Who was Mrs. Moore?
Janie King Moore was the mother of Paddy Moore, Lewis’ closest comrade-in-arms during the First World War. Lewis reported that the two young men made a pledge that if either man didn’t make it home, the survivor would take care of Lewis’ father and Moore’s mother. Paddy Moore died in the war, and Lewis fulfilled that pledge for years, contributing towards Mrs. Moore’s finances when he was still a poor student and setting up a home with her and Moore’s young sister Maureen when he obtained a teaching position and could afford one. When her declining health (years later) required professional care, he faithfully visited the nursing home until she died. Maureen later succeeded to a Scottish title and became Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs. The exact nature of Lewis’s relationship with Mrs. Moore is not certain: many readers have surmised that it is connected with the ‘enormous emotional episode’ that Lewis refers to in ‘Surprised by Joy’ but says that he is not at liberty to write about. Walter
