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Abstract
[...]he is a fellow Anthroposophist, who can thus shine light on the dominant influence on Barfield's life and thought, the massive impact of Rudolf Sterner, in ways impossible for any biographer who approached Barfield from an outsider's perspective- it is as if Lewis for the first time were to be written about by someone who took his Christianity seriously. [...]there comes a point mid-way through the book (at the end of Chapter 9; cf. pages 183-184) where Blaxland-de Lange explicitly advises those reading only because of an interest in Lewis et al. to stop, while beckoning those interested in Barfield himself to continue on. [...]most startling is Blaxland-de Lange's account of the early breakdown of Barfield's marriage, and the degree to which his conversion to Anthroposophy shortly after his marriage to Maud Douie permanently blighted their relationship. [...]Blaxland-de Lange is no Tolkien or Inklings expert; his book twice refers to JRRT as "J.J.R. Tolkien" (pages 323 & 327) and once as "Tolkein" (page 352), and leaves the impression that the Inklings were co-founded by Barfield and Lewis in 1922, with Laurence Harwood as a member, and met until 1945 (pages ? & 34)- dates that do not agree with the preponderance of evidence from other sources.