Middle-earth
Another example is C. S. Lewis's "Space Trilogy," in which Earth is also called Middle-earth. Lewis's novels are situated at the approximate time of World War II, with the last novel, "That Hideous Strength," taking place in post-war England, and they specifically bring in references to Tolkien's legendarium (at that time largely unpublished) and treats these references as primary fact within Lewis's fiction. Merlin, of King Arthur fame, is treated as a successor to the Atlantis magic found within "Numinor" (Lewis's unintentional misspelling of Númenor), and similarities can also be found in the Quenya name for Númenor, which is "Atalantë," and Lewis specifically references the earth as Middle-earth twice, both in Chapter 13, "They Have Pulled Down Deep Heaven on Their Heads". Lewis's borrowings came directly from Tolkien himself: they were close friends and shared each other's literary creations. Lewis encouraged Tolkien to persevere with his Middle-earth writings.A small selection from the many books about Tolkien and his created world:
Irish literature
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) and Louis MacNeice (1907–63) are two writers who were born and raised in Northern Ireland, but whose careers took them to England. C. S. Lewis was a poet, novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, and Christian apologist. Born in Belfast, he held academic positions at both Oxford University, and Cambridge University. He is best known both for his fictional work, especially "The Screwtape Letters" (1942), "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1949–54), and "The Space Trilogy" (1938–45), and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as "Mere Christianity", "Miracles", and "The Problem of Pain". His faith had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Louis MacNeice was a poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" that included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis, nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group – a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his "Talking Bronco" (1946). His body of work was widely appreciated by the public during his lifetime. Never as overtly (or simplistically) political as some of his contemporaries, his work shows a humane opposition to totalitarianism as well as an acute awareness of his Irish roots. MacNeice felt estranged from the Presbyterian Northern Ireland, with its "voodoo of the Orange bands", but felt caught between British and Irish identities.