JRR Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South
Africa. When he was four his father, a bank manager, died in South Africa
and he settled with his mother and younger brother near Birmingham, England.
After his mother’s death, in 1904, he and his brother became wards of a
Catholic priest. He attended King Edward's School in Birmingham and Exeter
College, Oxford -- B.A., 1915; M.A., 1919. He taught Old and Middle English,
at Leeds, 1920–25 and Oxford 1925–59 and produced a standard edition of Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight, with E.V. Gordon ,1925, a lecture on Beowulf:
The Monsters and the Critics, 1936, and an edition of Ancrene Wisse, 1962.
His tales of Arda and Middle-earth were to entertain his four children with
myths and legends. Tolkien’s wife, Edith Bratt, inspired the character
Lúthien Tinúviel. The Hobbit, a quest for a dragon's treasure, published
with pictures by the author in 1937, was so popular the publisher wanted a
sequel. Tolkien created “legendarium,” which became The Silmarillion to
establish the history of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Men. Tolkien failed to
complete The Silmarillion, gave it to his son, Christopher, to edit and
publish (1977). The History of Middle-earth (1983–96) traces the writing of
the “legendarium,” including The Lord of the Rings, through its various
stages. The Lord of the Rings was not specifically written for children and
it is not a true trilogy, contrary to popular belief. The Fellowship of the
Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King were divided into 3 parts
to publish due to their size. On United States campuses in 1965, the
paperbacks attained cult status. Polls named The Lord of the Rings the best
book of the 20th century, selling over 50 million copies in 30 languages.
Several shorter works include, Farmer Giles of Ham (1949); The Adventures of
Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book (1962), poetry related to
The Lord of the Rings; Tree and Leaf, 1964, with the decisive lecture “On
Fairy-Stories” and the tale “Leaf by Niggle,” the fantasy Smith of Wootton
Major, 1967. Posthumously published works include The Father Christmas
Letters (1976), Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (1980), The
Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), Mr. Bliss (1982), and Roverandom (1998).
Tolkien died September 2, 1973 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
"J.R.R. Tolkien." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica
Premium Service.
2 Mar. 2004 Encycloredia Brittanica
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings and other JRR Tolkien things
VHS by Tolkien
DVD's
books on middle-earth