A Well of Wonder

Why it’s on the list: Clyde Kilby knew the Inklings personally — he worked with Tolkien on the Silmarillion papers and corresponded with Lewis — and this posthumous collection gathers the essays he wrote about them over a career.

Where I saw it: Recommended by @TolkienWonder on X (October 22, 2025), who photographed the book on a shelf of Tolkien first editions and quoted Kilby: “He told me he had many times been given a story as an answer to prayer.”

Connections

• C.S. Lewis — one of the two subjects, and Kilby’s correspondent.
• J.R.R. Tolkien — the other subject; Kilby worked alongside him on the unfinished Silmarillion.
• Religion — the thread Kilby says every conversation at Tolkien’s house eventually found.