J.R.R. Tolkien

Description

The definitive Tolkien companion ”an indispensable guide to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and more, from the author of The Road to Middle-earth. This highly erudite celebration and exploration of Tolkien s works [is] enormous fun,  declared the Houston Chronicle, and Tom Shippey, a prominent medievalist and scholar of fantasy, deepens your understanding  without making you forget your initial, purely instinctive response to Middle-earth and hobbits.  In a clear and accessible style, Shippey offers a new approach to Tolkien, to fantasy, and to the importance of language in literature. He breaks down The Lord of the Rings as a linguistic feast for the senses and as a response to the human instinct for myth. Elsewhere, he examines The Hobbit s counterintuitive relationship to the heroic world of Middle-earth; demonstrates the significance of The Silmarillion to Tolkien s canon; and takes an illuminating look at lesser-known works in connection with Tolkien s life. Furthermore, he ties all these strands together in a continuing tradition that traces its roots back through Grimms  Fairy Tales to Beowulf. Shippey s commentary is the best so far in elucidating Tolkien s lovely myth,  wrote Harper s Magazine. J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century is a triumph  (Chicago Sun-Times) that not only gives readers a deeper understanding of Tolkien and his work, but also serves as an entertaining introduction to some of the most influential novels ever written. (Description from external book data)

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