Pub Talk

The Son of an Inkling: A Conversation with Colin Havard

During the Fall 2011 semester, Oxford native and current resident of St. Louis Colin Havard visited the campus of St. Louis University. Colin is the son of Dr. Robert E. “Humphrey” Havard, who was the personal physician of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and a member of the Inklings. Colin joined English Instructors and hosts Justin T. Noetzel and Matthew R. Bardowell, as well as a hundred guests, for a “pub talk,” an informal discussion and storytelling session that was co-organized by Thomas Rowland and the Woode-walkers Medieval Studies Group and sponsored by the English Department and the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at St. Louis University. Over a few cold pints of Guinness, Havard discussed his childhood in Oxford, his memories of the Inklings and their social gatherings, and his father’s personal interactions with the Lewis, Tolkien, and others. While Colin realized at a young age that his father had literary celebrities as patients, Dr. Havard simply saw these men as his friends and did not realize how famous Lewis and Tolkien in particular would become. Both authors mention Dr. Havard extensively in their letters, and Lewis often divided the Inklings along religious lines and differentiated Havard and Tolkien as the Catholics of the group. Both Lewis and Tolkien recognized Dr. Havard’s astute medical knowledge, but more tellingly, they commented on his devout faith, his skill in caring for people, and his role as a close friend.

The write-up from the conversation is currently under review by a major literary  journal, and we will post updates here as needed.

Colin Havard (center) and the Woode-walkers