The Inklings were an informal literary group in Oxford that started in the early 1930s. They continued meeting till the 1950s.
Most of the Inklings were academics at the University of Oxford and many of them were creative writers. The Inklings valued creative imagination and encouraged one another to write fantasy literature.
The most important members of the group were C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield and Charles Williams. Three were writers of fantasy fiction. C.S. Lewis authored the much loved classic children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-56). Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit (1938) and the famous trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1955-56). Charles Williams was an editor at Oxford University Press while Barfield was a poet.
The main activity of the Inklings at their meetings was the reading and discussion of their unfinished writings. Tolkien first read The Lord of the Rings to the Inklings. He described the spirit of the meetings as ‘a feast of reason and flow of soul’
Christian values are reflected in the fantasy works of many of the Inklings authors. Both The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings have Christian themes. However, the Inklings included some non-Christians too.
The term ‘Inklings’ was a pun on these who dabble in ink i.e. writers. It also refers to those who may be having only an inkling of what they are going to write about when they start a story.
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