Descent into Hell (Paperback)

'Descent' is both a realistic novel of the 1930's London suburb of Battle Hill, with several well drawn main characters, and also a ghost story of sorts. A minor playwright-poet helps a young woman conquer her fear of self-haunting by her own image - her Doppelganger - which is in a sense, her most true self. His method is to literally take her fear onto himself by substitutionary love, the act must be freely accepted by the young woman. A famous historian and author struggles with the haunting of inner destruction, due to a lifetime of self-centredness and self-deception - a slow spiritual implosion. A ghost or two timeslip in and out of the action, inadvertently 'haunting' the ordinary residents of Battle Hill. Then all returns to normal - it is just the definition of 'normal' which is now changed forever for the protagonists. The reader should be prepared for some patches of purple prose of a truly royal hue (dubbed the Williams 'clotted glory' by some commentators), and the need to consult the dictionary in places, which to me add greatly to the fun. One of those rare novels which rise above mere entertainment to a clearly life-enriching level, without ever preaching.

This novel is particularly intense and vigourous and it puts into words experiences that many people have, perhaps not often in their lives but ones which they would like to be able to express. Williams captures them on the page with unique skill. Charles Williams is the potent intellectual forerunner of the Frank Peretti spiritual warfare novels, and the currently popular apocalyptic 'Left Behind' novels by LaHaye and Jenkins. Even the success of David Haggith's scholarly-popular analysis 'End-Time Prophecies of the Bible' shows the strength of the current popular taste for this genre. The C. S. Lewis novel closest in style is probably 'That Hideous Strength', where Merlin brings down the curse of Babel on the villains.

Regarded as the key to his thought, Descent into Hell is a tour-de-force, containing a wealth of (at times explosive) imagery. As the other reviews have noted, it focuses on two characters in particular - Pauline Anstruther and Laurence Wentworth. The story centres on the production of a play by a poet called Peter Stanhope, who becomes a friend of Pauline by reason of her having a part in the play. Pauline confides in Stanhope and discloses to him a secret fear she has had for many years. She is offered by Stanhope the choice of giving her fear to him and letting him bear it for her. This then leads to a climactic point in the story when Pauline has to offer to bear the burden of one of her ancestors. Here we see the old medieval notion of substitution, which is the central theme of Descent into Hell. At this point William's misunderstands the Christian teaching on substitution, giving his characters the part of Saviour-Redeemer (which is unique to Jesus Christ). I mean by this that he portrays his characters as bearing burdens which Christ alone can bear. See the books recommended at the end of this review for an example of how CS Lewis at one point was influenced by William's doctrine of substitution (Lewis greatly admired William's as a writer and speaker).

The character of Wentworth in the story reveals how compulsive a fantasy life can become. Choosing to take to himself an insubstantial fantasy of the woman he desires, he becomes increasingly in-coherent, and enclosed in himself - finally falling into the hell of self, an abyss of non-being.

I recommend anyone reading this book to also study two chapters from the writings of Leanne Payne - a chapter entitled Incarnational Reality - The Key to Carrying the Cross in her book - The Healing Presence, and also the appendix of Real Presence entitled The Great Divorce, by the same author.
These chapters will shed light on some of the erroneous extremes in William's writings and thought.