Should C.S. Lewis’ The Dark Tower Be Part of His Space Trilogy?

C.S. Lewis is widely known for The Chronicles of Narnia, but many readers have never heard of The Space Trilogy, which includes Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Perelandra (1943), and That Hideous Strength (1945). Even fewer have encountered The Dark Tower, an unfinished manuscript that was originally intended as the sequel to Out of the Silent Planet.

Fans of The Space Trilogy are divided on whether The Dark Tower belongs in the series. I believe it does—because of its mastery of science fiction storytelling and its consistency with the themes and quality found in Lewis’ other works. Still, there are complexities to consider before reading it alongside the trilogy.

Background of The Dark Tower and The Space Trilogy

The manuscript of The Dark Tower consists of 62 sheets of ruled paper, pages 11 and 49 missing. It was never completed and only published posthumously by Walter Hooper in 1977—who claimed he saved it from being burned with other unfinished works by Lewis (Hooper 9).

The Space Trilogy follows Elwin Ransom, a philologist and university professor who travels to Mars and Venus, encountering new life and playing a role in planetary salvation. In the third book, That Hideous Strength, he takes a supporting but crucial role, helping Mark and Jane Studdock resist a diabolical organization called the N.I.C.E. (National Institute of Coordinated Experiments).

The Dark Tower centers on a group of professors at Cambridge who have discovered a form of time travel via a machine called the "chronoscope." Characters include Ransom, C.S. Lewis himself (as a character), and several others—MacPhee, Scudamour, and Camilla—who also appear in That Hideous Strength. A new figure, Professor Orfieu, is the inventor of the chronoscope.

The group observes a disturbing realm they call “Othertime,” where stinging, deformed humanoids engage in eerie rituals beneath a looming dark tower. Eventually, they start seeing alternate versions of themselves.

Literary Analysis of The Dark Tower

Despite being short and unfinished, The Dark Tower is a technical masterpiece. As in Perelandra, Lewis writes himself into the narrative, narrating in the first person. This strategy—blending personal memoir with speculative fiction—allows the reader to suspend disbelief and believe in the reality of the tale.

One of the most compelling elements is Lewis' use of allegory. The “Stingingmen”—creatures with horn-like stingers—convert others into mindless laborers who construct the tower. Their surreal, dreamlike imagery fits naturally within Lewis’ established style. As Jonathan Himes notes in A Matter of Time: C.S. Lewis’ Dark Tower Manuscript and Composition Process, “pictures in the mind and nightmares were two vehicles that conveyed strong story elements to Lewis’ imagination... both certainly play a prominent role in The Dark Tower” (Himes 27).

These creatures likely represent political power and industrial control—forces that dehumanize individuals. One of the main characters, Scudamour, even swaps psyches with his stingingman counterpart in Othertime, illustrating how easily even the academic elite can be corrupted.

This theme parallels That Hideous Strength, in which the NICE emerges from a university setting. Lewis seems to critique how intellectual institutions can become agents of cultural destruction. Like the Pharisees in the Bible, those entrusted with knowledge may become blind leaders. The Dark Tower thus illustrates the fragile boundary between wisdom and control.

Should The Dark Tower Be Considered Canon?

Some have questioned the authenticity of the manuscript. In Controversy in Shadowlands: Questioning the Authorship of Some C.S. Lewis Works, Tom Bethell suggests the manuscript may be a forgery. He doubts Hooper’s claim that Lewis’ family planned to burn the work and points out that The Dark Tower failed two word-pattern analysis tests. He also notes Hooper omitted the story from his biography of Lewis (Bethell 20).

These arguments, while serious, don’t hold up under scrutiny. It’s not implausible that Lewis’ family would discard unfinished work—many writers request this. Also, word-pattern analysis is less reliable for rough drafts. And Hooper may have omitted the burning story from his biography to protect the family’s reputation.

Most significantly, Himes confirms that several document analysts verified the handwriting as Lewis’ (Himes 25). While unfinished, The Dark Tower is almost certainly authentic. Like a sketch by a master artist, it reveals the process behind Lewis’ creativity. I would argue That Hideous Strength even recycles several of its concepts.

“C.S. Lewis” — Digital Painting by Michael Sanders

How and Why The Dark Tower Fits Within The Space Trilogy

Assuming the reader is familiar with the trilogy, where should The Dark Tower fall? Lewis began writing it after Out of the Silent Planet but later shifted focus to Perelandra. Nonetheless, the novella features many characters who later reappear in That Hideous Strength.

I believe the story fits best between Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. Though not a direct sequel, it expands the universe and deepens the lore. It introduces the reader to MacPhee, Camilla, and Scudamour—members of Logres in the third book, yet barely explained there. The Dark Tower serves as their unofficial origin.

Some critics argue the story doesn’t match the trilogy’s space theme, since it focuses on time travel on Earth. But That Hideous Strength also takes place entirely on Earth and shifts from space exploration to sociopolitical conflict. The true link between the books isn’t location—it’s Ransom. He’s the unifying protagonist, and his appearance in The Dark Tower justifies its inclusion.

Even the story’s abrupt ending (which I won’t spoil) doesn’t diminish its value. In fact, it sets up the ideological conflict between NICE and Logres even better than That Hideous Strength does. I like to imagine that Ransom recruits the Logres members after the events of The Dark Tower—an idea that retroactively fills in narrative gaps.

What About Orfieu?

A mystery remains: What happened to Professor Orfieu? He vanishes entirely by That Hideous Strength. A lazy answer might say he was lost in Othertime, but I offer another theory: perhaps Orfieu founded the NICE.

While he doesn’t seem evil in The Dark Tower, it's plausible he laid the scientific groundwork for NICE—only for others to corrupt it. This would add tragedy and nuance to his character and enrich the series’ mythos.

Why the Title Should Be Through the Chronoscope

One critique I have is with the title. Walter Hooper chose The Dark Tower, but I think something like Through the Chronoscope would be more fitting. Not only is it thematically resonant—it mirrors the structure of Out of the Silent Planet—but it avoids confusion with Stephen King’s more popular Dark Tower series, which also deals with interdimensional time travel.

Since Lewis never officially titled the work, a rename could serve both clarity and continuity.

Conclusion

Canon or not, The Dark Tower adds depth, complexity, and thematic richness to The Space Trilogy. Though unfinished, it demonstrates Lewis’ literary power through his use of narrative voice, allegorical symbolism, and intellectual critique.

The book feels like watching a master at work—mid-sketch, with ideas still taking shape. And while some gaps remain, its raw vision and philosophical insights justify its place in the Lewis canon. For those who already love the trilogy, reading The Dark Tower is not only worthwhile—it’s essential.

For fellow travelers of Aslan’s country, I’ve created an art series called Chronicling Narnia, capturing the wonder and weight of Lewis’ timeless world.

Bibliography

Bethell, Tom. “Controversy in Shadowlands: Questioning the Authorship of Some C.S. Lewis Works.” The American Spectator (Bloomington, IN) 31, no. 9 (1998): 18–20. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Himes, Jonathan B. “A Matter of Time: C.S. Lewis' Dark Tower Manuscript and Composition Process.” Mythlore 29, no. 3–4 (Spring–Summer 2011): 25+. Gale Academic OneFile. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A256864479/AONE?u=nysl_ro_robwesc&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=2246677e. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Lewis, C. S. Out of the Silent Planet. New York: Scribner, 2003.

———. Perelandra. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

———. That Hideous Strength. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

Lewis, C. S., and Walter Hooper. The Dark Tower, and Other Stories. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977.