A "Treasure House" for British Literature in Chicagoland

From the May 28, 2014, Chicago Tribune by Quan Truong.

The Marion E. Wade Center on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, is quite the research center for British authors.

In it, you can sit at the desk where J.R.R. Tolkien drafted parts of "The Lord of the Rings."  You can also touch the wardrobe on which a young C.S. Lewis is said to have climbed to tell stories.

There are no velvet ropes to keep visitors away. You are welcome to touch some mighty important literature places.

That wardrobe was carved by Lewis' grandfather and see an original manuscript or pull out a lesser-known book written by the author of "The Chronicles of Narnia."

The center was founded 50 years ago and the new building housing it opened in 2001.  About 9,000 visitors come to it a year.  And, there is a huge research collection from Wheaton College professor Clyde Kilby..  he had the foresight to collect C.S. Lewis' old letters and manuscripts and later expanded his collection to include other British authors.

The center also has 2,500 volumes from Lewis' personal library

Of course, because of the recent movies, "The Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbitt" and "the Chronicles of Narnia" have made these two authors extremely popular.

--Cooter