7 JANUARY 2006, Page 17

Lewis vs Pullman

From David Watkins

Sir: Further to Caroline Moore’s spirited defence of C.S. Lewis (‘War of the worlds’, 17/24 December): however wrong-headed Lewis may have been as a moralist, he was a most open-minded and generous critic. Very often he enthusiastically praised writers of fantasy — Wagner, Morris, Wells, Stapledon, Eddison — whose views, as reflected in their work, he thought misguided and deplorable. If he were writing now, I’ve no doubt he would admire Philip Pullman’s fantasies. A shame that Pullman can’t be a little generous to Lewis.

David Watkins Cardiff