J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien has written at least 189 books. Their most popular book is The Hobbit with 4929 saves with an average rating of 4.29⭐.

Author Bio

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specialising in Old and Middle English. Twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford, he also wrote a number of stories, including most famously The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of the world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth. This was peopled by Men (and women), Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs (or Goblins) and of course Hobbits. He has regularly been condemned by the Eng. Lit. establishment, with honourable exceptions, but loved by literally millions of readers worldwide.

In the 1960s he was taken up by many members of the nascent "counter-culture" largely because of his concern with environmental issues. In 1997 he came top of three British polls, organised respectively by Channel 4 / Waterstone's, the Folio Society, and SFX, the UK's leading science fiction media magazine, amongst discerning readers asked to vote for the greatest book of the 20th century.

([Source][1])

**Early Life**
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, to English parents. At the age of three his mother brought him and his younger brother, Hilary, back to England. Tolkien's father died soon afterwards in South Africa, so the family stayed in England and by the summer of 1896 his mother found them a home in the hamlet of Sarehole, just outside the city Birmingham.

Tolkien's family lived in genteel poverty, eventually moving to Moseley a suburb of Birmingham, just north west of Sarehole. When he was 12, Tolkien's mother died, and he and his brother were made wards of a Catholic priest. They lived with aunts and in boarding homes thereafter. The dichotomy between Tolkien's happier days in the rural landscape of Sarehole and his adolescent years in the industrial centre of Birmingham would be felt strongly in his later works.

**Education**
The young Tolkien attended King Edward's School in Birmingham in the years 1910 and 1911, where he excelled in classical and modern languages. There are six known contributions he made in the King Edward's School Chronicle. In 1911 he went to Exeter College, Oxford, where he studied Classics, Old English, Germanic languages, Welsh, and Finnish. He quickly demonstrated an aptitude for philology and began to create his own languages. In 1913 Tolkien published his very first poem, called 'From the many-willow'd margin of the immemorial Thames', in the Stapeldon Magazine of Exeter college.

**The Great War**
By the time Tolkien had completed his degree at Oxford in 1915, World War I had erupted across Europe. Tolkien enlisted and was commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers, but he did not see active duty for months. In this period he wrote the poem 'Goblin Feet' which got published in 'Oxford Poetry 1915'. When he learned that he would be shipped out in March 1916, he married his longtime friend Edith Bratt, the girl the poem was written for.

Tolkien was sent to the Western Front and fought in the Somme offensive. Almost all of his closest friends were killed. After four months in and out of the trenches, he contracted a typhus-like infection and was sent back to England, where he served for the rest of the war.

**Academic Career**
Tolkien's first job was as a lexicographer on the New English Dictionary (helping to draft the Oxford English Dictionary). Tolkien wrote 'A Middle English Vocabulary', but it was not published until 1922, but after it was published some copies were bound with 1st impressions of Sisam’s book, 'Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose' which was published one year before. During this time he began serious work on creating languages that he imagined had been spoken by elves. The languages were based primarily on Finnish and Welsh. He also began his "Lost Tales" a mythic history of men, elves, and other creatures he created to provide context for his "Elvish" languages. He made the first public presentation of his tales when he read "The Fall of Gondolin" to an appreciative audience at the Exeter College Essay Club.

Tolkien then became a professor in English Language at the University of Leeds, where he collaborated with E. V. Gordon on the famous edition of 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'. Tolkien remained at Leeds until 1925, when he took a position teaching Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. In Leeds Tolkien found the time to make a lot of contributions on various Magazines and books like, Gryphon Magazine, Microcosm, TLS, Yorkshire Poetry, Leeds University Verse, e.o.

**Tolkien at Oxford**
Tolkien spent the rest of his career at Oxford, retiring in 1959. Although he produced little by today's "publish or perish" standards, his scholarly writings were of the highest caliber. One of his most influential works is his lecture "Beowulf, the Monsters and the Critics."

At Oxford Tolkien became a founding member of a loose group of like-minded Oxford friends "The Inklings" who met for conversation, drinks, and readings from their works-in-progress. Another prominent member was C. S. Lewis, who became one of Tolkien's closest friends.

Tolkien, a devout Catholic, and Lewis, an agnostic at the time, frequently debated religion and the role of mythology. Unlike Lewis, who tended to dismiss myths and fairy tales, Tolkien firmly believed that they have moral and spiritual value. Said Tolkien, "The imagined beings have their inside on the outside; they are visible souls. And Man as a whole, Man pitted against the Universe, have we seen him at all till we see that he is like a hero in a fairy tale?"

**"In a hole in the ground . . ."**
It was also during his years at Oxford that Tolkien would scribble an inexplicable note in a student's exam book: "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." Curious as to what exactly a "Hobbit" was and why it should live in a hole, he began to build a story about a short creature who inhabited a world called Middle-earth. This grew into a story he told his children, and in 1936 a version of it came to the attention of the publishing firm of George Allen and Unwin (now part of HarperCollins), who published it as The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, in 1937. It become an instant and enduring classic.

**Lord of the Rings**
Stanley Unwin, the publisher, was stunned by The Hobbit's success and asked for a sequel, which blossomed into a multivolume epic. While The Hobbit hinted at the history of Middle-earth that Tolkien had created in his "Lost Tales" (which he was now calling "The Silmarillion"), the sequel drew heavily upon it. So determined was Tolkien to get every detail right that it took him more than a decade to complete the 12-book "Lord of the Rings." He often left off writing the story for months to hash out a linguistic problem or historical inconsistency.

The Lord of the Rings appeared in 1954-1955 in three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. While the book was eagerly received by the reading public, critical reviews were everything but neutral. Some critics, such as Philip Toynbee, deplored its fantasy setting, archaic language, and utter earnestness. Others, notably W. H. Auden and C. S. Lewis, lauded it for its straightforward narrative, imagination, and Tolkien's palpable love of language.

The Lord of the Rings did not reach the height of its popularity until it finally appeared in paperback. Tolkien disliked paperbacks and hadn't authorized a paperback edition. In 1965, however, Ace Books exploited a legal loophole and published an unauthorized paperback version of The Lord of the Rings. Within months Ballantine published an official version (with a rather cross note about respecting an author's wishes). The lower cost of paperbacks and the publicity generated by the copyright dispute boosted sales of the books considerably, especially in America where it was quickly embraced by the 60s counterculture.

Nearly 50 years after its publication, Tolkien's epic tale has sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into more than 25 languages.

**Tolkien's Legacy**
The Lord of the Rings is a singular, contradictory work. Written in an almost archaic form, packed with strange words and obsure historical details, and lacking the modern emphasis on the "inner life," it is unabashedly antimodern. But at the same time its melancholy environmentalism and fully realized alternative world are very modern. It has often been read, among as other things, as an allegory of World War II or the Cold War, but Tolkien himself denied any such interpretation, maintaining it was simply a story to be taken on its own terms.

Its enduring appeal, however, lies not in its literary oddness or straightforward action, but in its beautifully realized world and themes of loss, self-sacrifice, and friendship. In its wake, Tolkien's work left not only a host of sword-and-sorcery imitators and devoted fans, but a lasting legacy in the hundreds of virtual worlds that have come to life in books and films since.

**Middle-earth after J.R.R**.
J.R.R. Tolkien died on September 2, 1973. His death did not mark the end of Middle-earth for readers, though. After Tolkien's death his son Christopher endeavored to complete his father's life work. He edited The Silmarillion and saw it published in 1977. In 1980 he began to publish the rest of his father's incomplete writings, culminating in the 12-volume History of Middle-earth series.

([Source][2])


[1]: http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html
[2]: http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/abouttolkien.htm

The Tolkien Society

The Hobbit

#0 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

The Hobbit
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1937 • 4,929 Readers • 300 pages 4.3

The Fellowship of the Ring

#1 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

1954 • 3,880 Readers • 398 pages 4.4

The Two Towers

#2 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

The Two Towers
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1954 • 2,587 Readers • 725 pages 4.4

The Return of the King

#3 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

The Return of the King
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1950 • 1,681 Readers • 432 pages 4.6

The Silmarillion

5 Middle-earth Universe

The Silmarillion
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1977 • 1,175 Readers • 481 pages 3.9

The Children of Hurin

9 Tales of Middle Earth

The Children of Hurin
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2001 • 377 Readers • 317 pages 3.8

Unfinished tales

2 Unfinished Tales

Unfinished tales
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1980 • 232 Readers • 479 pages 3.8

The Fall of Gondolin

9 Tales of Middle Earth

The Fall of Gondolin
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1985 • 166 Readers • 304 pages 3.9

Beren and Lúthien

9 Tales of Middle Earth

Beren and Lúthien
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2017 • 163 Readers • 304 pages 3.9

Letters From Father Christmas

1976 • 99 Readers • 28 pages 4.3

The Book of Lost Tales: Part One

#1 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1983 • 88 Readers • 369 pages 3.9

The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth

2022 • 73 Readers • 352 pages 4.4

Tolkien On Fairy-stories

Tolkien On Fairy-stories
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2008 • 68 Readers • 320 pages 4.4

Tales from the Perilous Realm

1997 • 64 Readers • 436 pages 3.4

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien(Translation),Christopher Tolkien(Editor)

1400 • 59 Readers • 256 pages 3.9

The Fall of Arthur

The Fall of Arthur
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2013 • 59 Readers • 239 pages 3.2

The Book of Lost Tales, Part II

#2 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1983 • 58 Readers • 345 pages 4.4

Farmer Giles of Ham

Farmer Giles of Ham
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1949 • 54 Readers • 127 pages 3.7

Roverandom

Roverandom
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Waldéa Barcellos(Translator)

1998 • 53 Readers • 127 pages 4

The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún

2009 • 50 Readers • 377 pages 3.7

Bilbo's Last Song

6 Middle Earth

Bilbo's Last Song
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1974 • 50 Readers • 32 pages 4.3

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other verses from The Red Book

1962 • 49 Readers • 64 pages 3.4

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

1981 • 41 Readers • 516 pages 4.2

The Lays of Beleriand

#3 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

The Lays of Beleriand
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1985 • 32 Readers • 393 pages 4.4

The Story of Kullervo

The Story of Kullervo
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Luca Manini(Translator),+1 more

2015 • 32 Readers • 192 pages 3.4

Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell

1000 • 29 Readers • 425 pages 4.2

Tree and Leaf

Tree and Leaf
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1947 • 28 Readers • 175 pages 3.4

Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham

1949 • 27 Readers • 156 pages 3.5

Leaf by Niggle

Leaf by Niggle
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1945 • 26 Readers • 58 pages 4.2

Smith of Wootton Major

Smith of Wootton Major
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1949 • 26 Readers • 209 pages 3.1

The Return Of The Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One

#6 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1984 • 25 Readers • 497 pages 3.7

The Lost Road and Other Writings

#5 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1987 • 25 Readers • 509 pages 4.5

The Peoples of Middle-earth

#12 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1996 • 24 Readers • 438 pages 4

The Shaping of Middle-earth

#4 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

The Shaping of Middle-earth
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Christopher Tolkien

1986 • 23 Readers • 480 pages 4.5

The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two

#7 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1989 • 22 Readers • 504 pages 4.5

The History of the Hobbit, Part One: Mr. Baggins

#1 of 2 in The History of the Hobbit

The History of the Hobbit, Part One: Mr. Baggins
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,John D. Rateliff

2007 • 20 Readers • 467 pages 3.3

The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three

#8 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1990 • 19 Readers • 476 pages 4

Tolkien Bestiary

11 Tolkien Illustrated Guides

Tolkien Bestiary
ByDavid Day

1978 • 19 Readers • 287 pages 4.1

Morgoth's Ring

#10 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

Morgoth's Ring
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1993 • 18 Readers • 478 pages 4.3

The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth

1974 • 17 Readers • 592 pages 3.9

The War of the Jewels

#11 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

The War of the Jewels
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1994 • 16 Readers • 470 pages 4.5

The Nature Of Middle-Earth

2021 • 16 Readers • 467 pages 4

Sauron Defeated

#9 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

Sauron Defeated
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1992 • 15 Readers • 482 pages 4.5

Mr. Bliss

Mr. Bliss
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1982 • 13 Readers • 114 pages 3.4

A Secret Vice

A Secret Vice
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2016 • 12 Readers • 157 pages 4.7

The Tolkien Reader

The Tolkien Reader
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1966 • 12 Readers • 251 pages 3

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

2016 • 12 Readers • 440 pages 4.8

J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator

J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
ByWayne G. Hammond,Christina Scull

1995 • 11 Readers • 224 pages 4

Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-Earth

1992 • 11 Readers • 144 pages 4

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Aleksandar Mikić(Translator)

1945 • 10 Readers • 106 pages 3

The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
ByWayne G. Hammond,Christina Scull

2011 • 9 Readers • 144 pages 3.8

The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide

The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide
ByBrian Sibley,J.R.R. Tolkien

2001 • 9 Readers • 119 pages 4

The End of the Third Age: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four

#4 of 4 in The History of The Lord of the Rings

1992 • 9 Readers • 176 pages 4

The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays

1983 • 9 Readers • 258 pages 5

Unfinished Tales Illustrated Edition

2020 • 8 Readers • 528 pages 5

The Hobbit, Part 2 of 2

The Hobbit, Part 2 of 2
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1937 • 7 Readers • 6 pages 3.5

The History of Middle Earth Index

#13 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

2002 • 7 Readers • 400 pages

Appendices

#7 of 2 in The Lord of the Rings: Seven Book Editions

Appendices
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1954 • 6 Readers • 180 pages 5

The Lord Of The Rings Illustrated Edition

2021 • 6 Readers • 1,248 pages

Cover 8

#2 of 4 in The Art of The Lord of the Rings

2003 • 6 Readers 4.5

The Art Of The Lord Of The Rings By J.r.r. Tolkien

The Art Of The Lord Of The Rings By J.r.r. Tolkien
ByWayne G. Hammond,Christina Scull

2015 • 6 Readers • 239 pages 4.3

Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural

Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural
ByMarvin Kaye(editor),Richard L. Wexelblat(Contributor)

1985 • 5 Readers • 654 pages

The History of the Lord of the Rings

#1 of 4 in The History of The Lord of the Rings

The History of the Lord of the Rings
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Christopher Tolkien

2000 • 5 Readers • 1,680 pages

Cover 7

On Fairy-Stories
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1947 • 5 Readers • 27 pages 4.5

Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Christopher Tolkien

1979 • 5 Readers • 112 pages 3.5

Contes et légendes inachevés. Le Premier Age

#0 of 2 in Unfinished Tales

Contes et légendes inachevés. Le Premier Age
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Tina Jolas(Translator)

1988 • 4 Readers • 251 pages

Histories of Middle Earth 5c Box Set MM

#1 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

1991 • 3 Readers

The Complete History Of Middle-Earth

#1 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

2002 • 3 Readers • 5,392 pages

Cover 7

#2 of 2 in The History of the Hobbit

2007 • 3 Readers • 448 pages

The Hobbit (Dramatized)

The Hobbit (Dramatized)
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2007 • 3 Readers • 4h 13m 2

The Hobbit: Graphic Novel

#0 of 6 in Middle Earth

1937 • 3 Readers • 148 pages 4

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

1962 • 3 Readers • 246 pages

Poems from the Hobbit

Poems from the Hobbit
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien(Writer, Illustrator)

1999 • 3 Readers • 56 pages 3

The History of Middle-earth: Part Two

#6 of 13 in The History of Middle-Earth

2000 • 3 Readers • 2,004 pages

Cover 2

Realms of Tolkien
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Alan Lee

3 Readers • 144 pages

Cover 8

1994 • 2 Readers • 96 pages 5

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth

2018 • 2 Readers • 416 pages 5

The J. R. R. Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection

2007 • 2 Readers

The Lord of the Rings

#1 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1955 • 2 Readers • 1,137 pages 5

Farmer Giles of Ham / The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

1949 • 2 Readers • 144 pages 4

The End of the Third Age

#4 of 2 in The Lord of the Rings: Seven Book Editions

The End of the Third Age
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1954 • 2 Readers • 182 pages

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition

1981 • 2 Readers • 744 pages

Возвращение короля

#4 of 6 in Middle Earth

1955 • 2 Readers • 512 pages 5

The Road Goes Ever On

The Road Goes Ever On
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Donald Swann

1967 • 2 Readers

Il ritorno di Beorhtnoth figlio di Beorhthelm

Il ritorno di Beorhtnoth figlio di Beorhthelm
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Giampaolo Canzonieri(Translator)

1953 • 2 Readers • 92 pages

A Tolkien Miscellany

A Tolkien Miscellany
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

2002 • 2 Readers • 370 pages

Οι δύο πύργοι

#2 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

Οι δύο πύργοι
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Ευγενία Χατζηθανάση-Κόλλια(Translator)

1954 • 2 Readers • 484 pages 4

Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose

Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose
ByKenneth Sisam(Editor),J.R.R. Tolkien(Contributor (glossary))

1946 • 1 Reader • 518 pages

(رفقة الخاتم (سيد الخواتم #1

#1 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

1954 • 1 Reader • 498 pages

Poems and Stories

Poems and Stories
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1980 • 1 Reader • 342 pages

Faërie

Faërie
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Francis Ledoux(Translator)

1974 • 1 Reader • 217 pages

Писма от Дядо Коледа

Писма от Дядо Коледа
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien,Стела Джелепова(translator)

1976 • 1 Reader • 192 pages

The Hobbit (Part 1 and 2) Slipcase

#0 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings

1937 • 1 Reader

Cover 3

1 Reader 5

Cover 6

??????????
ByJ.R.R. Tolkien

1 Reader