Descent into Hell
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English
Description
Descent Into Hell is a novel written by Charles Williams, first published in 1937. Williams is less well known than his fellow Inklings, such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Like some of them, however, he wrote a series of novels which combine elements of fantasy fiction and Christian symbolism. Forgoing the detective fiction style of most of his earlier supernatural novels, most of the story's action is spiritual or psychological in nature. It fits the "theological thriller" description sometimes given to his works. For this reason Descent was initially rejected by publishers, though T. S. Eliot's publishing house Faber and Faberwould eventually pick up the novel, as Eliot admired Williams's work, and, though he did not like Descent Into Hell as well as the earlier novels, desired to see it printed. SHORT SUMMARY: The action takes place in Battle Hill, outside London, amidst the townspeople's staging of a new play by Peter Stanhope. The hill seems to reside at the crux of time, as characters from the past appear, and perhaps at a doorway to the beyond, as characters are alternately summoned heavenwards or descend into hell. Pauline Anstruther, the heroine of the novel, lives in fear of meeting her own doppelganger, which has appeared to her throughout her life. But Stanhope, in an action central to the author's own theology, takes the burden of her fears upon himself—Williams called this The Doctrine of Substituted Love—and enables Pauline, at long last, to face her true self. Williams drew this idea from the biblical verse, "Ye shall bear one another's burdens" And so Stanhope does take the weight, with no surreptitious motive, in the most affecting scene in the novel. And Pauline, liberated, is able to accept truth. On the other hand, Lawrence Wentworth, a local historian, finding his desire for Adela Hunt to be unrequited, falls in love instead with a spirit form of Adela, which seems to represent a kind of extreme self-love on his part. As he isolates himself more and more with this insubstantial figure, and dreams of descending a silver rope into a dark pit, Wentworth begins the descent into Hell. HARROWING of HELL: "Christ in Limbo" and "Descent into Hell" redirect here. For the novel by Charles Williams, see Descent into Hell (novel). For the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon liturgical play, see Harrowing of Hell (drama).
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ISBN:
9781955821735
9781528786782
9786059654043
9781504006637
9781528786782
9786059654043
9781504006637
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 8b9c7eb0-812b-472c-2e14-50e68c21939e |
---|---|
Grouping Title | descent into hell |
Grouping Author | charles williams |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-01-10 10:39:01AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-05-03 23:09:26PM |
Solr Fields
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0
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auth_author2
Pickering, David
author
Williams, Charles
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Pickering, David,reader
hoopla digital
hoopla digital
author_display
Williams, Charles
display_description
Descent Into Hell is a novel written by Charles Williams, first published in 1937. Williams is less well known than his fellow Inklings, such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Like some of them, however, he wrote a series of novels which combine elements of fantasy fiction and Christian symbolism. Forgoing the detective fiction style of most of his earlier supernatural novels, most of the story's action is spiritual or psychological in nature. It fits the "theological thriller" description sometimes given to his works. For this reason Descent was initially rejected by publishers, though T. S. Eliot's publishing house Faber and Faberwould eventually pick up the novel, as Eliot admired Williams's work, and, though he did not like Descent Into Hell as well as the earlier novels, desired to see it printed. SHORT SUMMARY: The action takes place in Battle Hill, outside London, amidst the townspeople's staging of a new play by Peter Stanhope. The hill seems to reside at the crux of time, as characters from the past appear, and perhaps at a doorway to the beyond, as characters are alternately summoned heavenwards or descend into hell. Pauline Anstruther, the heroine of the novel, lives in fear of meeting her own doppelganger, which has appeared to her throughout her life. But Stanhope, in an action central to the author's own theology, takes the burden of her fears upon himself—Williams called this The Doctrine of Substituted Love—and enables Pauline, at long last, to face her true self. Williams drew this idea from the biblical verse, "Ye shall bear one another's burdens" And so Stanhope does take the weight, with no surreptitious motive, in the most affecting scene in the novel. And Pauline, liberated, is able to accept truth. On the other hand, Lawrence Wentworth, a local historian, finding his desire for Adela Hunt to be unrequited, falls in love instead with a spirit form of Adela, which seems to represent a kind of extreme self-love on his part. As he isolates himself more and more with this insubstantial figure, and dreams of descending a silver rope into a dark pit, Wentworth begins the descent into Hell. HARROWING of HELL: "Christ in Limbo" and "Descent into Hell" redirect here. For the novel by Charles Williams, see Descent into Hell (novel). For the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon liturgical play, see Harrowing of Hell (drama).
format_category_summit
Audio Books
eBook
eBook
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eAudiobook
eBook
eBook
id
8b9c7eb0-812b-472c-2e14-50e68c21939e
isbn
9781504006637
9781528786782
9781955821735
9786059654043
9781528786782
9781955821735
9786059654043
last_indexed
2024-05-04T05:09:26.724Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
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Fiction
primary_isbn
9781955821735
publishDate
2015
2016
2019
2021
2016
2019
2021
publisher
Findaway Voices
Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Read Books Ltd
eKitap Projesi
Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Read Books Ltd
eKitap Projesi
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
African American Nonfiction
Christian fiction
Electronic books
Fantasy
Fantasy fiction
Fiction
Literature
Nonfiction
Paranormal fiction
Performing Arts
Science fiction
Christian fiction
Electronic books
Fantasy
Fantasy fiction
Fiction
Literature
Nonfiction
Paranormal fiction
Performing Arts
Science fiction
title_display
Descent into Hell
title_full
Descent into Hell [electronic resource] / Charles Williams
Descent into hell [electronic resource] : A novel. Charles Williams
Descent into hell [electronic resource] : [illustrated & biography added]. Charles Williams
Descent into hell [electronic resource] : A novel. Charles Williams
Descent into hell [electronic resource] : [illustrated & biography added]. Charles Williams
title_short
Descent into Hell
topic_facet
African American Nonfiction
Electronic books
Fantasy
Fiction
Literature
Nonfiction
Performing Arts
Electronic books
Fantasy
Fiction
Literature
Nonfiction
Performing Arts
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overdrivecmc:ODN0002078863 | ODN0002078863 | Overdrive (CMC) | Online Overdrive (CMC) | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Overdrive (CMC) | http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=162&titleID=2078863 | Available Online | Overdrive (CMC) | |
overdrivecmc:ODN0002684390 | ODN0002684390 | Overdrive (CMC) | Online Overdrive (CMC) | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Overdrive (CMC) | http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=162&titleID=2684390 | Available Online | Overdrive (CMC) | |
hoopla:MWT16126738 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/16125687?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hoopla:MWT12370864 | eBook | eBook | English | Read Books Ltd | 2019 | 1 online resource (207 pages) | ||
overdrivecmc:ODN0002078863 | eBook | eBook | English | Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy | 2015 | 1 online resource | ||
overdrivecmc:ODN0002684390 | eBook | eBook | English | eKitap Projesi | 2016 | 1 online resource | ||
hoopla:MWT16126738 | eAudiobook | Audio Books | Unabridged | English | Findaway Voices | 2021 | 1 online resource (1 audio file (540 min.)) : digital. |
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hoopla:MWT12370864 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | false | false | false | false | ||||
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