Inkling Books' Oxford Roots


Inkling Books is named after the Inklings, an informal group of writers who met in Oxford, England from the mid-1930s until the late 1940s. They included C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, two writers who continue to be well-known today. The name Inkling, Tolkien said, was "a pleasantly ingenious pun in its way, suggesting people with vague or half-formed intimations and ideas plus those who dabble in ink." Writing can be a difficult and demanding art, and Tolkien credited the encouragement he received from his fellow Inklings with helping him persevere through many years of labor to create his highly popular The Lord of the Rings.

True to its name, Inkling has books with close ties to C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, including Untangling Tolkien, the first book-length chronology of The Lord of the Rings and Theism and Humanism, a book that had a major influence on Lewis' thought. Inkling also has books by an earlier writer, G. K. Chesterton, who shared much of the spirit of the Inklings, and by William Morris, a nineteenth-century writer who inspired Tolkien and impressed Lewis with his talent as a writer. And like the Oxford Inklings, Inkling Books also has an interest in ethics, history, literature and society. There's a particular interest in demonstrating how understanding past debates (such as eugenics) can shed light on contemporary issues.

You can check out the books Inkling has in print by clicking on one of the choices on the side of this web page. Some books also have a more detailed description under "More Details." Also, with most web browsers, choosing to print a web page will print it in an easy-to-read print format. And finally, "About Inkling" tells more about Inkling and our Seattle neighborhood, while Amazon has an Author's Profile of our resident author, editor, graphics artist, and just about everything else.

Ordering Worldwide: Our books are available in virtually every country. Bookstores can order them from major book wholesalers in the U.S. and U.K. Just give the store the title or ISBN and ask them to order through Ingram or Baker & Taylor in the U.S. or Bertrams in the UK. Our books are also available internationally through online bookstores such as Amazon.com as well as other online bookstores. We include links to those stores with a book's description.. Buying through those links costs no more, and the price and shipping is often discounted if your order is large enough.