesting than others, but all of them have had something in them which held my interest. Often, it is not the characters, because, most of his characters represent a kind of person who does not seem to possess a strong moral center, and so, turn out being someone who does things which I find more than questionable, but contemptible (such as having adulterous affairs). Indeed, many times I get a sense that the main character might even be misogynistic, at least to a small degree, as they often treat women more of objects of their desire than anything else. It can difficult to get around that aspect of his novels, especially as I wonder how much of what goes in them reflects some aspect of Wain\u2019s own character and life. But it is not the only thing which happens in his novels. There is much more going on in them than his character\u2019s lustful desires and the way they seek to have them fulfilled, even if that often is a big part of the novel; rather, it is what happens in the rest of the novels, in the situation or context which leads to the protagonist\u2019s romantic interests, where I find John Wain, and his novels, at their best.\u00a0 For example, I just finished the second novel of his Oxford trilogy<\/a>, Comedies. <\/em>The trilogy is about the life of\u00a0 Peter Leonard, \u00a0showing how he got into Oxford in the 1930s, the way he dealt with undergraduate life in Oxford (including his romantic dalliances which lead him to meet his wife), the way he became an Oxford Fellow (don) before the start of World\u00a0 War II, the lead-up to World War II in Oxford, the way the war changed things, and finally, in the last book (which I have yet to read), what he is like at the end of his career.\u00a0 The trilogy give great insight to the way things were like at Oxford, and, this is what makes the trilogy \u00a0quite fascinating, much more than the particular interests and desires of Peter\u00a0 Leonard.\u00a0 Comedies, <\/em>for example, gives us a glimpse of how Hitler and Mussolini were perceived by the public before World War II began with some of the arguments the dons had concerning Hitler and Mussolini, with one promoting Mussolini by saying he was a man of peace, and anyone who wanted peace would support him, and if one did not, they must want war. The debates are very similar to the kind being had in the United States concerning Putin and Trump, and as such, are very apropos. We are also given a glimpse of the growing awareness that war with Germany was inevitable, with Peter Leonard befriending two Jewish exiles, scholars who had to settle and work at the Oxford University Press instead of teach, scholars who helped give him insight and actually made him concerned about the future of England. It is this element of the book, the representation of what was happening before the war (and\u00a0 not what happened during the war, which takes up a good portion of the novel as well), which I appreciated the most, and is why I would recommend it to others; however, it is best to read \u00a0Where the Rivers Meet<\/a>, <\/em>the first book of the trilogy, before Comedies <\/em>(even if Wain suggested one did not have to), because that is where we are properly introduced to Peter Leonard, his family, and the people he met which continue to have important roles in Comedies. Where the Rivers Meet<\/em>\u2019s most interesting element is the way it reveals the kind of life had in Oxford in the 1930s, a kind of life which was destroyed by the war, for good\u00a0 (in some ways) and for ill (in others).<\/p>\n I truly find John Wain to be a necessary counterpoint<\/a> to Tolkien and Lewis, making his voice an important voice in the Inklings<\/a>. He, like them, was extremely interest in literature and its value, but unlike them, he represented a rather modern viewpoint, indeed, one which led him to be seen as one of the \u201cAngry Young Men<\/a>;\u201d his beliefs and ideals were vastly different from Tolkien or Lewis, but again, it is those differences which help make John Wain important. They help make the Inklings into something more than what it is normally treated, as a group of Christian romanticists. One should not expect a Christian message from his works, nor the kinds of high fantasy one gets from Tolkien or Lewis. But what one should expect are interesting, modern situations, texts which highlight key elements of modern society, often the most problematic elements, doing so in a way which is just as tainted as modern society itself. I have only read the first two works of his Oxford Trilogy, and, because of the context, and what they highlight of a way of life which is now no more, I think they work as a great introduction to Wain and his works. Other novels of interest include Hurry On Down<\/a>, <\/em>a work which helps explain why Wain was known as one of the Angry Young Men,\u00a0 for it is about a young man, after finishing his university degree, finding it difficult to make his way in the world, A Winter in The Hills<\/a>, <\/em>and The Pardoner\u2019s Tale<\/a>. <\/em>Many would recommend his scholarly works, such as his Samuel Johnson: A Biography<\/a><\/em>. He is, for the most part, a neglected figure who I do think should be read with the rest of the Inklings, but also, as a writer independent from them (which, to be sure, is likely why he tried to disclaim membership with the Inklings).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n * This Is Part XLVIII Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n