The Way of Dante: Going Through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven with C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Charles Williams

by Richard Hughes Gibson, Nicole Mazzarella (Afterword)

Overview

Rediscovering Dante with Lewis, Sayers, and Williams

For centuries, readers have marveled at the imaginative brilliance of authors like C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Charles Williams. But what inspired these literary giants? The Way of Dante takes you on a journey of discovering how the medieval poet Dante Alighieri and his masterwork, The Divine Comedy, shaped their thoughts, artistry, and faith.

In The Way of Dante, Richard Hughes Gibson reveals the profound influence of The Divine Comedy on the writings of Sayers, Williams, and Lewis through

• Following the authors as they read, reflect on, and debate Dante’s allegorical journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven
• Challenging common misconceptions about Dante’s work
• Exploring how Dante prompts reflection on sin, love, and glory
• Revealing the psychological, social, and theological lessons learned

The Way of Dante is ideal for readers, scholars, teachers, and students interested in The Divine Comedy; the works of Sayers, Lewis, and Williams; or the spiritual dimensions of storytelling. Step into the minds of three of the 20th century’s most beloved writers and be inspired to view Dante through a new lens.

About the Series

The Hansen Series celebrates the literary and spiritual contributions of seven British authors whose works have captivated readers across generations: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. These seven authors were all deeply involved in the friendships and intellectual exchanges that shaped the Inklings, a mid—twentieth—century group of Christian writers and thinkers in Oxford, England. This series invites readers to deepen their engagement with these timeless voices and their enduring influence on literature, faith, and the life of the imagination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514013380
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	12/02/2025
Series:	Hansen Series
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Richard Hughes Gibson (PhD, University of Virginia) is professor of English at Wheaton College. He is the author of Forgiveness in Victorian Literature and Paper Electronic Literature and coauthor of Charitable Writing.

Table of Contents

Series Preface by G. Walter Hansen
Introduction
Abbreviations

1. Three Prehistories
2. Meeting on the Way: A Story in Six Combinations
3. Hell Within and Without
4. Much Ado About Allegory
5. The Purgatorial Ascent of Love
6. The Problem of Glory
7. Patterns of Glory

Coda: Lewis Translates the Vision
Afterword: Purgatorio: The Way of Mary and The Way of the Artist, by Nicole Mazzarella
Acknowledgments
Image Credits
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is the book for which many readers of Charles Williams, Dorothy Sayers, and C. S. Lewis have been waiting, and one that richly fulfills their anticipations. With solid scholarship and yet a light touch, the author shows how interest in Dante held this trio of writers together as a network, motivating, critiquing, quoting, and promoting each other as readers of the medieval poet. With keen insight and a lively manner that belies the difficulty of the task, the author clearly demonstrates how the complex relations between Williams, Sayers, and Lewis allow the many—sidedness of Dante to emerge today—as poet, storyteller, humorist, and theologian. Always illuminating and interesting, this book is essential reading for all who value the writings of these three modern interpreters of Dante."

Paul S. Fiddes

"In The Way of Dante, Richard Hughes Gibson does not teach us about Dante; rather through Dante, we learn more about the reality of sin, ourselves, and God. By uniting Williams, Lewis, and Sayers's writings on The Divine Comedy, Gibson grants readers a blessed opportunity of a cotaught Great Books seminar, a dialogue of the dead orchestrated with vitality around one of the tradition's eternal poets!"

Jessica Hooten Wilson