This is a book about collaboration, and from start to finish, it was created collaboratively. I remain convinced that books should have a list of credits at the end, just like movies. We need more capacious ways to talk about what collaboration looks like and why it matters. But that is not the custom among writers and publishers. Perhaps some day it will be.
James Artimus Owen: Thanks for catching the vision and flinging yourself into the thick of this creative collaboration. Wasn’t it fun?
Team Bandersnatch—Josie Zimmerman and Danielle Coleman—I love you guys. Thanks for meeting every week (for more than a year!) to eat chocolate and work on this manuscript. You believed in the work when I was not so sure. How can I ever thank you?
Bethany Wagner, Josh B. Long, David Bratman, Alene Campbell-Langdell, Melissa Campbell-Langdell, Roger White, Joel Heck, Lynn Maudlin, Barbara Nicolosi, Nancy Brashear, Christine Kern, and Kelly Lauer read the manuscript and made suggestions and issued stern warnings. If I had been a better listener, this would have been a better book. Though I intend to deny it, there are those who have whispered that the “Bandersnatch” referred to in these pages would be me.
Primary research is possible only to the extent that there are devoted librarians who labor to make rare books, letters, diaries, manuscripts, and other treasures available. I would like to thank The Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, and everyone associated with it for offering a wealth of resources and unflagging support. Special thanks must be given for the Clyde S. Kilby Grant (1997), which provided the practical help needed to make this research possible. I am also so grateful for the staff at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Ann Wilson tracked down details. Roger White, Curator of the Inklings Collection at Azusa Pacific University, not only provided a wealth of materials but also spent long hours conspiring to track down tiny, tiny details that provided the keys to solving the big mysteries.
Sometimes technology is a wonderful thing. Friends on Facebook commiserated, prayed, ate chocolate (to show their solidarity), and listened to me whine and worry. You. Are. Awesome. A special shout-out to Jeff Goins and the members of Tribe Writers. Stay on track. Don’t lose heart. Do the work. Then get up tomorrow and do it again.
I am grateful to Joel Heck, whose Lewis chronology serves as an anchor to all conversation about Lewis and his life and work, and Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, whose Tolkien chronology anchors all conversation about Tolkien.
I also want to thank Steve Laube (you give me courage); Andrew Lazo (you kept the faith until I could believe again); Linda Sherman Spitser (you are my guardian angel); and the members of K.A.M.M. (you are vast and brilliant). You make all the difference.
I received generous support from the administration at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California. I would especially like to thank David Esselstrom, David Weeks, and Jennifer Walsh for supporting my work on this manuscript.
I remain indebted to David Bratman, who has been resonator, opponent, editor, collaborator, and referent at every stage of my research and writing about the Inklings. Special thanks for compiling an index that is not only accurate and comprehensive but genuinely useful. A good index is a work of art, a kind of miracle.
Prayer warriors from the Niños have met twice a month for nearly 20 years: You have undergirded every single step of progress that I have made. Collaboration in community. Without you, there would be no books.
Many fine scholars are dedicated to the study of Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings, and you have enriched my life by writing books, organizing conferences, presenting papers, giving advice, answering questions, correcting my errors, offering insight, and providing encouragement. I am blessed by the company I keep, and I marvel at the privilege of having a seat at the table.
This book is dedicated to Sierra Grace, because she liked the title, and because she was both cheerful and helpful as she put up with the daily bother of yet another book.