#262 Dr Crystal Hurd: CS Lewis, Flora Lewis, and the Quiet Strength of Family

About this episode

Dr Crystal Hurd discusses the influence of C.S. Lewis's mother, Flora, on his life and work.

Dr Crystal Hurd, educator and poet, joins Ruth Jackson to explore the formative influence of C.S. Lewis’s mother, Flora, on Lewis’s life, work, and relationships. Drawing on her research and her paper from the 2024 Undiscovered CS Lewis conference, Crystal discusses Flora’s character, wit, and impact on the Lewis family after her untimely death. Together, they examine how Flora shaped Lewis’s respect for women, the depiction of mothers in his fiction, and his evolving relationships across a lifetime marked by loss and learning. Along the way, Ruth and Crystal reflect on grief, humility, family dynamics, and the quiet legacy of women often overlooked in great men’s stories. + Support us here: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://www.premier.plus/cs-lewis-podcast + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter, visit our website: https://premierunbelievable.com/

People in this episode

Host: Ruth Jackson

Guest: Dr Crystal Hurd

Topics covered

• C.S. Lewis
• family influence
• grief
• women's legacy
• literature
• relationships

Keywords

• C.S. Lewis
• Flora Lewis
• family dynamics
• grief
• women in literature
• influence
• relationships

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 2024 Undiscovered CS Lewis conference

More episodes of The C.S. Lewis podcast

• #265 Dr Crystal Hurd: How Paternal Literary Habits Influenced CS Lewis · June 8, 2026 · 28 min
• #264 Dr Crystal Hurd: CS Lewis’s Family, Faith, and the Literary Legacy of Albert Lewis · June 1, 2026 · 24 min
• #263 Dr Crystal Hurd: C.S. Lewis’s Family, Albert & Flora, and the Power of Literature · May 25, 2026 · 26 min
• #261 Dr Crystal Hurd: CS Lewis on Quiet Influence, Humility & Lighting Your Corner · May 11, 2026 · 26 min
• #260 Jim Stockton: Research opportunities and the Oxford University Socractic club, 1942-1972 (workshop) · May 4, 2026 · 37 min
• #259 Jim Stockton: Inside the Oxford Socratic Club - Tea, Minutes & the Lives Behind the Debates · April 27, 2026 · 20 min