Proof copy of Arthurian Torso by Charles Williams
21 April
2026-4-21 8:23:38 PM UTC
2026-4-21 8:23:38 PM UTC
In recent years I have acquired several proof copies, uncorrected copies, and advance copies of works by J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as by Roger Lancelyn Green, Mary Renault, W. H. Auden, Gwyn Jones, C. S. Lewis, and Philip Reeve. This morning, the latest gem arrived: a proof copy of Arthurian Torso (1948), a posthumous work by Charles Williams.
The volume brings together the fragments of his unfinished Arthurian cycle devoted to Taliessin, published posthumously through the editorial work of C. S. Lewis, with the more discreet contribution of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Having collated the proof copy against the published version, I have identified dozens of differences within the text, including entire sentences, missing notes, and other variations.
A truly fascinating item, bearing witness not only to the complexity of Williams’s Arthurian vision, but also to the intellectual collaboration of the Inklings.
The volume brings together the fragments of his unfinished Arthurian cycle devoted to Taliessin, published posthumously through the editorial work of C. S. Lewis, with the more discreet contribution of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Having collated the proof copy against the published version, I have identified dozens of differences within the text, including entire sentences, missing notes, and other variations.
A truly fascinating item, bearing witness not only to the complexity of Williams’s Arthurian vision, but also to the intellectual collaboration of the Inklings.
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