A Rumour of Adventure

Inklings fans! Dutch author Kees Paling has written a light-hearted novella imagining four of the Inklings – Lewis, Tolkien, Williams, and Barfield – all going for a walking tour. They stroll through the countryside, discuss their literary obsessions, and have minor adventures. Various elements from the authors work appears as easter eggs or plot devices; it’s interesting to spot them all. It’s a light read and a flight of fancy; many of us have wished we could be a fly on the wall during an Inklings meeting at the Bird and Baby, and this fanfiction scratches that itch. And take that ‘fanfic’ for what it’s worth: the authorial touch here is definitely rooted in fandom and not the academy, and I think that’s a real asset. It doesn’t belabor with biography, it takes the canon of the Inklings work and lightly expands outward.

Noted on February 27, 2019