[1] It charts the progress of a fictional character named John through a philosophical landscape in search of the Island of his desire.

As such, the character struggles with the modern phoniness, hypocrisy, and intellectual vacancy of the Christian church, Communism, Fascism, and various philosophical and artistic movements.

A year later, Lewis wrote The Pilgrim’s Regress in August 1932 while visiting the home of his longtime friend Arthur Greeves in Northern Ireland.

The story centres around the main character, John, who as a boy grows up in Puritania under the stern, elusive and seemingly tyrannical Landlord, whose representatives promulgate a list of Rules.

At first, he thinks this yearning is Lust, personified as brown girls, but when he unmasks the mistake, he decides to flee his homeland and perceived oppressor, the Landlord, in search of the far-off island.

He thinks he has found the island through aesthetic experience, but, damaged by these characters and seeing his error, he abandons the cities.

As he tries to figure out how to cross, Christianity, personified as Mother Kirk, comes by and explains to him and his travelling-companion Vertue the reason for the canyon (which is the Sin of Adam) and that she is the only one who can get him across.

They walk a lot, till they almost can't, and found three pale brothers personified as Mr. Classic , Mr. Neo-Angular and Mr. Humanist.

They serve as models for Marxism and Fascists, and Vertue leaves with an ominous warning from Savage that he will destroy the three pale men.

Turning back and going South along the road, John and Vertue meets Mr. Broad, who represents a “modernizing religion which is friends with the World and goes on no pilgrimages.” At last, John reaches the house of Wisdom, who teaches him what is lacking from notable philosophies of the 20th century, which to Lewis were the Idealist Philosophy, Materialism and Hegelianism.

He had wondered if he could live by Philosophy or Pantheistic beliefs, but after accepting Grace he feels obliged - against his own inclination - to acknowledge the existence of the Landlord.

George Sayer found it remarkable how acutely Lewis could diagnose and explain the weaknesses of contemporary doctrine.