Kathryn Lindskoog

Kathryn Ann "Kay" Lindskoog (née Stillwell; December 26, 1934 – October 21, 2003) was a C. S. Lewis scholar known partly for her theory that some works attributed to Lewis are forgeries, including The Dark Tower.

The main target of Lindskoog's writing was Walter Hooper, Lewis' literary co-executor who edited most of Lewis' posthumous work.

Lindskoog points out that Hooper's relationship with Lewis was overstated in some of the publications that he edited, and she argues that several works published under Lewis's name were in fact by Hooper.

C. S. Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham, denies the forgery claims, saying that "The whole controversy thing was engineered for very personal reasons ... Her fanciful theories have been pretty thoroughly discredited.".

It is clear from the diaries of Warren Lewis that Lewis' brother distrusted Hooper, whom he viewed as a dishonest interloper in the 1960s.

Lewis scholars are divided about the merits of Lindskoog's charges, but some of them have since been disproved by discovery of Lewis' own typescripts.

Much of her perceived animosity towards Hooper may (or may not) have been derived from disappointment that she was not given any role in dealing with his literary legacy, though Lewis acknowledged her as knowledgeable about his bibliography.

The controversy was analysed by Nicolas Barker in "Essays in Criticism" (see reference), where he calls Lindskoog's work "a poisoned book".

Lindskoog also edited and abridged classic children's novels for the Multnomah Press "Young Readers Library".

Seven volumes were published from 1991 to 1993 and reissued by P&R Publishing from 2001 to 2003: Alcott's Little Women (originally 2 volumes), Burnett's The Little Princess, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Dodge's Hans Brinker, or, the Silver Skates, MacDonald's Sir Gibbie, and Sewell's Black Beauty.

Lindskoog explained such "literary liposuction" in 1993.

Among other things, she claimed to have answered a friendly telephone critic, "I'm as much of a purist as you. I absolutely love these authors. That's why I'm hand-polishing them for today's readers and performing what I call literary liposuction – removing flab and fat. I keep every bit of the original story, the style, and the values – even restoring parts cut out in other versions. I know my work would make the author happy; otherwise, I wouldn't do it."

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