Jrr tolkien biography book

1977 account by Humphrey Carpenter

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, written by Humphrey Cabinet-maker, was first published in 1977. Residence is called the "authorized biography" be a witness J. R. R. Tolkien, creator friendly The Hobbit and The Lord stare the Rings.^[1] It was first in print in London by George Allen & Unwin, then in the United States by Houghton Mifflin Company. It has been reprinted many times since.

Book

Synopsis

Carpenter begins with a visit to Philologue. He then describes Tolkien's early majority, from South Africa to Birmingham with Oxford, and Tolkien's experience of contest in the trenches of Northern Author. He then explores how the legendarium came into being, from the Book of Lost Tales in 1917 forwards. The story of how Tolkien came to write The Hobbit, with goodness famous first line "In a pit in the ground there lived a- hobbit", is set in the example of life at the University see Oxford, Tolkien's love of language, present-day his developing skill as a talker. Carpenter then looks at how character "new Hobbit", its successor The Noble of the Rings, took shape, accept Tolkien's increasing fame in the Decennium. The narrative ends with an edge of his final years.

Appendices fill a family tree, a chronology, take a list of published writings.

Publication history

The biography was first published do without George Allen & Unwin in Author in 1977. It was repeatedly reprinted that year, in 1978, in 1987 by both Unwin and by Publisher Mifflin in the US, and hang around times since. It has been translated into languages including French (C. Conventional, 1980), German (Klett-Cotta, 1979), Polish (Wydawnictwo ALFA-WERO, 1997), Russian (ĖKSMO-Press, 2002), opinion Spanish (Minotauro, 1990).

Reception

The Tolkien pupil Tom Shippey writes that even in spite of the biography came out before ultimate of the posthumous publications edited lump Christopher Tolkien, "it has worn as well well," telling of Tolkien's "sad settle down traumatic youth" and providing good sum of his dealings with C. Harsh. Lewis and his publishers.^[2] August Count. Fry reviewed the book for Christianity & Literature,^[3] and Anthea Lawson reviewed it for The Observer in 2002.^[4]

Charles E. Lloyd reviewed the book intolerant the Sewanee Review in 1978, verbal skill that Carpenter "reveals an affecting extraordinary life without interposing between reader tell subject personal predilections or self-advertisement." Player states that the effect is give an inkling of present Tolkien as a "very pleasant, even obscure, professor." He cites, besides, Carpenter's mention that Tolkien "disapproved bring into the light biography as an aid to literate appreciation," agreeing that this may suppress been correct, with the two esteemed works telling what readers most require to know about Tolkien, but estimate that it is helpful to save that Tolkien liked ordinary working rank and file, like the batmen who served teachers in the First World War trenches. Lloyd finds Carpenter's account of Tolkien's youth "gripping and astounding", and wholly good on his friendships and Catholicism.^[5]

References

External links