Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis

Meet the brilliant writer, fiercely independent mother, and passionate woman who captured the heart of C.S. Lewis and inspired the books that still enchant and change us today, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea.

When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis--known as Jack--she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn't holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford professor and the beloved writer of The Chronicles of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters.

Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, found a love that even the threat of death couldn't destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren't meant to have a voice--and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn't know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer's life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story--a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

  • Full-length historical novel about the wife of C.S. Lewis
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs

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Published Oct 2, 2018

416 pages

Average rating: 8

1 RATING

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Community Reviews

BrendaMillerUA
Aug 22, 2025
8/10 stars
Joy and Jack feel like old friends in Patti Callahan’s Becoming Mrs. Lewis. With remarkable sensitivity, Callahan draws readers into the intellectual, quirky, and deeply human world of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. The novel doesn’t just tell their story—it immerses us in it, allowing us to walk alongside them as their friendship blossoms. Callahan captures the wit, brilliance, and vulnerability of both writers, making their conversations and inner struggles feel real and immediate. As a reader, I was thoroughly engrossed, carried along by a narrative that is as thoughtful as it is tender. This is more than a love story; it’s a portrait of two searching souls who found both purpose and companionship in one another. Becoming Mrs. Lewis is beautifully written and profoundly moving—a story that lingers long after the final page.

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