A book that was never sold, sent out as a Christmas greeting just weeks after C.S. Lewis died. This is one of the quietest, most moving rarities in the whole Lewis canon.
In the spring of 1963, C.S. Lewis finished what turned out to be his last book: a set of letters on prayer written to “Malcolm,” an imaginary old friend. Lewis had tried to write a book about prayer once before and given up. This time, using the easy voice of one friend writing to another, he got it done.
He never saw it published. On 22 November 1963 Lewis died at his home, the Kilns, in Oxford. It was the same day John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas and Aldous Huxley died in California, so the news of his death was almost lost in the noise.
A few weeks later, his American publisher Harcourt, Brace & World sent out a small hardcover as a holiday greeting to friends of the author and the house. They called it Beyond the Bright Blur. It was the first time any of the Malcolm letters had appeared in print, a few months before Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer came out in 1964.
What’s inside
The book reprints letters 15, 16 and 17 of Letters to Malcolm, about 30 pages in all.
The title comes from letter 15. When Lewis sat down to pray, he found that his mind tended to call up a “bright blur,” a vague, glowing picture of God that was really just his own idea. Real prayer, he said, starts when you put that picture aside and let the real God meet you, the way you would let a real person correct your idea of them.
Letter 17 is one of the most loved things Lewis wrote on worship. He argues that adoration can start with ordinary pleasures: sunlight in a wood, the smell of something good, a cool breeze. Each one, if you let it, can point straight back to the One who made it.
It’s easy to see why the publisher picked these three letters for a Christmas gift. They read like a short, gentle farewell.
Why it’s so hard to find
Beyond the Bright Blur was never offered for sale. It went out only as a gift from Harcourt, Brace & World, and the print run is usually said to have been only a few hundred copies, with about 350 the number most often quoted. Many copies went to writers and friends of the publisher. One that belonged to the poet John Ciardi, signed with his name and with a passage underlined in red ink, has turned up on the rare book market.
The book was issued in a thin, translucent waxed paper jacket. These were never meant to last. Most were torn, thrown away or crumbled long ago, so a copy that still has its original wrapper is uncommon. A copy with the publisher’s printed greeting card still with it is rarer still.
This copy
This is the first and only edition, still in its original waxed paper jacket and still with the small printed card that went out with it. The card reads, in red italic type, “With the Season’s Greetings from Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.” This is the very card that told the person who received it that the book was a gift.
The title page is a lovely piece of design, with “C. S. LEWIS” above the title, a purple floral ornament in the center, and the Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. New York imprint at the foot.
Condition: The book itself is clean and bright, with a crisp title page. The original waxed paper jacket has toned to a warm amber, as these always do, with chipping along the top and bottom edges, a small loss near the upper right, and a soft crease on the back panel. Considering how fragile these wrappers are, it is in good shape. The greeting card is clean and crisp.
I’ve had this little book on my shelf for a long time, and I’m glad to pass it on to someone who will treasure the story behind it.
- C.S. Lewis, Beyond the Bright Blur, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1963
- First and only edition, printed as a holiday gift and never sold
- First appearance in print of letters 15–17 of Letters to Malcolm, Lewis’s last book
- Original waxed paper jacket
- Includes the publisher’s “Season’s Greetings” card
- Free shipping within the U.S.
How to bid
This book will be sold by silent bid.
- Email your bid to daniel@theolatte.com with the subject line “Bid: Signed C.S. Lewis Letter.”
- Include your name, your bid in U.S. dollars, and the best way to reach you.
- If your bid is close to what I’m looking for, I’ll follow up with you personally.
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- If your bid is accepted, you’ll send your payment through Venmo.
- If requested, and you send an acceptable bid, I can do a video call for you to better inspect your item before sending payment.
- After I receive your payment, I will send the item first class with sufficient insurance to cover the value and send you the tracking number.
Please bid responsibly. I won’t be haggling much over price, so send your best offer the first time. The bid you send is the one I’ll consider. If it is close, I’ll either send a notice of acceptance with directions for next steps, or a counter offer. If you don’t hear back within a few days, feel free to send a higher bid.
